Out & About …

… on the North York Moors, or wherever I happen to be.

Tag: coast

  • Geodha an Fhithich

    Geodha an Fhithich

    I spotted this on the map and I just had to visit it. Fhithich, as some of my regular readers will know is the domain name for this blog. It’s Gaelic for raven. Geodha means a chasm or ravine. So this is the ravine of the raven. I must admit I was a bit disappointed.…

  • Dùn Èistean

    Dùn Èistean

    The site of a medieval fort on a small island the size of half a football pitch surrounded by steep crags off the coast just east of the Butt of Lewis overlooking the shipping routes of The Minch. The island probably supported a permanent community and is said to be the traditional stronghold of the…

  • Lazy beds at Losgaintir

    Lazy beds at Losgaintir

    Lazy beds or feannagan in Gaelic are an ancient method of cultivation. Similar to ridge and furrow except lazy beds were dug by hand usually on the steepest slopes. The peat sods were cut into blocks and piled up in ridges inter-layered with seaweed fertiliser. Potatoes were the staple crop until the potato blight of the…

  • Bheàrnaraigh

    Bheàrnaraigh

    Fantastic rock strata on an un-named beach on the north coast of Berneray. Gneiss I understand, a metamorphic rock 542 to 4000 million years old. I thought geologists could be more precise than that. Berneray, Gaelic Bheàrnaraigh, is said to come from the Norse bjarnar and ey meaning island of the bear. Whether bears survived here is hard to…

  • North Uist Sunset

    North Uist Sunset

    An unexpected sunset after a day of winds and passing squalls. From a rocky headland called Raicinis on the northern end of Traigh Stir near the township of Hosta.

  • Pillbox, South Gare

    Pillbox, South Gare

    I went orienteering today … at South Gare, a complex area of sand dunes and reclaimed land created over 150 years of iron production. A bit rusty. Should have picked an easier area. A leg along the beach went past this World War II pillbox almost buried in the sand. Pillboxes were hastily constructed after the fall of…

  • Caolas Beag

    Caolas Beag

    One of the most memorable sights on the west coast of Scotland is the sunsets. This is from Big Sand near Gairloch across the Caolas Beag, the narrows or straits between Longa Island on the left and the mainland. Although the distance is about one kilometre Caolas Beag translates as small narrows.

  • Glas Eilean

    Glas Eilean

    A small island in Loch Gairloch occupied by a dozen or so shags which took flight as I neared.

  • Ceann a' Chreagain

    Ceann a' Chreagain

    Loch Gairloch in the gloaming, the last of the light after the sun has set. In the distance the hills of Torridon.

  • Giant's Causeway

    Giant's Causeway

    It had to be done. The Giant’s Causeway. Arguably Northern Ireland’s most famous tourist attraction. I’m not so sure how I feel about it. Spectacular enough. Geologically superb and steeped in folklore. But the £18.5m visitor centre (of which just over £6m came from the EU); World Heritage Site award; shuttle buses for the 1km…