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Park Nab
On This Day 25th May 1659, “His Most Serene Highness By the Grace of God, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Dominions thereunto belonging” the Lord Protector Richard Cromwell resigned his position. So ended our flirtation with republicanism, leading to the restoration of the monarchy and the crowning of…
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The Cleveland Way
Buy any Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map nowadays and you’ll find it criss-crossed by lines of green diamonds — the symbol for a National Trail or Long Distance Path. In 1965, the first such trail was launched, The Pennine Way, and the second was our very own Cleveland Way, opened four years later on this day,…
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Loch Lubnaig
An easy morning walk up An Sidhean after yesterday’s exertions. A bit misty at the top but lovely views of Loch Lubnaig with its interesting alluvial spit where the River Balvag flows in. So perculiar is this natural levee that it has a name — Roinn Mhór. It’s actually a “prograding delta” where sediment from…
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Stùc a’Chròin
I’ve always fancied doing the Stùc a’Chròin Hill Race but never had the opportunity. I sort of walked the course today from Strathyre up and over the Meall Mór ridge into Glen Ample before the climb up the 184th highest Munro Wikipedia says the name Stùc a’Chròin means the peak of harm or danger, but…
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Oratory at St Columba’s Church, Kilneuair
A fairly spontaneous decision to explore the ‘Muir of Leckan‘, the hills between Loch Awe and Loch Fyne. Hidden in a bluebell-carpeted copse of trees is the old Church of St Columba at Kilneuair. Separate to the church is a square oratory, a private chapel, probably 18th century, although it is described as a ‘folly’. The…
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Kilmartin Glen
Overblown with pre-historic monuments — stone circles, cists, cairns, standing stones. So many to chose from, Chille Mhartainn has them in abundance. This is Nether Largie Standing Stones, five tall standing stones arranged in an X-shape, with an outlier 100 metres to the north and the stump of another one 300 metres to the west.…
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Paps of Jura
Farewell to Islay. And farewell to Jura although I didn’t manage a visit this year. But the sight of the Paps of Jura reminded me of adventures past. Of the Bens of Jura Fell Races. Of persuading my dad to drive his clapped out Morris Oxford Estate to make the long journey — he hadn’t…
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Kilslevan deserted village
The remains of deserted houses and settlements are common throughout the whole of Scotland, Islay is no exception. Kilslevan seems to have once been a township of at least eight longhouses, and several other buildings, enclosures and two corn-drying kilns although these are hard to discern under the grass and moss. There are the ruins…
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Eilean Nòstaig
The windswept rolling headland of Ardnave Point is a mix of machair and sand dunes and populated by inquistive sheep. Along the Atlantic facing coast, a strange abandoned arrangement of concrete dam walls and rusty sluice gates, too small for a boat. I read that it is an abandoned lobster farm. Further information has proved…
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Dùn Bheolain
I find walking along the western seaboard of Scotland extremely exhilerating. More so that bagging summits in the clag. This is from Rubha Lamanais or Smaull point, just north of Saligo on Islay. It offer superb views of a trio of sharks teeth peaks, sometimes called Smaull Rocks or sometimes Opera Rocks. The latter must…
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