Thursday 16 October 2014

Latest News ....The Ribble Rivers Trust...Burnley Area

Thursday 16th October 2014

            I've just completed a short film on the progress of the Urban Rivers Enhancement Scheme in Burnley during 2014. This short film will be part of the "Burnley Newsreel" which will be shown to the public at our public show in November this year.


Wednesday 1 October 2014

They now call me the "Sun God"





30th Sept 2014
                 The title is just a bit of fun but I've got this reputation that when we go on holiday in our motor home the weather will always be good  but it hasn't to been too difficult this year to find sunny warm weather because of our glorious summer.
        My Scottish preference this year continues with another visit in our motor home to the western side of Scotland around the Southern Western Highlands and the Isle of Mull.

Our first stop after an overnight stay in Moffat  was Inveraray on Loch Fyne

                                           The main street


We stayed for 3 nights on the Caravan Club Site at Oban a beautiful location over looking the sea but just too big.


                                   Rabbits around all the pitches..
...
                                    Pounds of wild Blackberry.....


                                ..... and beautiful sunsets

                 A boat trip up Loch Etive to view the Common Seals





                       The small overflow channel of a past glacier

Port Appin..... from here we caught the ferry across the Lynn of Lorne to the Isle of Lismore


                                     The jetty at Port Ramsay
                       A walk around the northern shores of Lismore


                                      Grass-of-Parnassus




North of the Isle of Mull........the Ardnamurchan Peninsula

         Resipole ......this is a beautiful site on the shores of loch Sunart


The Swallows gathering on the overhead wires, the following morning they left for their long journey to Africa

                        Beinn Resipol 2775 ft that's our goal today

     Your free to roam in Scotland so there are only a few indistinct paths




                                         The summit

                                              Loch Shiel



                              Views looking towards Fort William

                                   To prove that I was there


                                           The long decent

                                               Crowberry

                                               Clubmoss

The western end of the Ardamurchan Peninsula .....Sanna Bay



               The Cullin mountains on the Isle of Skye in the distance


On an information board it clearly shows the rim of an old volcano which was last active 55 million years ago

                             The low rim of the old volcano




                                    The Cullins on Skye

         Ardamurchan Point the most western on the mainland of Britain

Overnight stay in a garden belonging to the house with electric hookup


              Ferry from Ormsaigmore to Tobermory on the Isle of Mull



                                          Tobermory



                                 Sea Eagles at Loch Na Keal

                                              Sea Eagle

                                      On camera monitor

                Wild Camp over night views from the motor home


                       7 hours sail to Staffa and the Treshnish isles

  Staffa (Fingal's Cave) made famous by Medelssons Hebrides Overture




                               Basalt Rock Columns






                                           Landing on Lunga





                                         Atlantic seal Pups
                                Leaving the Treshnish Islands


Overnight wild camp by Loch Na Keal before driving  along its southern shore to Fionnport the south west corner of Mull






        The camp site at Fionnport we stayed here for 2 nights over looking the beach




                          This morning were off to the island of Iona








                                             Iona Abbey



                                 The highest point about 350 ft

                         
                           A few shots of Iona's stunning beaches





                                              Uisken



                                          Ben More 3170 ft

                         Travelling up the Island to Loch Buie

                             Loch Buie wild camp location





                Robin, Hooded Crow and Heron around our wild camp


           The unmanned old post office....just put your money in the box



                                  The wildness of this remote loch


Our final night on Mull at Craignure


                             Early Morning on the Sound Of Mull




                                     The ferry to the mainland




                    Bunree Caravan Club Site near North Ballachulish

                                    The Pap of Glencoe

The wonderful early autumn light in Glencoe made us linger for a while to soak up this impressive scenery




At the head of Glencoe the terrain changes and opens out to the wild expanse of Rannock Moor, here the mountain called Buachaille Etive Mor dominates the head of the glen





At Glencoe ski centre the temperature at 3600ft is 4.2 degrees and there are still a few patches of snow that have lasted all summer



                  The unmistakably landscape of the last ice age



South of Glasgow heading south for England the hills of the Southern Uplands are covered by more than 100 wind generators

Footnote.
               When we started our holiday we noticed a newly woven spiders web on the passenger side wing mirror we hadn't the heart to destroy it. The spider was behind the mirror so along it came with us on our travels. periodically it came out to do minor repairs to its web and it stayed with us for the whole 2 weeks . We covered 980 miles arriving home almost a week ago and the spider's still there, the web is still in good shape.

         The web on our 14th night at Moffat Caravan & Camping club site