Nigel's Photo Blog

This morning I ventured into Glasgow with ultimate aim of visiting a particular art gallery in the west end.I achieved this but the trip entailed about 5 miles of walking because many streets and bus routes were closed due to the Great Scottish Run taking place.  Here are just some of the 35,000 runners participating the aforementioned Great Scottish Run. In fact the run comprised two races, a 10k and a half marathon.  The first leg of the trip entailed a 2 mile walk into the west end and Kelvingrove Art Gallery . I availed of refreshment here and then moved on through some magnificent Victorian era residential architecture to the Annan Gallery. Here were excellent collections of art and ceramics with former by Scots artist, Blythe Scott. More on this tomorrow. Here is the exterior of the art gallery. Can you spot the sculpture of a feline? if not see image below.    Feline sculpture close to second floor window (third floor in U.S.).This is the third such architect...

 Introduction This afternoon I am reporting on an unusual landscape feature known as a ‘Clootie’ tree. Clootie is Scots for cloth (c.f. Clootie Dumpling ).   Clootie Tree, Ireland Information on the term 'Clootie'.  In practice a person partakes of holy (or medicinal) water from a stream or spring. Thereupon the person ties a piece of personal clothing to a nearby tree, which is usually a hawthorn.  This custom is believed to endow the participants with longevity and good health. I have only encountered this practice on a few occasions. It will be interesting to learn the origin and age of the custom. It appears that the Celts from the iron and bronze age periods had a reverence for water so maybe there is a line going back 2000-3000 years?    Clootie Tree near Glasgow Cathedral    Clootie Tree, Dams to Dranley , Glasgow .  More information on Scotland Visitors are directed to Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-916133...

Introduction Inspired by local media reports of three simultaneous Llama births my wife and myself visited the relevant site today.  Three Young Llamas (Cria) Information on our visit to Clyde Valley Family Park  Location is near Carluke, a town some 23 miles S.E. of Glasgow and 36 miles S.W.of Edinburgh . . Here we found an excellent visitor site with emphasis on children and families. An extensive range of live animals were on display ranging from a Clydesdale horse to llamas,. pigs, deer, goats, sheep and much more.Refer images below.  Clydesdale Horse  Monarch of the Clyde Valley   Friendly Goat   Rhea   Saddleback Pig  Playful Goat Kids   Bull (Highland Cattle Breed)   Highland Cow   Feedtime for Cria   Fallow Deer    Overview of Site Llama Meet and Greet    Zip Wire Fun Formula 1 Training   Happy Train Traveller  Potential solution for Britain/Scotland's d...

Over the past weekend my wife and myself attended a family function at Latimer in S.E. England.This is a village close to Chesham and about 30 miles NW of London . During our stay the opportunity arose to undertake a walk centred around the Chess Valley. The valley and river have been extensively restored of late to mitigate extensive environmental damage.The valley now provides a habitat for an abundance of wildlife. This includes the restoration of the river and reintroduction of grayling (fish) which had been wiped out by pollution. The river is, technically, a rare chalk stream which is now considered a precious resource. Here is a map of the locality   This valley has a considerable historic legacy-from the Roman period to medieval and on to World War 2. After the walk, whilst relaxing in the evening, we were treated to a somewhat bizarre flypast of powered paragliders. Images of this event can be seen at foot of this post. By 325AD there was an impressive Roman villa ...

 Introduction  This evening, I am focusing on the prehistoric cairn of Unstan located at Clouston, about 3 miles from Stromness . Location is Orkney , one of Scotland's Northen Isles.  Visitors entering the Cairn.   Information on the Cairn and prehistoric Orkney. Firstly, Orkney is well populated with prehistoric monuments and sites some of which are still undergoing evaluation. Refer this blog post for record of a typical tour.  Unstan is a long, chambered cairn dating from the 3rd Millennium BC .This structure is of a type common to western and northern Scotland and northern and western Wales.These are usually designated as passage graves.Typically, they comprise a small rectangular or polygonal chamber approached by  a small passage.The whole is set within a circular mound or cairn. In Unstan's case the interior burial compartments are divided by upright stone slabs. A volume of pottery was found at this site with distinctive design. This ha...

 Introduction This evening, I am focusing on Loch Leven in Perthshire, Central Scotland. This is about 30 miles north of Edinburgh . Loch Leven, Perth & Kinross, Scotland Information on Loch Leven Six kilometers (3.5miles) in length and 13.3 sq km in area. Most of the Loch is only six feet deep. Freshwater. Contains three principal islands one of which is home to Lochleven Castle. Home to a nature reserve which is focused on bird life. Star attractions include: Lapwing, Pink-footed Goose, Swallow, White Tailed Eagle and Whooper Swan. There is an eight mile cycle path linking Kinross with the Nature Reserve. Other activities include fishing and canoeing.   Loch Leven from Lochleven Castle, Scotland  Loch Leven transport ( to castle). View of West Lomond and Loch Leven, Scotland  An interesting and easily accessible site offering visitors numerous options. More information  For more information on  Scotland in general please refer to Visitors’ Gui...