Nigel's Photo Blog

Introduction  This afternoon, I am posting a portfolio of lighthouse images obtained in context of my tours around Scotland.   Isle of May Lighthouse, Firth of Forth. Information on the Scottish Lighthouses  There exist some 200 lighthouses positioned around Scotland’s rugged and challenging coastline. Lighthouse construction in the modern sense commenced in the 1780s under leadership of Thomas Smith of Dundee (1752-1814), son of ship’s captain.The first lighthouses were Kinnaird Head in 1787, Mull of Kintyre in 1788, North Ronaldsay in 1789 and Eileen Glas in 1789. Smith was succeeded by his son-in-law, Robert Stevenson (1772-1850) who became Chief engineer for the new, Northern Lighthouse Board. The Stevenson family became synonymous with lighthouse building, being collectively responsible for at least 80 structures over three generations.This started with Robert, his sons David and Thomas and David’s sons, David Allan and Charles Alexander.Stevenson f...

    

Introduction This afternoon, I am reporting on a day tour of the Scottish Borders region (southern Scotland). Information on the Scottish Borders   Tour    Spider’s Web at Dryburgh Abbey , Scotland First we departed our lodgings in Melrose and drove to nearby Dryburgh Abbey. Now a romantic ruin, the Abbey was founded around 1150 for a cadre of monks known as premonstratensians. Influenced by its location, the abbey was subject to attacks by English armies in 14th and 16th centuries with final denouement at time of the Reformation in 1560. Here are buried Sir Walter Scott and Earl Haig. Dryburgh Abbey, Scotland Dryburgh Abbey, Scotland Next to Hawick to join 11.30 am tour of the Johnstons of Elgin cashmere textile mill. We benefited from a private tour which proved a fascinating and instructive experience. Cashmere at Johnstons Manufacturing at Johnstons Cashmere Johnstons Cashmere, Hawick, Scotland Tour Guide at Johnstons Cashmere After a light lunch a...

 Introduction This afternoon I am posting information on Pennan (pop 50). This is a coastal village sitting on the north coast of mainland Scotland and about 45 miles north of Aberdeen .  Information on Pennan  Firstly, the writer apologises for the poor quality of images in this post. This is because the said images date back about 20 years and were taken in the early years of digital photography.  As some readers may recall Pennan is famous as the setting for the 1983 comedy film, Local Hero. The story centred on an American oil company fixer who was sent to Scotland to buy up an entire village on which to build an oil refinery. However, the man finds himself having a change of heart. Today, the village is subject of media attention owing to a campaign (by the residents) to cancel       P ennan's 'conservation village' status. The status is bestowed on areas of 'special architectural or historical interest, the character or appearance of which is des...

  Late last night my wife and myself had a pleasant surprise when our cat spotted a hedgehog roaming around the garden. We sort of know there are hedgehogs around but sightings tend to be rare, possibly on a quinquennial basis, as the mammal is nocturnal and hibernates during the winter. The sighting is important as over half the country's hedgehogs have disappeared from the countryside since 2000 and they are now absent in a third of towns and cities.  A section of our garden has been abandoned for cultivation purposes and is designated 'wild'. This may help to encourage hedgehogs whose lifespan tends to be around three years.  In addition to the hedgehogs  we have regular sightings of foxes and squirrels.We also have a wide range of birdlife ranging from seagulls, pigeons, crows and magpies down to tiny finches and the like.All of this makes for good viewing from the kitchen window! On this subject of wildlife here are some images of local water birds taken in rece...

 Introduction This post records a one day section of an extended small group Ireland tour.   Prehistoric ‘Rock Art’ at Knowth, Ireland Information on the Tour Itinerary.  This morning, we left our lodgings in Sligo , West of Ireland and drove S.E. to the small town of  Carrick-on-Shannon (pop  4000 ) where we stopped for about 45 minutes to explore. St Mary’s Church, Carrick on Shannon, Ireland Farmers Market at Carrick on Shannon, Ireland Carrick on Shannon Marina. Next, we continued S.E. for about two hours to our principal destination of the prehistoric passage tomb complex  at Bru na Boinne which is situated near the River Boyne, north of Dublin.here there are three great tombs known as Dowth, Newgrange and Knowth . Newgrange is the best known and most popular. Due to pressure of visitor numbers at Newgrange we elected to visit Knowth and joined a guided tour the leader of which explained: The sites many phases from first farming around ...