Lit from behind… An evening wander around the lanes, picking out some details here and there where the sunshine streams through the hedge
Author: geoffspages
Breezy on the Mynd
The sunshine is warm, but there’s a stiff breeze, which makes for a very pleasant day on the Shropshire hills. There are ponies in abundance, a red kite in the distance and canada geese in the pools behind Pole Cottage. And after all that excitement, we’re still in plenty of time for the tearoom in the Carding Mill Valley. What more could one want?
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Eggs, marmalade and honey
Once again we’re tied up all day, one way or another, so we’ll have our short leg-stretch on this fine (but not as sunny as forecast) evening. Interesting things in and beside the fields and pools – the marmalade is recommended!
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A June evening
It’s going to rain!
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Hinnisdal forest roads
27 May – last day on Skye. It rained all day yesterday – heavy blustery showers, of the kind which seem to ‘merge into longer periods of rain’, as the Met Office likes to put it. Today will be altogether quieter – the wind has dropped, and I’m heading for gentler scenery, as seen from the forest road in Glen Hinnisdal. That should be ‘roads’, plural – at the start there are paths leading off to left – ‘Rathad na t-aibhne’ (river road) – and right ‘Rathad an t-seann bhaile’ (old town road). We’ll head for the old town (a few stones in the forest!) before wandering up the glen for a mile and back again, this time taking the river road to visit the magnificent falls on the abhainn Hiniosdail. Very pleasant, and definitely quieter – but there’s still some rain about.
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Keep off the rocks!
25 May (we’re still on Skye): It’s been blowing hard all day, the showers coming thick and fast – and heavy. To get caught in one would be to get soaked. Then, late in the afternoon, there’s a bigger break in the cloud – might it stay dry for a while? Let’s chance it – a leg stretch from the village hall down to Camas Mor, where the waves on the rocks could be fun… After an enjoyable half-hour or so, clouds begin to obscure the sun – there’s another big shower coming. If we walk quickly, will we stay dry?
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Rubha na h-Aiseig
24 May continued: Starting from the same place as yesterday’s walk, I’m heading in the opposite direction. At first I skirt the clifftops, with one or two rather exposed spots between the fence and a near-vertical drop to the sea. The views to the south and east are extensive – Sròn Vourlinn’s startling peak dominates the near distance; the north-western highlands form an intriguing horizon. Descending to the grassy foreshore, a very faint path leads to the ‘Ferry Point’, where once perhaps there was a connection to the island of Trodday, a mile or so to the north. Remains of a couple of black houses, and a curious gap in the stony shore where a boat might possibly have been dragged to and from the sea, are the only clues remaining.
As I wander back, in no hurry, a seal pops up just yards from the rocks to see what I’m doing. Oystercatchers flit noisily along the shore. Butterwort catches the eye in the grassland – and someone has buried a couple of camels…
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Before the rain…
It’s going to rain tomorrow – all day, with the possibility of thunderstorms. It’s trying to be dry this afternoon – we’d better get out there, for a quick walk around Willey and the Smithies – up Round Hill, down Ned’s Lane and back via Bould Lane and Britons Lane. Despite the wind, the interest is in the detail today – when it stays still…
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Portree
24 May: Still at our northern office… The household authorities have business in the island’s ‘capital’, so I’m wearing my chauffeur’s cap this morning. Once we’re parked, my time is my own for an hour or so – I’ll wander around with the camera, dodging the passing showers as best I can.
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Later that day…
23 May (continued): We’re not going to enjoy any sunshine, but will probably enjoy an hour or so on the rocks at Camas Mor – especially if the rain holds off. The air is clear; low cloud hangs over the Harris hills, brightly lit where higher cloud thins. A bulk carriers steams south through the Minch, briefly catching the sun. On the rocks, there’s lichen galore, and clumps of sea pink add a splash of colour.
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