Out and about with Compo


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The Golden hour part 2:

 

Dalnawhillan Lodge

 

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Loch a'Mhuilinn

 

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Morven and Small Mount

 

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On the Glutt track

 

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Out and about in central Sutherland at Forsinard, Garvault and Syre:       Ben Klibreck     Hills around Garvault     Red Deer

Last Thursday saw us off on yet another coastal section of the John O'Groats trail. At the end of our walk we went to the little café in Berriedale, where we met a young girl from New Zealand who was

I wonder if you can see this one, Brew?   Warkworth Castle on a fine November afternoon (2-11-2019)        

Great shots as usual Compo. I don't  suppose the residents of Dolnaha cottage have any problem getting on with their neighbours. Imagine, living there and coming home from shopping and realise you'd  forgot your fags or newspaper.

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Part 3. There were lots of fungal fruiting bodies to be seen on the route. Here are two photos.

 

Amanita muscaria (Fly agaric)

 

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Russula. A large group of mushrooms, some edible, some not.

 

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2 minutes ago, Beekay said:

\snip\

Imagine, living there and coming home from shopping and realise you'd  forgot your fags or newspaper.

 

It is about 13 miles to the nearest shop, Barrie!

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On the way home from Inverness on Thursday we made a detour and headed up the hill to the Fyrish Monument. It is a relelntless uphill walk of two miles each way, on a forest path but the end views are worth it.

 

"A story of the compassion by a rich man towards the less fortunate, seasoned by an element of vanity, lies behind a structure that dates back to a dark time in the history of the Scottish Highlands.
The Fyrish Monument was built in 1782 in Fyrish near Alness, Easter Ross, on the authorisation of Sir Hector Munro, 8th laird of Novar and a British soldier who served in India and became Commander in Chief of India from 1764-1765. Sir Hector was a native of Fyrish during a period in when local Highlanders were being driven off their land by landlords unable to make a good enough living from poor tenants. The process was known as ‘The Clearances.’ It was a time in Scottish history when the Highlands of Scotland were hostile and the land too barren to support the production of crops in sufficient quantity or quality. This left crofters and farmers unable to pay their rents and the landlords were not happy.

Violence and hostility amongst the Highlanders was a common practise and some landowners burnt down crofts to force the tenants to move out so they could rent the land for grazing. The Clearances were a consequence of economic change that had a huge impact upon many lives and changed the Highland way of life forever.

Sir Hector showed compassion to his workers by extending the time that it took to build the monument. It is said that he ‘ordered’ rocks and boulders to be rolled by hand down the hillside one by one to slow the process down.

The design of the monument represents the gate of Negapatam, a port in Madras, which the General had taken for the British in 1781 after returning to India. This is an unusual monument as most are built for a specific reason but the Fyrish Monument appears to have been erected as a personal ‘trophy’ to Sir Hector by Sir Hector. It is also unusual in the way it was built. It is a natural assumption that anyone paying for labour would want it finished quickly to keep the cost down. However, Sir Hector prolonged the construction work thus having to pay his workers more. Could this have been a ‘protest’ against the harsh and barbaric treatment dished out to poor crofters by some of his fellow landowners?

That could be a very romantic way of looking at this ‘perceived’ charitable act. Sir Hector might have had other reasons for wanting to ‘prolong’ the building work. At the time any relief afforded to the starving and destitute was only provided in return for labour. It was feared that to feed people without them working would promote laziness and the construction of the monument was tasked to the local destitute." [Source: britainexplorer.com]

 

Looking down into the Cromarty Firth with Invergordon in the centre. Invergordon was an important base for the Home Fleet during WWI. A battelship was sunk there and sabotage was suspected but in the end it turned out to be faulty ammunition that caused the blast.

 

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Left: Ben Wyvis (3,432ft) Right: Little Wyvis (2,503ft); seen from the monument.

 

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The monument 

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Reflctions in a hillside lochan

 

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Barrie, Jill and Fly2: Just noticed that the herd of deer were missing and that Dalnaha cotage apeared twice. Now corrected.....

 

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5 minutes ago, Compo said:

Barrie, Jill and Fly2: Just noticed that the herd of deer were missing and that Dalnaha cotage apeared twice. Now corrected.....

 

No problem Compo, just spent twenty minutes with a magnifying glass, looking for the deer !

More stunning pictures. Cheers, B.

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Beautiful views and photos of course. I have wondered how you get into this wonderful wilderness, then I saw your bike.

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Wonder if Compo has to show his passport when he comes South of the border ?

I still show mine when crossing the Thames......:blink: even after 32 years.

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I was out and about on Dunnet Head yesteday. This is the most northerly point on the British mainland. For a change, I joined a Ranger guided walk from Dunnet village for the 10km walk to the head.  The weather was generally fine but the wind was very strong and gusting to gale force at times.  Small streams for waterfalls over the 300ft cliffs but in tehe wind they were more like water-rises than falls! The wind was blowing the water back up skywards from the cliffs. The following pictures have been uploaded via "Postimage.org". Here's hoping they stay for long enough to see them! :)  Posting in two parts......Part one:

 

Dunnet Head lighthouse, showing the Isle of Hoy in the distance.

 

IMG-5357-Lighthouse.jpg

 

A waterfall showing the water rising up over the cliff.

 

IMG-5391-water-rise2.jpg

 

A sandstone outcrop along the route.

 

IMG-5363-Sandstone-outcrop-at-Chapel-Geo

 

The aptly named, Red Geo. 

 

IMG-5368-Red-Geo.jpg

 

More in part two.................................................................

 

 

 

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Dunnet Head part two........

 

A fissure in the cliff - that's 300ft down to the bottom.

 

IMG-5369-Fissure.jpg

 

The group consisted of the ranger (At the head of the walking snake) and six ladies (Which was nice) and of course myself at the rear, taking the photo.

 

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Lunchtime with a view.

 

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And finally.....A fresh piece of Otter Poo.  Ther eare a lot of Otters on Dunnet Head. They inhabit the many small lakes (Lochans) that abound on the moor.

 

IMG-5379-Otter-poo.jpg

 

 

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19 hours ago, Compo said:

 The following pictures have been uploaded via "Postimage.org". Here's hoping they stay for long enough to see them! 

 

Presumably you have abandoned using the Google system to post ?  (which is why we can all still see them).

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Seems to have been a Google, Flikr and Photobucket problem alright, CT.  Let's hope it stays good.

 

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I can't see your pics Compo! Where are all those lovely random character strings? All I see are pictures of some poor souls wandering round a cliff top and looking out to sea... very strange...

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I wonder if you can see this one, Brew?

 

Warkworth Castle on a fine November afternoon (2-11-2019)

 

IMG-5419-Warkworth-Castle.jpg

 

 

 

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