Menoxplorer [men-ox-plorer]; being YAM's continued explorations

Hhehehe - judging by comments there are, amongst the Dear Readers, those who are as on tenterhooks as your's truly in respect to settling in the home front!  Thanks for the interest folks, but if there is any sense of delay, it is because nothing is happening at the moment.

The process here in Scotland is that the verbal offer has been accepted "in principal". This is now legally binding to both parties - because it is done through solicitors.  One cannot purchase property here without that middle party.  However, until all "missives" are settled (that is to say, searches, registrations with Land Office etc.), and monies have been sent, there must still be caution.  If the solicitor uncovers some hidden matters, things could change.

Now.  A few more views from my walkabout on Thursday last week.

After a hearty breakfast, I took myself off down to the Victorian Pier.  This is 10am. There had been quite a bit of rain, but I carried the 'stormbrelly' with me and when a squall or two passed over, it did what it was designed for.  Mostly, though, it simply hung off my arm.  Down in the slightly protected 'lagoon'  there floated a lone bird.  I was curious.  Not one I recognised, though there was an inkling.  Checking appropriate sites when I returned confirmed my suspicion.  It was a female Eider Duck.  

Turning round, the public gardens around the Castle House draw the eye.  A beautiful swathe of well kept greens and rockery gardens. There is a museum there, but not open during my stay, sad to say. It is one of the older buildings of the area, being built over the original medieval castle.

Turning a little to the North of this, a church stands high and forbidding on the horizon.  I had to climb up there!

This involved going back past the hotel and then taking a left up Ferry Brae. (I did not fancy Kirk Brae itself, as that was looking well steep.) This is one of those truly quaint places where a street can be all of three miles long, or just a few yards. They also twist and turn giving atmosphere and character.


Taking the first left from from Ferry and rising quite sharply up the slope, the road opens out.

This is a teaser, folks (sorry 8}), because I took enough round this place to put as a single post for next week's Less Speak More Peek...

I walked up to and round the back of the church, but not directly into the yard - saving that for more clement weather. There will be a good deal of interest though I feel.  Having earlier said majority building is around 150-ish years, that is mainly due to the upsurge of interest in leisure visits during the Victorian period.  However, the town existed for several centuries prior to that and this modern church was built over derelict remains of medieval sacred building.

Standing with the church back over my left shoulder, the view South on this raw, damp day was still pretty good.

The light on the water was actually rather better than this photograph reveals.

I have a menoloop** though.

Say what?!  Haven't had one of those in ages.  It is about the warts, the carbuncles, the incredible proliferation of those darn t.v. dishes. Ugly as bugly on modern homes, I reckon they should be banned from being attached to buildings of a certain age...


I did walk quite a bit more that afternoon, checking out the area from here over towards where the flat is.  Pick up from here tomorrow!

**check out the menoctionary page...