Menoturals; Nature Wins

Am posting a day early for Nature Friday, as tomorrow is First Friday Filmclub day here at DoWY. I am sharing views and a video from the Three Lochs Forest Drive, where I spent three wonderful nights/days. I also post this in memory of my dear ol' dad, who revelled in such scenery and would thrill at the knowledge of my travelling and staying in it with the van he enabled me to have. Today would have been his 88th birthday.

Loch Drunkie from the south-west end.

Loch Achray, from the east side.

These last two are of Allt a' Cham Ruidh... The Long Red Burn. I took the photos and the following video at the point marked on this map shot with an orange cross. Below it, near the start of the drive, you will see a peach-coloured cross, which marks the place where The Grey and I sat for our three days.

Menombling; Maps!

By popular request... Last week Tigger's Mum requested maps of the places Aitch and I had gone geocaching. Due to being off-kilter with myself, I had not included screenprints of the areas covered. However, Aitch, bless 'er, was paying attention and forwarded the following three screenshots from her Geocaching records. 

Here, you will see all the yellow smiley faces of the finds at Moffat, Crooked Road (Beattock), and Leadhills, including from Elvanfoot to Wanlockhead. (Other symbols: dark blue with query marks are puzzle caches—we didn't do them; royal blue glum face is the DNF; green circles with boxes are caches yet to be found—so scope for another visit or two!) Remember, you can click to enlarge.

And here is the embedded map, clickable to go live on Maps, of the area so the keen can explore via Googmagic. (I have previously included such in posts of travel, but recent events meant my head wasn't all about the task.) Anyhoo, it's an area well worth visiting, yet it is so often passed by in the rush for this Highlands.

Menowercoming; Respite Record

Welcome to a Nature Friday and Final Friday Feature combined post! This is where the LLB Gang and myself like to intermingle... the FFF doesn't always have to be about nature or things environmental - but quite often, the material is there, and it also fits with my theme of making a post that is just that a little bit more "ooh and ahh!" than my run of the mill posts. I'm not sure I always succeed in my own purpose, but it provides an incentive to keep blogging!

Anyway, today I bring you lots of photos from my recuperative period - that time when I had to accept that COVID was real and taking its toll and I needed to escape...

After being rejected by the Ford garage for The Grey's annual, we took our wheels back to Dunoon for a few days. 

From Wednesday to Friday, we enjoyed the waterside. A couple of days, though warm, were the usual shades of grey, but then, along came this.

On Saturday morning, despite the testing still showing positive, I was feeling more alert and ready to be on the road again. After a quick, very early morning visit to the Hutch for a shower, laundry and mail check, we set off via the Rest And Be Thankful route, via Loch Lomond, and over the hills to Balfron. After my visit and overnight there, it was up for a night on Forestry Scotland land at Braeval before heading into Aberfoyle. The river that runs through this Trossachs town is none other than The Forth... the one which becomes a mighty firth on the east side of this Bonny Land. You'll see/hear a bit of it in an upcoming Saturday post.

This is a part of Scotland where EV charge points are a little scarcer than elsewhere, but Aberfoyle has two poles. Turned out only one was working, but that was okay, as one point was available, so Grey guzzled and I took a walk by the water and over to the Woollen Warehouse. The main part is fairly tacky-touristy, but outside, there were sheep and ducks - some lambs - and a small hut selling proper handspun yarns from the fleeces of those sheep. I bought a hank of Jacob's Sheep warm grey. Not sure what I'll make yet, but it is lovely.

Aren't those Jacob's lambs just the cutest?! You see above a Scottish Blackfaced Sheep, also. Other than these two breeds, there was a Blue-faced Leicester, a Cheviot, and Soay Sheep (that's the black lamb). The yarns reminded me so much of Mum's work, and if I had the budget, I'd have made a total stash of what was on offer! The lady at the counter was very chatty and greatly interested in The Grey, so once he was full, I drove him over to the wool shack so she could have a gander. I suspect it won't be long before Helen B is on the road too!

After departing Aberfoyle, it was only a three-mile drive up Duke's Pass to reach Forestry Scotland's Three Lochs Drive. This is a gated part of the greater Lomond and Trossachs National Park, an area renamed the Queen Elizabeth Forest. There is controlled parking/camping in these places, and one can book up to three nights for four quid a night, plus another three (one-off cost) for vehicle access, so a fiver a night. 

I was allotted park D4, which is fairly near the start of the seven-mile track. I could have driven right around and back again before settling in, but I just stayed put. Apart from other vehicles enjoying the drive, it was only me and the trees. Tuesday was still warm and sunny, and I enjoyed catching up on some listening and viewing, as well as getting a fair few posts scheduled. It was a surprise to find there was a pretty decent 5G signal... but I did take a rest from commenting and too much blog stuff, as this really was about resting and recuperating. 

I could happily live forever in surroundings such as these. As mentioned, you'll see a bit more on the Saturday posts. Even when the rain came on Wednesday, it didn't dampen spirits. This place is bliss, and I shall be visiting again... and again...

Menombling; Then It Was Wednesday

When I awoke on Wednesday morning on that Moffat week, I was aware of a dry, gruff throat. Nothing more than that, then. I put it down to exhaustion from the previous day's fantastic adventure and just upped my fluid intake. We were off on another drive, this time to Sanquhar, where Aitch could gather more caches and I would spend time with fellow blogger "GZ" of the blog "Ook?" - our first 'in flesh' meet up. (That link takes you to her post/report about the day.)

The oldest operational Post Office in the world. Operational since 1712.

The drive was pleasant, going once again through Leadhills and Wanlockhead and collecting a few caches as we went. I parked Grey by the charger and left him to guzzle power, while we went down to A' The Airts to meet Gwynneth and have lunch. Proper home-cooked yumminess. After this, Aitch went off on her searches and G and I wandered the main street enjoying all the door furniture and info plaques as we walked, learning a little more about each other. We went to the Tollbooth, which houses the museum, small but delightfully formed - and manned by a most personable young fellow called David, whose accent intrigued me. I narrowed it down pretty closely, but not exactly - he hailed from Transylvania! 

Sanquhar, apart from it's amazing PO, is perhaps most famous for a very particular knitting style. There was a lovely quilt hanging in the museum that showed much of what Sanquhar is about, but the edging reflected all the different patterns of this style...

Down below...

We then returned to A' The Airts for an afternoon cuppa and to reconnect with Aitch, who'd been having her own fun. I admit that at this point, a headache had begun to make itself felt, but again, I upped fluids and put it down to the sudden onset of heat we'd experienced, as well as all the extra activity.

We said our farewell to Gwynneth, did a quick grocery shop, then back to Grey and around to the cemetery, this time in search of some headstones that might fit into Aitch's genealogical research... a couple of interesting stones, though not immediately obvious as being directly in her line. But a peaceful and beautiful place to visit, so we had a cuppa in Grey and watched a sheep in the paddock beside us go into lamb, (didn't see the result!), before heading off back to the caravan. 

By the time we were back, I could feel the full headache, and what I feared may be the onset of fever. During the night that proved to be the case - there were some wild half-dreams/delusions! - and I slept right through to Thursday lunchtime. I had not heard Aitch moving about or going out on her own to continue her cacheing. I tried to bring myself together, and with Ibuprofen and hot lime drinks, it did feel like I might improve quickly, but overnight I worsened again. Friday, we had to depart the caravan by 10 am, so despite being really quite groggy, I bid farewell and made my way on to Carnwath, where I knew I could easily hook up for another power charge. Whilst letting Grey do his thing, I could feel myself sliding down into a proper dwalm, and made the decision just to stay there the night... 

TBC on Thursday...

Menoturals; Moooving Around

After leaving Moffat, just before getting back to Beattock, we took a right-hand turn up over the railway bridge and into the hills along one of Scotland's famous single-track roads. These never fail to entertain, just for the scenery alone, never mind finding caches and sighting wildlife and farm critters. As Aitch said at one point, I was in and out of the van like a mountain goat! She pointed to the sites and I did the locating and sign-off. This one was particularly picturesque, both for setting and for being a monument to a local worker who had been struck by lightning. Clearly well thought of to have warranted this!

The cache was down behind that larger marking stone, and proved to be one of the fullest and most attractive finds, too...

As I took the beauty shot of The Grey in this setting, I could hear a Cuckoo, or two, and it was as we drove down past this stand of trees that Aitch said, "Look!"... and yes, it was a Cuckoo in flight - quickly followed by its mate. That was quite a sight, for they are rarely spotted, never mind flying. All over far too fast for a photo, of course...

We continued along this road for quite some distance, picking up another two caches, before we hit the tiny sign on a wee bridge that declared it was a private road! No warning whatsoever up to this point - and on the map there was clearly a continuation right back down to Beattock. It was a hand-written sign, so I think the farmer may have been playing boogieman a bit - but hey ho, it was turn around and back we go, though now knowing the potholes, and not having to stop for treasure, we did get back in about the quarter the time it took to go along it! 

There was one part where we did hit a bit of traffic though...

😂

I share this with the LLB Gang for Nature Friday - and take this chance to remind all who like to play with me, that next week is Final Friday Feature time once again!

Menombling; And Tuesday Came...

If I thought I had been having a good time up till now, Tuesday proved to be, perhaps, my favourite day of all on this geocaching marathon with Aitch. She was going well beyond her own target of ten a day and Tuesday of the week brought the bumper crop... by the end of it, if I recall correctly, she announced 26 located (may have been 27). The day dawned perfectly - warm, light breeze, sunshiny.

Search start was delayed somewhat in the morning, however, due to an issue that had not made itself entirely clear when I attempted that van charge at Drumlanrig Castle. I had simply thought it was a faulty unit, but the event of Tuesday morning caused a rethink.

Briefly, the ChargePlace Scotland (CPS) system had, until May 1st, been charged to users' accounts on a monthly basis - but quite often a couple of months behind actual usage, which was really imprecise for budgeting. They were upgrading to a pay-as-you-go system, which is much preferable. However, it turns out that things had not gone swimmingly. I drove us into Moffat carpark, from whence our cache search would commence, in order to leave The Grey sucking juice whilst we played. The power tower said "access denied"... say what?! I tried the next door tower, but the same. As there was a car charging on the other side, I knew there was power there. So onto the helpline it was. A very nearly 40 minute wait for the operator to come through already told me there was something major going on, because CPS, on previous calls, have been very prompt to respond. Poor Marty sounded very haggard for mid-morning. He explained that the changeover had presented some major technical issues, in that a lot of customers - most, in fact - had been marked as non-payers of the first bills produced by the new system and thus had their accounts blocked! For some, it repeated. Most, though, it only happened once and as he talked to me he was working the keys to get my account reinstated. Finally, pretty much an hour after arriving there, Grey was hooked up and happy.

The first find of the day was right beside the carpark. I had brought along my 'helping hand', which proved its worth on several of the finds. We proceeded along the Annan Water riverside walk and round to the main road back into town, all down the central street, and eventually back round to the car park.

Along the way, caches were located (or one DNF - did not find, at that church), among bricks, beside fences, in trees, down steep banking, up high in vennels, on walls... they can be very sneaky, these cache setters! Several of the caches I managed to reach where Aitch couldn't quite manage - and vice versa. We also had the aid of a couple from Fife who were part of the group and they managed two that were beyond us both. Teamwork, dreamwork! When hunting for the 'secret code' in the vennel (called Syme Street - little more than a side alley), a German couple turned up as I tried to puzzle out what we were seeing - and it was thanks to the husband twisting around the clue that we realised we were looking at entirely the wrong part of the passageway. It's a friendly occupation, this treasure-hunting lark.

In addition to all the finds, of course, came the little bits of learning about the history and the neighbourhood. The Old Well Theatre had us wondering if it had been a converted church, but the limited info I could find suggests it has always been a theatre... and "was fully refurbished in 1997", as stated proudly on the Visit Moffat site... which, is nearly thirty years ago! Due for another?

Around at the Station Park (opposite the carpark), we sat and enjoyed the early evening for a while, beside a monument to one of the big names from WW2:

Shame about 'the sandballing', which appears to have happened over the weekend, as Aitch managed a photo from Friday where it was free of this abuse.

As we had stopped earlier in the afternoon to have a full sit-down lunch (at The Star Hotel... where we had a slightly Fawlty Towers experience with the lady on duty! The food was a bit ordinary too, but filling enough), neither of us particularly wanted to stop for tea at this point, so we got back to Grey (by now full and satisfied), and drove into the hills in search of more... That will be shared for tomorrow's Nature Friday post, but here are more Moffat shots to end this part of the full Tuesday.

Menombling; Picking Up A Thing Or Two

Of course, one thing I didn't know about, till later...

After the Friday night gathering, which Aitch and I didn't stay long at, it was a real pub atmosphere with such loud music that one was shouting at others to have 'conversation', and, frankly, it was just not our thing, we wandered over to St Andrew's church and one or two other points for Aitch to clock up the cache numbers before heading back to the caravan for a good night's sleep. 

Saturday was a bit dreary, but that didn't deter the cachers! Aitch went to the morning session at the church hall, where various stalls had been laid out with all the associated paraphernalia of this very involving hobby. She returned for lunch and to watch Ipswich Town win their football match to gain a promotion in the league - bringing much jubilation! After that, we both returned to the church hall for the drawing of the raffle, then more seeking of caches. There had been a whole set of new challenges set out by the organisers and I was impressed at how many and the work and planning that must have gone into it all.

Photos kept prompting me to 'correct lighting', but I wanted you to see things just the way they were. Yup, it was a grey afternoon/evening and very, very wet underfoot, but this churchyard had lots of interest, with some big names (and markers), so it was worth the effort.

Sunday took us away from Moffat and up into Scotland's high places—not the Highlands, as you might imagine, where there are indeed hills and mountains that rise much higher—but dwelling places, villages that are the highest in Scotland. Leadhills is the second highest, and Wanlockhead is the first. One of the organisers of the Caledonian Cachefest also happens to be one of the trustees for the Leadhills Miners' Lending Library. There were lots of caches to be found around the village, but the library itself was well worth the visit.

Founded in 1741, this amazing place is Britain's oldest subscription library and the very first library in the world for working people. Here is a wonderful little video telling you a bit more, which is brought to you from the library's website, where you can view it also.

This was my attempt at photographing that very historic library banner - it being up high and me being so near to the ground did present a slight issue!

And here is my view of the exterior of the building...

While seeking out other caches, I spotted this —not a cache, per se, but a little bit of photographic treasure!

Once Aitch had garnered all she could at Leadhills, we drove over to Wanlockhead (mainly because that is where the toilets are). Parking was at an absolute premium there, so we stayed only as long as required for comfort and then drove on. It's a very picturesque area and we loved the drive, despite being a bit wet and misty. We drove back to Moffat via Drumlanrig Castle, where another cache was located and we had a picnic in the cabin.

One of the reasons I opted for this place was that it had an EV charger—only it refused to work. As it was a small unit with no readout on it, I only knew this much. There is more to this tale, which will appear in the next post. But in the meantime, it necessitated going in via Dumfries Tesco for a Podpoint charger, which was a slightly boring couple of hours but needed. Then back up to the caravan at Beattock. 

It had been a longish day, but lots to interest and amuse and absorb. By the time we got in that evening, the rain was properly setting in. No longer just mizzle and drizzle, it lashed down. It continued to do so through the night, and through most of Monday, too. Aitch managed to snatch a relatively dry patch in the morning for a local find, and much later in the day, almost evening, we managed another couple of hours out a short distance from the caravan, where, if I recall, another six caches were found, so not a total fizzle of a day.

Then came Tuesday...

Menoturals - a Nature Friday Post

A few of my photos from the Moffat trip that show the environment - or emulate it... (I tried multiple times yesterday to again get that video up - but have ended up trashing the whole project, I got so p'd off with it. But at least I did get Photos working again. And last night's test still showed positive...😕 Though the test line is at least a lot weaker. Maybe the weekend?)