Alston Railway Walk

Niall and Tom on today's walk which was down the narrow guage railway from Alston towards Haltwhistle. We turned 5 miles south of Alston and came back part of the way on the Pennine way and then back onto the railway path. Weather not very good but much better than in Langholm so no more photographs were taken. We did see a couple of Deer on the walk however but it took too long for me to set up my camera.

A Segway Experience at the RHS

I have always fancied a go on a Segway and at last got a chance to do a few laps at the RHS in Edinburgh this morning. They are much easier to use than I had anticipated and within seconds I was whizzing my way round the show ground.
The RHS unfortunately is a bit of a washout with heavy rain on both days so far and the forecast for the weekend is awful.  

Great Strickland and Morland Walk

Today's Wednesday Walk was No 29 from this excellent publication by Penrith Ramblers. It was just over 9 miles and slightly longer than planned as we took a wrong turning. Hopefully Niall will be back next week so Tom can concentrate on just walking instead of navigating.

Walking accross a field which has a footpath right through the middle is a real treat. Many thanks to the farmer who went to the bother of ensuring the "right of way" was clearly shown.

There are many lovely small villages in the walks included in this book and today's nicest village was Newby and this lovely cottage garden was a real treat.

One of the many small bridges we crossed with the cattle waiting to follow us along the other bank.

Another old bridge over the River Lyvennet and this is called the "Crossrigg Hall" Bridge.

An ocean of Barley. After a poor spring many of the local farms are quite a bit behind with their crops but this field contained Winter Barley planted last year and therefore has had a bit of a head start over the rest. We met one of the local farmers and he told us he had just planted the last of his Barley last week so it will be a late harvest.

Niall and Elspeths Party

A great evening in the Buccleuch Centre for a celebration of Elspeth's 60th birthday.

Susan & Moira

Lynne, Elspeth, & Gaye

Niall singing with Border Folk

Elspeth & Tom

Ivegill, High Head & Thislewood Walk

Todays Wednesday Walk took us to Ivegill, High Head, & Thislewood which is a superb walk from the Penrith Ramblers book of walks. On our way out of Langholm we headed up to the Moorland Feeding Station to see Dr. Cat Barlow ringing some birds. This is a Siskin being measured and weighed before release.

Soon after we left Ivegill Church we found ourselves in High Head Sculpture park where we met this angry Dragon. This is a superb place for a longer visit and also excellent for children to explore.

One of the many sculptures

This is called "Flying Inside" and consists of a series of 13 discs that form a trail. The journey is reminiscent of childhood and replicates the movement children make when they are pretending to fly.

This was surrounded by nettles so there was no way you could get any closer to the naked lady.

A pair of Swans

In the early part of the walk we were followed for quite a distance by this horse which in turn was followed by a herd of cows. They must have been after Tom's toffee's.

This building is called Thislewood and features a 14th Century Tower. The buildings to the left and right of it were added in the 16th Century.  In the last couple of years the building and adjoining barns and outbuildings have been converted into superb houses.

Near the end of the walk on an old Bridle Way we came upon this well used Badger Set

Niall and I walk through one of the many fields of Buttercups. This was a lovely 6 mile walk but it could only be followed by constant reference to the Penrith Ramblers book and their instructions were perfect.

Wattie's Birds

On Wattie's Propane Tank in the garden a Wagtail is rearing it's second clutch of the year.

The first nest hatched a few weeks ago and now it has added to the nest and laid another batch of eggs.

5 Eggs which hopefully will hatch in about 3 weeks time as long as they dont need to top up the Propane Tank

No visit to Wattie's is complete without a visit to see the best kept hens in the area as they are part of his family and provide us with superb eggs every week.

A Trip to Kippford



At least once a year I get the urge to head to the Solway Coast and my favourite place in the South of Scotland, Kippford. After looking where the weather was going to be best today Gaye & I headed west and picked up Jean & Wattie from Winterhope on the way there. We first of all went to Castle Douglas where it was the Annual Food Festival. It is great to see such a vibrant High Street in CD unlike many other small towns in Scotland. From there we headed to Kippford and a walk along the shore. The weather by this time was nice and warm and the sky almost clear.

This part of the shore line is a mountain of shells.

Looking out over the Urr Estuary to Rough Island which you can cross over to at low tide.

The sea front at Kippford

There are some spectacular gardens along the shore but these really caught the eye.

And the Little People were hiding among the rocks. There is one particular part of the shore where a local resident has for years been adding little figures made out of stones and driftwood. It is a great place to take children as they can have great fun looking for the wee figures.

A piece of driftwood turned into a sea horse

And another stands guard over the estuary

Walking the Annandale Way



This weeks Wednesday walk was delayed due to rain but we eventually headed over to Hoddam and we walked along the East bank of the River Annan to Brydkirk and then back to Hoddam on the West Bank. Because I had forgotten to take my camera these were taken on my I Phone and are only here to record that we ended up at Hoddam Castle where we had a coffee and cake.  

I Pads are Great

Hannah & Leo are experts on how to use I Pads.

My two best pals

At Newcastle With Hannah & Leo

Gaye and I are in Newcastle to look after Hannah and Leo and the 2 Guinea Pigs Butch and Sunshine.
The weather is awful but hope to get out soon.