Wattie's Ducks

These six Ducks were incubated under the Hen so they think it is their mother. The Duck in the background is sitting on 12 eggs due to hatch this week so with a bit of luck Wattie will have 18 Ducks running around at Winterhope

Slow Worms

I took Leo & Hannah this morning to a secret place where the Moorland Project have put some carpet tiles down and these attract Slow Worms especially in the morning as they are attracted to areas of heat. The most I have ever seen under one tile is about double the number under this tile.

An Afternoon at Walby Farm Park

Leo just loves playing on a Tractor

These bikes were great fun but a bit tiring for Fiona

Hope Bubble and Sunshine back in Newcastle don't see this or they will be jealous

Fun at the Kilngreen

The Finger of God

The Finger of John points to the Finger of God

The Singing Sands of Eigg

Eigg the Green Island

Lageorna B & B in the village of Cleadale. The island is fighting back regarding loss of inhabitants and their seems to be more young families moving onto the island than any other of the Hebrideam Islands. This is due to the fact that they now own the Island and have a say in its future. Most of the houses have Broadband and of course their own electricity supplied by Eigg Electric Co. Ltd. and new projects like the pier and the supply of electricity have ensured that locals have jobs. It is without doubt one of the nicest islands we have been on over our 10+ years of walking on Scotland's Islands.

The Bay of Laig and the view from my bedroom window in the B & B called Lageorna which also had a very good restaurant and I can definately reccomend the food.

Everywhere you go on Eigg there are new houses or old houses being improved and this is an example of a modern house built to strict green credentials.

The Island of Eigg has now become one of the Greenest places in Britain and is completely self sufficient in providing it's own electricity. The electricity is generated by Hydro, Wind, and Solar Power and although there are times it struggles to cope with demand every house has taken steps to reduce their carbon footprint, eg nobody has a Tumble Dryer and every house has eco light bulbs etc.

A Scramble on Eigg

An Sgurr taken from the ferry as we travelled between Muck and Eigg.

I felt as knackered as I looked but it was really worthwhile and the views were fantastic.

John being much fitter than me looks as cool as a cucumber but did admit to actually breaking into a sweat and being quite tired.

I know you think it is impossible to get to the top without being an experienced climber but there is a route and we did make it to the top.

The highest Mountain on Eigg is called An Sgurr and it is a difficult walk to the top. I say walk , but it is more of a scramble especially the final 300ft to the top. The mountain is only 1400ft, therefore cannot probably be called a mountain but a hill. It is however quite a challenge especially for old men like John and myself. We arrived on Eigg on the Tuesday ferry from Mallaig and as the weather was so good we decided to tackle the toughest walk on our first day and then if the weather broke we would have done the most difficult walk. Once we had been dropped off at our B & B in Cleadale at the north end of the Island we set out to tackle An Sgurr and this involved walking back to the opposite end of the Island. The walk took 5 hours and we covered 9 miles and made it back to the main road about 5 minutes too late to catch the 5.00pm mini bus from the Ferry, but fortunately the mini bus works on Eigg time and was therfore about 15 minutes late so we managed to catch it and avoid an extra 2 mile walk back to Cleadale.

Alston to Haltwhistle

The view from the Lambey Viaduct

Todays Last of the Summer Wine Walk was the South Tyne Trail following the old railway line from Alston to Haltwhistle. We started a couple of miles from Alston and walked 11 miles along the old railway to Haltwhistle. The Viaduct in the above photographs is the Lambley Viaduct over the South Tyne and we then walked over another Viaduct on the outskirts of Haltwhistle again over the South Tyne. A most enjoyable day including a stop at the Wallace Arms Pub in Featherstone for a sandwhich, chips, and a cup of tea. A real old fashioned pub with service without a smile.