Caerlaverock Nature Reserve and a Roman Hill Fort

On looking back at my blogs for Caerlaverock Nature Reserve I discovered we had never been there in the summer so we headed there today for what was initially a 5.5 mile walk but we added an extra 1.5 miles to visit the top of Ward Law hill where there is the remains of a Roman Camp. This photograph of the three of us is taken at the old Caerlaverock Castle which only lasted for 57 years before the buildings started to collapse due to the wet foundations so they moved 200 metres to the north and built the new Castle in around 1277. 

The start of our walk and the view of Criffell in the distance with a dead tree in the field. In the winter these fields are full of Geese from the Arctic as over 60,000 of them winter here. 

A lot of the early part of the walk is on these boardwalks as the ground is so marshy. This is the only Caterpillar we saw but I am sure there will be many more.

The marshy ground provides loads of reed beds and bullrushes which are ideal for birds

This is a couple views of Criffell and the Nith Estuary from the top of Ward Law Hill and the site of the Roman Fort. There is nothing of the fort to see but the views from the top are spectacular

There is an excellent seat at the top of the hill and we sat there and enjoyed the superb view for quite a while. 

This is where the seat was in the wood at the top of the hill 

And to finish my blog a couple of photos of the new Caerlaverock Castle. We enjoyed a light lunch back at the Nature Reserve cafe and were home for 3.30pm 

A Day Out at Kielder Water

We headed a little bit further away for this weeks walk at Kielder. The plan was to take the Osprey Ferry across from Tower Knowe to Belvedere and then walk back to Tower Knowe. I am happy to report that it went like clockwork and proved to be a very enjoyable 7 mile walk. The actual walk is only 5.5 miles but we took a few detour's to visit some of the  extra features built round the reservoir. 

Only 3 of us today as others are otherwise engaged.

The boat sailed close to this building which is mostly under water to the depth of about 170ft. 

At the start of the walk we met this contractor felling some of the older trees. He is a long way from home in Kyle of Lochalsh but forestry is such a big business it obviously pays him to work in Kielder Forest.

This is the Jetty at Belvedere and it took us a good 2 mile walk to get to this viewing place to photograph the jetty only a couple of hundred yards from where we landed 

The view towards the dam 

This is a shelter that can be adjusted to enable you to shelter from the prevailing wind

There were loads of wild flowers seen on our walk round the Reservoir but this really took my fancy. maybe somebody can identify it for me.  

There were several smaller valleys that provided inlets to the main body of water and these were most pleasant places to walk along. There is a family of Canada Geese in the picture.

We walked an extra mile to visit this feature called a Wave Chamber. A mirror and lens project an image of the moving waves onto the floor, while the structure amplifies the sound of the water. Maybe we did not sit in the dark long enough as we never saw the image, but we did hear the waves.  

At the dam there are special run offs for when the Reservoir overflows. This is the run off above the dam.  

And this is the run off below the dam. It would be rather spectacular when there is a lot of water flowing.

The Tower from the dam

In the final mile to Tower Knowe we found loads of these Orchid's. It was a lovely walk and we finished of with a snack at the Cafe at Tower Knowe. My only objection to the day was the £5 we paid to park which seems a bit excessive.

A Walk up Winterhope with Afternoon Tea at Jean & Watties

Only 3 of us walking today but it was a beautiful day for a walk up to Winterhope Reservoir. This was a first for Peter as he had never been up this valley before. The weather was excellent for walking. The plan was to finish the walk at Jean & Wattie Rutherfords for afternoon tea but we also called in on the way up the valley. This is our route up the valley.

Since I last walked on this road it has been resurfaced and is much better than it used to be

Our host Wattie showing us his hens

Loads of Irises on the edge of the Reservoir 

Our hosts Wattie & Jean in their lovely garden. We had a superb afternoon tea.

Another Visit to Greensykes Bothy

We have regularly walked to Greensykes near Glendinning to see the progress being made of the lovely Bothy there. There were 6 of us today as Fiona joined us while she is over in Langholm for a few days. John had hoped to be with us but he has been selected for Jury service at the High Court in Edinburgh. We may not see him for some time. The weather was perfect and Ruger the Black Labrador was very pleased to accompany us. 

We had no difficulty crossing the Hairgrain Burn at the Corlaw Ford as the burn was very shallow.

This is the much improved Bothy at Greensykes. The Mountain Bothy Association have spent a lot of time and effort into getting it into good order. It certainly gets loads of visitors as the Visitors Book showed a lot of visitors in May with somebody staying almost every night.  

It was very warm so Ruger cooled off with a dip in the burn  

This is the pond next to the Bothy

There is never a shortage of conversation on our walks and David, Tom, and myself are enjoying a good blether as we walk along the forestry road

And Fiona captures the 5 Old Geezers still blethering

This gate was locked but that is not a problem to us Old Geezers as Fiona calls us. 

David has no problem getting over. In his pole vaulting days he was jumping almost 5  times the height of this gate. We finished our walk and headed to The Buccleuch Centre for a very enjoyable lunch.

British Lion Billy Steele

This is an article I have written for The Eskdale and Liddesdale Advertiser out on Thursday 31st May about my good friend Billy Steele who has just received this presentation as he represented the British and Irish Lions on their tour of South Africa in 1974.

British Lions Cap for Langholm Man Billy Steele

Langholm has been very fortunate that over the years there have been 8 players from the town represented Scotland but only one of these players has ever represented The British and Irish Lions.

Billy Steele was born in Langholm in 1947 and started his playing career with Langholm before he left the town to begin a career in the RAF. Although he never again lived in the town he came back on numerous occasions to play for Langholm Rugby Club.

He was first capped for Scotland on 15^th March 1969 when he played against England at Twickenham, which Scotland lost 8-3.

In 1974 he was selected to tour South Africa with The British and Irish Lions. This was to become probably the finest rugby team to leave these shores and the 10-week tour become a legend. It still remains the only unbeaten tour by the British and Irish Lions.

They played a total of 22 games winning 21 of them and drawing the final game of the tour against The Springboks in Johannesburg on 27^th July 1974. This was very controversial as Fergus Slattery scored a try in the last minute of the game but the referee disallowed it and the result remained a draw. 

The Captain of The Lions was the famous Willie John McBride and Billy was one of 6 Scottish players in the tour, namely Andy Irvine, William Steele, Ian McGeechan, Ian McLauchlan, Sandy Carmichael, and Gordon Brown.

It was also the tour that made the song Flower of Scotland so popular and eventually become the Scottish National Anthem. The song was very popular among the tourists despite the fact there was only 6 Scots in the touring party.  The Lions had won the first test in Cape Town against the Springboks and so 2 weeks later were heading to the Pretoria stadium in the bus. They started singing Flower of Scotland as they got near to the stadium and were only half way through it when the bus arrived. They continued to sing it, led by Billy Steele and despite the Rugby authorities at the stadium trying to get them to leave the bus they finished the song and in the words of Captain Willie John felt 10 feet tall as they left the bus and there was no way they would be beaten after that. They won the Test Match by 28 points to 9.

On return to Great Britain after the tour of South Africa the team were voted the Team of the Year award at the BBC Sports Review of the Year in December and Billy Steele as choir-master led the team in the song Flower of Scotland before millions of viewers. The song was adopted as National Anthem in 1990 during the Five Nations Championship match between Scotland and England at Murrayfield, which Scotland won 13-7 to win the Grand Slam. The Scottish Football Association adopted it as the National Anthem in 1997.  

As part of a Strategic Review of The British and Irish Lions in 2014 it was decided to form an Alumni, The 1888 Club and in turn recognize and honour the contributions of this unique group of players. The 1888 Club is made up of all those who have played for the British and Irish Lions and the year 1888 was the original tour out of which subsequent Lions tours were born.  

Anyone who has played for the Lions has been awarded a unique playing number. To celebrate the 835 players who have contributed to the Lions the club has awarded the 419 living Lions and the next of kin of the 416 deceased Lions this ceremonial cap. Each player will be sent a branded presentation box containing a hand-stitched ceremonial cap, each bearing the player’s unique Lions number, a velvet protective bag, a recognition letter from Chairman Tom Grace, and a photograph of the touring party from their tour.

Billy was delighted to receive this presentation box on Tuesday 22^nd May and his wife Tricia has taken these photographs at his home in Burntisland. In his phone conversation with long time friend Gavin Graham he said he was pleased to have played in the amateur era of rugby and the tour of South Africa in 1974 was an unforgettable experience. They were away from home for 10 weeks and the fellowship and camaraderie of the tour was like nothing he had ever experienced before or since. It had been a privilege to represent The British and Irish Lions and this gesture of awarding these special caps brought back so many happy memories.   

My Birthday Walk at Lauder

We last did this walk in Lauder in January 2015 on a bitterly cold day with snow and ice all around. I thought it would be good to go back so I selected it for my Birthday Walk. The weather was perfect for walking although the sun did not come out until the last mile. Only us 6 men today as the ladies were all otherwise engaged

Tom and Martin beside the memorial of a young Tree Surgeon called Hamish who was killed in a tragic accident in 2005.

Loads of Gorse

We had a discussion about what these huts could be with some of us thinking they were for pigs but it turns out they are breeding huts for Partridges

The early part of the walk was along an old railway line

Everywhere you look there is Rape Seed plants which are very colourful at this time of the year

Starting to climb up to Blackchester with more fields of Rape Seed in the background

Blackchester which was originally an ancient settlement and then a Roman Fort

The lads on the top of the Roman defensive ditch

This row of outhouses draws the eye to what looks like an optical illusion

Near the end of the walk somebody is making this area of the Harry Burn into a nature reserve

We were booked into a nice Brasserie called Firebrick and the food was excellent. 

The Apple Pancake which was undoubtedly the highlight of the day and superb