Langholm Walks Group Visit Greensyke Bothy

On our Warbla Walk last week I was telling Mike and Charlie about The Bothy at Greensykes. Neither of them had been there since it was converted into a Bothy. It's one of my favourite walks so we decided to visit again this week. The Bothy is officially closed due to Covid-19 but the visitors book clearly indicates that it is regularly being used and had visitors staying just a few days ago. It is really well looked after and looks very smart from the outside. With a log fire burning in the two main rooms it will be a very cosy place to stay the night.

The Meggat Valley and its so nice to see this valley is still farmed for sheep.

The walk is mainly forrest tracks and fairly easy walking with a very gradual climb.

The man made pond at Greensykes.

It must be a long walk to the toilet in the middle of the night.

The view from the road into the valley.

A refreshing cup of tea after a couple of hours walking.

The route back down to Glendinning.

A good crop of cones on the Fir tree.

 

A Walk at Westwater

It has been a while since we had a Last of the Summer Wine Walk so today we headed to Westwater to do a circuit of the valley that is now a forest instead of a sheep farm. The three of us Peter, Tom and myself kept Socially Distanced and thoroughly enjoyed our 6 mile walk.

Once the trees grow a bit more there will be less to see but because the forestry road is quite high up then we should always see the summit of the hills

Near the farm buildings at Westwater we met these Donkeys that are looked after by the owners of Westwater and are in excellent condition.

Tom and Peter Socially Distanced

And still Socially Distanced although they swopped sides as Tom is deaf in his right ear and cannot hear what Peter was saying

A lovely sunny morning and we completed our walk just before a heavy shower of rain

The wind Turbines at The Craig in Westerkirk just poking their heads over the skyline

 The lovely donkeys. There were 5 of them in total and they were in the company of a single sheep who seemed to be the leader of the gang but it was past me by the time I got my camera out.

A Grand Week in Galloway

My morning walk followed this Green Lane and its the best place I have ever seen for brambles with both sides of the lane for half a mile just full of Bramble bushes.

This is Ailsa Craig just out of Loch Ryan. Gaye used to sail out there in a 15ft yacht over 50 years ago. 

This is a young Turnstone taken at Isle of Whithorn

The entrance to Portpatrick Harbour on Wednesday. We had a lovely lunch at The Crown just sitting outside in the sunshine. 

The people on this yacht were at the next table to us for lunch. They had just come over from Ireland for a day out and a nice lunch.

The Confidante is based in Lerwick and is a Survey vessel in Stranraer harbour at the moment. 

The large Portpatrick Hotel which went bust a year ago and rumour has it that it has been sold again, but it's been empty all summer. It mostly catered for bus tour parties and these have been badly missed in Portpatrick. The town is still busy, mostly with visitors from Ireland and unlike many of the small towns in Wigtownshire it is looking good whereas some of the others are really beginning to look in need of care and attention. 

Our Irish visitors heading back home after lunch at The Crown.

Isle of Whithorn which is a lovely village but showing signs of needing some money spent on the properties there. 

On our way back from Isle of Whithorn to Port William we came upon this old church in the middle of a field. It is called Cruggleton Church and was build in the 12th century by Fergus, Lord of Galloway and restored in 1890 for the 3rd Marquess of Bute. There is an ecumenical service held there every September. 

The view from the bedroom window of our holiday cottage

Portpatrick Harbour

Gaye lived in this house in Wigtown for the first 12 years of her life. It is still much the same as it was then. Her next door neighbour was the actor James Robertson Justice. We enjoyed our week in Port William and look forward to staying for another week in Wigtown next May

 

 

A visit to Logan Botanical Gardens

On Sunday we visited these gardens in beautiful weather. It’s a fabulous place and it was so warm we had to sit in the shade several times, but that was no hardship as there was loads of beautiful Butterfly’s wherever you looked in the many flowers in full bloom.

A Eucalyptus Tree in the Australian section of the gardens.

Wonderful contrasting colours.

Butterfly’s everywhere

One of the nicest views from our garden seat.

These look like Crocuses but of course it’s autumn not spring.

The entrance to the Gardens lined with Palm trees

The Chapel Hill Walk at Roberton

The walk today started at Roberton and just near the start is this Eco House which was featured on Grand Designs several years ago. I am told it has changed hands a couple of times since then. 

My guide for the day was Iona Butlin who lives near Roberton. She often helps as a Duty Manager at The Buccleuch Centre but has not been in Langholm since December last year. This is an interesting bridge over The Borthwick Water.

The village of Roberton

The Borthwick Water

The highest point of the walk at Chapel Hill and the route to this Trig point was very tough due to the new plantation of trees. In 10 years time the walk will be impossible. 

The Bridge over The Borthwick Water

The route of our walk from my OS App on my phone.

 Branxholme Easter Loch. It was a lovely walk with superb views and Iona was an excellent guide. It took us 2.5 hours to do the 6.5 miles but I was very tired at the end. 

A Walk to Timpendean Tower near Jedburgh

We are gradually getting back to fairly regular walks with The Last of the Summer Wine Walkers and this month we headed to Jedburgh for a nice 6 mile walk to Timpendean Tower in the rolling border hills near Jedburgh. The weather was perfect, although very humid but the company was excellent and we had a most enjoyable walk. 

The Harvest is almost ready and in this area there is a lot of Barley

Part of the walk took us through a wood and this old drystone dyke had Holly and Heather growing on the top of the dyke. The Heather this year seems to be better than ever.

Another field of Barley with TimpendeanTower sitting in the next field. 

Tom, John, and Ken. The crack was good and we took our time as it was very warm and sticky.

The rolling hills of the Border Country

Three good friends taken by photographer Tom. He usually tries to get a low profile shot but today if he had got down on his knees he woudn't have been able to get up again.

Social Distancing at its best with Tom sitting on his own tree. The village in the background is Ancrum

The Waterloo Tower in the distance and a walk done by us all a few years ago. We completed the 6 miles in about 3 hours. I had to get home fairly quickly for some work to be done concerning The Buccleuch Centre and the others wanted a Coffee but the only place open had no outside tables available so they made to with cans from a supermarket.