7th May - we visited Alnwick Gardens. (£18.60 admission but we got 2 4 1 with our Gardeners World pass). We'd been before and remembered it as being a fantastic place but this time it wasn't quite so colourful because the Cherry blossom had finished, the spring stuff had faded and the summer stuff was still wondering if it was warm enough to bloom! However the fountains were gushing and the Lego model of the whole garden was brilliant!
8th May - today we walked along the beautiful coastal path to Seahouses and we had the pleasure of doing that in warm sunshine 🌞! Scrummy fish 🐟 and 🍟 were partaken of with views overlooking the busy harbour and then we indulged in ice-cream as we viewed Bamburgh castle🏰 in the distance. Then, before retracing our steps we sat and did a bit of twitching as loads of seabirds and waders searched for their tea on the wet sands. To name but a few we spotted eider ducks, curlews and plovers along with the usual abundance of gulls.
9th May - today was moving day but only about 60 miles up to the Dunbar CCC site (6 nts) and what a spectacular place that is! The site is teared and every pitch seems to have sea views. Once we had set up we strolled about a mile along a quite lane that led us to Whitesands Bay and there we sat for a while admiring the lovely view of the beach and the incoming tide of the North Sea
10th May - And that would be happy 49th wedding anniversary to us 😄 💕!
We spent the day visiting the very pretty coastal town of North Berwick that is divided into two bays by a rocky promontory that provides a home to the town's harbour and The Scottish Seabird Center.
It was also here that we found a chap looking out to sea (but he wasn't very chatty) and also the ruins of the very ancient St Andrew's Kirk whose entire east end was swept into the sea in a storm in 1656 - but by that time there had been a church on that spot for over 1000 years!
 |
| St Aandrew Kirk in the background |
We also had splendid views of the Bass Rock which is situated in the Firth of Forth about a mile off shore, and as we gazed at it with our naked eyes the top looked 😉 completely white but with binoculars we could make out the huge gannet colony that resides there at this time of year.
Our next stop was at the medieval Tantallon Castle which was abandoned after 300 years of resistance under the pressure of 3 sieges by Oliver Cromwell's army. The Castle sits atop the cliff edge and has stunning views out to sea that take in the Bass Rock. While we were there we were able to clamber up the worn spiral staircases to get even better views from the lofty heights of the castle's towers.
11th May - Today it was a walk along part of The John Muir Way. In it's entirety it runs for 134 miles from Helensburgh to Dunbar but we only walked along the last 3 miles of it which runs through The Dunbar Golf Club so as we went we needed to watch out for low flying golf ⛳️ balls!
Dunbar's rugged coastline and natural harbour were quite breath-taking and it was with these lovely views that we munched our picnic, but while we were there we were also keen to find out more about John Muir who was born in Dunbar in 1838 so we visited the little free museum that told his story. It seems John lived a very hard life within a very religious large family. When he was 11 his family emigrated to America and it was there that John went on to be an inspirational environmentalist and conservationist and to be known as the Father of National Parks. He strongly influenced conservation in both Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks in America both of which we have visited.
 |
| JOHN MUIR |
12th May - Today we toddled down to Whitesands Bay again but this time we walked in the opposite direction along the coastal path towards Torness Nuclear Power Station and it has to be said it wasn't one of the most inspiring walks we've ever done!
The weatherman had told us it would be warm and 🌞 but that was a big fat lie cos it was mostly overcast with a cold wind but we cracked on at a good pace and along the way we did a bit more bird spotting. And we were quite surprised to see swans on the muddy rocky beach and quite puzzled as to who the little bird on a post was (a reed bunting).
We also spotted several Eider ducks and later we learnt that they have their own strategy for protecting their young! It seems that after hatching the babies are gathered into creches of up to 100 youngsters and these are looked after by 10 or so adult female 'aunties'
The first part of our walk terminated in the shadow of Torness with views out over the rock strewn sands to Chapel Point and it was there that we fortified ourselves for our return journey. Then when we got back to the van (after about 6 miles) we sat outside and shivered in the cold drafts with a refreshing glass of cider 😀
13th May - Our best day out so far on this tour! Today's destination was The Scottish National Trusts St Abb's Head - a place of breath-taking views over coastal headlands with dramatic cliffs and huge seabird colonies.
As you would expect there was also a light house to be admired and the info boards told us that it was one of 200 that are located in and around Scotland's wild coastline. St Abb's lighthouse was built in 1862 and unlike most others it only stands 9 metres tall but because of its lofty cliff top position it is 68 metres above sea level and its light can be seen for 26 nautical miles, and if you can't see the light maybe the foghorn would be warning enough.
As we walked we could see huge swathes of birds most of which were Kittiwakes, Fulmers and Guillemots which are sometimes referred to as Northern Penguins. However there were also some Razorbills and an odd Gannet in the mix, but sadly on this occasion, no puffins! Maybe they were all indoors looking after their Pufflings.
We managed to find a stupendous spot for our picnic but while we were munching a fairly violent episode occurred out to sea. We spotted a grey seal bobbing about in the water but as we watched about 5 big Blackback Gulls started to attack it and they were quickly joined by more. Luckily all the seal had to do was dive but the birds didn't give up quickly and they bombed it every time it surfaced.
 |
| Lunch at the bottom |
We finished our outing with a walk down into St Abb's village foe ice cream 🍦 😋 and we licked them while enjoying views over the ancient harbour that dates back to 1833 and which is privately managed and maintained by the people of the village itself.
We also paused to admire the small bronze figures of wives and children of 3 fishermen from the village who lost their lives in the great storm of 1881 but they weren't the only ones - the info boards told us that 189 fishermen from the east coast of Scotland perished on that dreadful day.
14th May - I think John was trying to relive his teenage years this morning - Pizza for breakfast😱.
The day started bright and 🌞 but it didn't last and as the weatherman had already told us that we decided to go for a drive that would be interspersed with short rain dodging walks. So with that in mind we headed up into the rolling Lammermuir Hills which were dramatically shrouded with bright yellow vanilla smelling gorse.
Our first target was The Whiteadder Reservoir but although it was very scenic it wasn't quite what we expected and it was impossible to get to the water's edge. However we were able to admire it from a distance and there were nesting lapwings, Oystercatcher and a pair of ducking and diving curlews there to entertain us.
 |
| Whiteadder Reservoir |
From there we drove up onto the misty moors proceeding along a road/track called Herring Way - in times gone by it was a path used by the Fishwives of Dunbar to carry massive creels of herring to market in Lauder. Once up on the moors we stopped for our picnic lunch but by then there was no chance of getting out of the car because the rain became horizontal for a while!
Next on our list was the town of Musselburgh but more specifically The Leven Hall Links Bird Reserve 🐦 . However, as we arrived there several vans and as there doors opened dozens of dogs 🐕 🐕 🐕 🐕 🐕 🐕 of all shapes and sizes scampered out - they went in one direction and we went in the opposite one 😀 ! We spent a short while in one of the hides and we had a quick look at the coast line but as the tide was in there wasn't much to see and with the whistling wind and darkening skies we decided to head for our snug cosy home from home.
Tomorrow will be another moving day but I'll tell about that in my next story xx
No comments:
Post a Comment