It Snowed (again) Pt. 2

 As I sat at the bottom of the hill, looking up at the bird cloud, I realised I just had to go on up to the castle, see what I could see and photograph although, I did have a moment considering the hill itself. I'd seen a tractor with trailer come down earlier without any problems, I know, it's a tractor but, if the road is in use, it's not likely to be iced up so, up I went, no problem, I even stopped half way up to grab a quick shot back down towards home.

As I cleared the farmyard and past Balintore House, I looked up to the left to see the castle standing above, surrounded by snow. Bearing in mind this is single track road, I carried on past to the gated entrance for a few shots and I'd get some of the castle on the way back.

The entrance is beautiful, well, maybe was? I love it anyway and the drive runs up the hill to the castle where it stands looking out over the entire valley.

The castle is a restoration project for David, the owner and what a project, follow the link to read more about it. There is also accommodation available if you ever fancy a trip.

The gate actually continues the same to the right but a parked car meant I had to crop it out, for now.

This looking back the way I had come in to give some idea of the view the castle must have, it's just up to the right in this shot.

The view from the castle must be wonderful, I really must get in touch with David and see if we can get up there for a look around. You can make out the turrets and the state of the roofing on them, it's going to be a long project methinks. Balintore Castle Restoration Project

It was time to head back down the road, shown below. I didn't know it yet but, I was going to be just the other side of those two hills in around 30 minutes. 

The heat from the sun was wonderful standing up there on that hillside, looking out over the valley.

But, heading back along the road, I stopped a couple of times to grab a few shots of the castle itself. I think it's an amazing building in need of a lot of TLC but, that's what it is getting, slowly but surely. My sister and her fella used to come up here regularly when it was a sad, forgotten ruin. 

Ever onwards and one last shot of the castle frontage from the road before the twisting steep slope back down towards Glen Quharity

Not a road for the faint hearted or non four wheelers in the dark of win her but beautiful in this light.

And so I began a slow cruise back along the Balintore road, towards Loch of Lintrathen again, with no real goal, yet.

I have to add, I just Googled castles in Scotland and came up with so many options and yet, when I looked at a few they appeared very incomplete, aimed at tourists as opposed to a definitive list. 🤔

See you again soon.

It Snowed (again) Pt. 1

 18th February 2023

Most mornings, once I've got myself together, I have a look out the windows, front and back, assess the weather and either go make breakfast or, grab a camera, sometimes just phone and head outside.

On this morning the mist was really thick but white with sunlight from above, I wandered to the back of the house and the hills were peeping through and covered in snow. It looked wonderful so, I grabbed the camera and headed outside.

The mist had started to clear and the sky was the clearest blue I'd seen for some time and I wandered about the garden grabbing shots.

There was actually some heat in the sun as it started to break through the mist and I realised I needed to go up the glens, now!

I dashed back into the house, dressed quickly, sorted out my gear, started the car and hit the road. Ice? So, I took my time and headed up towards Balintore.

It's not a bad road for the most part but, the further up the glens you go, it's almost single track and not quite as well maintained but, the surrounding countryside is stunning and there are usually quite a few raptors around, Buzzards, Kestrel and red Kites. 

Today I was concentrating on the scenery, although I did spot a few Buzzards. I stopped in a good lay-by to get shots of one Buzzard on a fence post but, as soon as I got out, gone!

However, the road, snow and blue sky looked wonderful.

The road to Balintore

I wandered around looking for good angles, Balintore castle was just over that hillock.

Across the road, back down a bit and a nice view through a dip in the ground with a lovely old dry stone wall.

I couldn't quite believe the blue sky, hardly a cloud in sight and, there was heat in the sun. The gate sap in the dry stone wall made for a nice focus towards the castle in the distance. 

Who put that tree there? Ah well, I started to wander back towards the car when I noticed the plastic sheeting caught on the barbed wire and flapping in the breeze, the black so stark against the snow. 

I get so P'd off by all the rubbish we are covering this poor planet in. 

Man's mark on our landscape.

Ach well, back in the car and on towards the castle. Over the hill and that road again....

The snow changes your perspective, I don't think I'd ever noticed the road curve, those bushes and the castle in this way before. Onward.

Over the next rise, down the dip and .... there it is again. The snow making it stand out so much more and that damned tree 😖

Finally, down the hill, into the dip at the bottom, a wee stop before heading up to the castle itself.

I've always loved the old bridge and remains of a hut / building nestled into the trees so I stopped for a while, watched a Buzzard cruise by further up Glen Quharity on the left. 

You may notice the cloud just above the tree, to the left a little.

A wander around a bit, looked up again.

Cloud on the wing

So, that's probably enough for now, I'll add the rest of the explore to another chapter later on. 

Down the Den

October 2022 

The Den of Alyth or Den o' Alyth is a beautiful wooded area surrounding the Alyth Burn or small river cutting through a narrow gorge, before passing through the town of Alyth itself, eventually joining the River Isla.

The colours in Autumn or Fall are just wonderful and the burn pretty full made for great sounds and scenes to sit and enjoy.

There are parts of the den that look and feel primeval, like an ancient, undiscovered area. There are not that many people using the Den, which is perfect.

The fallen Beech leaves mixed in with the lush green ferns look fantastic, it's a very tranquil, peaceful place to walk or just sit and enjoy, there are several seats and benches scattered throughout.

The burn meanders through the area, driven by the rocks which rise up on each side.

There are birds aplenty in the right conditions, plenty of fungus in various locations, lots of dead wood for it to populate.

The main loop from Alyth outskirts to the upper Den car park and back again is 1.5 miles approximately, with well maintained paths but, rugged underfoot and can get very wet, muddy and slippery so decent footwear is needed in the Autumn / Winter months.

The return leg, if starting from Alyth, rises up above the gorge  and there are a couple of choices of route to follow.

There are birds aplenty as I've said, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Tree Creepers, Wood Pigeons, Crows, Buzzards, Woodpeckers and Dippers, which are fairly easy going and easy to spot if you know what to look for. A lifer for me was a Spotted Flycatcher.

Dipper with a mouthful

Spotted Flycatcher

Take a break, take your time, watch the river and the trees. Listen to the sounds of the water and the birds. Who knows what you might see?

Remember - Take only photographs, leave only footprints. Enjoy.