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Tomintoul 27th May 2021 I drove over the hills to Tomintoul. The weather forecast was for the low cloud to break. It did. My father, although he lived in the south of England, would make an annual pilgrimage to Tomintoul. He loved it. It is a delightful village and at 800 feet above sea level, one of the highest in Scotland. This is the field where 40 years ago I landed in my glider when the mountain wave collapsed (or I messed up!) The Avon passes nearby and is a typical scenic Highland river with some steep cliffs. Wildlife included a few Roe Deer (no photos) many Lapwings and one Green-veined butterfly. Cuckoo heard. The road to / from Tomintoul has little traffic and some splendid views. At the higher elevations, some late Daffodils still in flower. Jack
They must think we're stupid 26th May 2021 This monstrosity has just appeared at Nairn Harbour. The apparently mandatory charge for parking (free until now) of course got my back up. But then I looked at the actual wording. "Invitation to Pay". Is this some sort of joke? If there were a less intimidating method, then I might be prepared to contribute. Here for example is how it is done at nearby Burghead. No pressure and I regularly put in a Fiver even though suggested amount is just One Pound. But the Nairn intimidation simply pisses me off and I won't contribute. I don't know if there is CCTV at Nairn but maybe it would have caught my gesture of contempt today. Jack
Thursday 20th May 2021 I ventured along Strathconon into the remote Highlands as far as (in theory) is possible by road. Two hydro-electric power stations on the river. There were numerous strange signs and warnings. Talk about warning of the obvious! This strange-looking object in the river was rotating like a cement mixer. I have no idea what it is. A generator perhaps? Edit several days later. It is apparently a trap (thanks George for finding out) to count Smolt, young Salmon on their way down river. Well, you live and learn. As I got deeper into the heart of the NW Highlands, the scenery became wilder. But just after some road works - laying fibre optic cables would you believe - this end of speed limit. I pressed on but the road became worse and worse. I wasn't that brave - or foolish - so turned round. Quite a problem on the very narrow road. Thee were several of these footbridges. They remained untested. I made a minor diversion on the way home (in the pouring rain)
Sunday 16th May I had heard rumours about a Scottish Liberation Army so decided to investigate. The apparent HQ is pure bluff. That is a museum. This is the reality. The SLA's colour scheme seems to crop up everywhere. That is outside the Officers' Mess. The other ranks have to endure more crowded conditions. Leisure facilities are open to all ranks, ages and genders. This is the Marines' training area. They take safety seriously. The cadets are being brought along with consideration, The SLA has some up-to-date weaponry After some discreet espionage I was able to find out where live firing training takes place. No apologies to Nicola if I've caused offence
Friday 14th May 2021 I arranged to meet Bruce who I had 'known' on internet via our common interests. The weather did not behave quite as forecast. Initially it was just light drizzle and produced this 'rain shadow' effect. It got heavier just before I set off. The loch where we met wasn't at its most colourful in the cloudy conditions. Photography was challenging as the lighting was very harsh . The loch is a breeding locality for some extremely rare and protected birds, Slavonian Grebes. It has to be called Loch X as while not secret, the locality is best not advertised. The birds never came very close. In north America - where apparently they are not particularly rare - they are known as "Horned Grebes" You can see why. I then came across some very different 'wildlife'. There has been a shortage of Gnomes since that ship - with a cargo of them - got stuck in the Suez Canal. This Highland Loch bears a remarkable resemblance to the Broads of
