It's that time once again!
(a few weeks late but never mind XD)
(a few weeks late but never mind XD)
I recently retired my faithful camera companion, Nigel, as after a good ten years, old age had finally caught up with him and he was no longer able to function properly. His replacement, (also called Nigel, as I'm terribly unimaginative) is a Canon 750D and he's super duper shiny, so I may have got a little carried away when it came to pictures and video...
On that note, I'd really like to start doing some video tutorials and things on youtube, so if anyone has any suggestions for things they'd like to see, let me know! :)
Anyway, this was my first chance to try out my new shiny camera and as the weather was distinctly wonderful, you can expect rather a lot of images here. I typed nearly everything out whilst I was there, so apologies for the change in tense from time to time. XD
Saturday
We left around 11, and had a quick stop in Moffat en route for a cup of coffee and a peruse through one of the charity shops. (Five books for £1 wasn’t too shabby!)
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| This is the famous Moffat Ram sculpture, infamous for his lack of lugs! |
Next stop was our regular haunt of Loch Arthur Creamery for lunch. The food there is incredibly good, but as mum and I are counting our calories right now, we had to be extra selective, which was hard as I could quite happily eat everything on the menu!
The egg mayo open sandwich definitely filled a space, even if we did have to wait longer to get it than usual as it was so busy!
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| om nom nom nom nom <3 br=""> |
The bluebells were out in force in the woodland surrounding the place.
I knew we'd see squirrels at the house we were staying at, so perhaps it was with that in mind that I saw a squirrel in this bit of bark!
Once suitably fed and watered we made our way to the fond familiarity of Rockcliffe and the ever welcoming cottage of Lonsdale.
We've stayed there a few times now as it's a really comfortable house to be in, and the view out over the Solway to Heston island never gets old.
One of the things I love about my new camera is the ability to connect it to my phone, which not only allows me to transfer images across, but also to take remote control of the camera! I took this photo this way and I'm looking forward to using it more for wildlife and/or stopmotions.
After another coffee and a bit of cake (lugging suitcases up stairs is hard work you know! :p) we made our way down to the beach, taking a slightly longer route than usual past the Dark Age hill fort; the Mote of Mark.
There wasn’t much to find in the way of beachcombing, save for a couple of pieces of pottery and some driftwood, but we ended up searching for something else entirely as it transpired that some poor girl on the beach had lost the case for her braces somewhere and it was nowhere to be found! Alas, she left empty handed, but she gave me her contact details so I could let her know if I was lucky enough to find it whilst we were there. (we didn't)
Our first Red Squirrel sighting of the week occurred shortly after we returned to the house - just a fleeting glimpse as he ran across the patio, had a drink in the birdbath and scurried along the fence at the back, but still, a sighting’s a sighting!
I can also add buzzard, kestrel, rook, great spotted woodpecker and orange tip butterflies to the collection of sightings today. Oh and lots of lovely dogs!
As the day drew to a close we were treated to a most spectacular sunset.
Mum held the Velux window open for me so I could get a shot without glare, but I realised it provided an interesting effect if angled right...
Sunday
After a leisurely start, we made our way to the tearoom at New Abbey for lunch.
One day we’ll be there when they’ve finished conservation work on Sweetheart Abbey and it isn’t covered in scaffolding...but today was not that day!
Afterwards we headed down to the coast and Powillimount Beach, in search of fossils and other interesting finds.
The geology around there is really striking, with great planes of rock thrusting up out of the ground at sharp angles, something which is nicely contrasted with the soft swirls where they've been eroded by the sea for millennia.
A short walk down from the main beach is the Thirlstane Arch, a natural rock formation.
It technically isn't a natural arch, as it's open at the top, but it certainly feels like one to walk through!
We had a snack by 'The Devil's Stone', a glacial erratic...
...met a nice dog...
...and began our quest for fossils!
I didn't take much, only a few small chunks no bigger than my palm with the exception of these two!
I followed that up with this one...
...only for mum to totally steal my thunder with this beautiful little perfume bottle! O_O
It technically isn't a natural arch, as it's open at the top, but it certainly feels like one to walk through!
There were a few random boulders wedged in the gap above, somewhat precariously in appearance, though I suspect they've been there for many thousands of years so there's no danger of them falling down any time soon.
In order to get down to the good fossily bit of beach we had to clamber up a steep little bank and walk parallel to the sea for a few hundred yards. It was absolutely beautiful up there; the sun was out, the sound of bees and birdsong was everywhere and the wild garlic filled the air with scent.
We had a snack by 'The Devil's Stone', a glacial erratic...
'The devil has a lot of stones, doesn't he?' mused my mum, on the plethora of 'devil's' stones and chairs and cauldrons in the landscape; 'Perhaps he needs a gall bladder operation!'
...met a nice dog...
...and began our quest for fossils!
This was a lot easier than you might imagine as the whole area was once a shallow coral reef and literally everywhere you look are huge slabs of fossilised coral and bivalves.
I didn't take much, only a few small chunks no bigger than my palm with the exception of these two!
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| I really want to use this in a bonsai planting one day, it's just so dramatic! |
Whilst fossils were my ultimate goal, I'm always on the lookout for seaglass, so finding my first full intact glass bottle stopper was the find of the day!
I followed that up with this one...
...only for mum to totally steal my thunder with this beautiful little perfume bottle! O_O
I had some revenge later on though, when I found a little plastic box complete with telescopic reading glasses inside! I'll probably donate it to my local opticians the next time I'm in as it doesn't match any of our prescriptions.
On the way back I met a nice lady and her dog. I'd actually spoken to her earlier when we were coming back down the steep bank and a disembodied voice from below asked if I was alright as I was taking my time. I said I was watching my step as I had a heavy backpack on and didn't want to drop my new camera.
She spotted me taking photos later and said 'Are you the new camera person? I’m the voice!' XD
She spotted me taking photos later and said 'Are you the new camera person? I’m the voice!' XD
Her dog Ellie is half lab, half collie - ‘she’s got a collie head and the collie height, but all the big bits are Labrador!’
She had the most amazing ears!
Monday
The day began with another squirrel sighting. This little chap was very unusual in colour, so he swiftly acquired the nickname ‘two-tone’ and it’s not difficult to see why!
Not a squirrel, but chaffinches can be adorable too!
We had a quick session in Castle Douglas’ many charity shops and I found a few useful bits and bobs but nothing I’d call a real bargain.
Lunch soon followed at Threave Gardens and then it was on to our main destination. This was the lovely Threave Castle; once the stronghold of Archibald the Grim, Lord of Galloway.
It sits upon an island in the River Dee, and can only be accessed by boat. I hadn’t been there in yeeeears - I vividly remember buying a wooden toy sword from the gift shop which shows how long ago it was.
(Although let’s face it, I’d totally buy a wooden sword today at 28, so perhaps it’s not such a good indicator after all 😆)
(Although let’s face it, I’d totally buy a wooden sword today at 28, so perhaps it’s not such a good indicator after all 😆)
If you want to cross over to the castle, you need to ring this lovely old bell to alert whoever’s manning the boat that day and they’ll float over and take you across.
The last time I was here, I was quite young, and vividly remember it being a wooden rowing boat - how times have changed! We also had to don lifevests, but as the lady who took us over said, due to the level the water was at right now, if any of us were to fall in, we could probably just stand up and walk and we’d be fine. XD
I’m always a little wary of getting in and out of boats, ever since the Log Flume Incident on a school trip to the now sadly defunct Loudoun Castle theme park when I was very young, (Whilst trying to disembark, I had one foot on the boat and one on the platform - the boat went one way and I the other and it was only thanks to the quick actions of the ride operator that I didn’t fall in!) but other than a little bit of arm flailing and wobbling, all was well and I could quite honestly have stayed in that little boat all day.
It was so incredibly relaxing; the combination of sunshine, a light breeze, birdsong and the gentle river sounds were nothing short of perfect, and it was something of a disappointment that the journey across to the island was so short!
Other than the castle itself, there wasn’t really anything else on the island, save a couple of sheds for the boat handlers(?) and the usual array of informative signs. Once upon a time it would have been a hive of activity with houses and workshops surrounding the castle, but sadly none of them survived the passage of time.
Inside is pretty sparse, but really shows just how vast a space it really is.
One of my favourite features was the tiny quay built onto the edge of the island. You can really imagine what it must have been like back in the day, as then, like now, the only way to get there was by boat, so everything, from stone to food would have been rowed across.
Seeing a wild Peregrine Falcon has long been one of my wildlife-watching goals, so when we heard that there was a pair of them nesting in the castle, we couldn’t believe our luck! The nest was out of sight on a ledge in the upper part of the castle, but you could just see it from a window on the other side. One of the wardens had set up a big spyglass thing but it had been badly adjusted by a visitor and was difficult to see, though luckily Dad had come prepared with his own set of binoculars.
After exploring for a while, the female finally showed herself, followed by the male a few minutes later. I was really hoping to photograph the male in flight but they aren't the world's fastest bird for nothing and I was only able to get these, and that's with lots of editing as my white balance was waaaaay off!
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| #fail |
All too soon it was time to return to the mainland and it was with great reluctance that I disembarked on the other side.
Two minutes walk away was a viewing area for the other bird of prey nest nearby - an Osprey pair who had made their home in one of the trees on the island.
They aren’t exactly subtle when it comes to nest building and you can probably spot it easily in this photo!
Someone had a scope set up so I used it to get a photo with my phone. It’s not brilliant but you can make out a wee white Osprey head poking out the top!
I could honestly have stayed at Threave all day, it was absolutely beautiful.
Before it got too cold that evening, I sat outside the cottage with my watercolours and attempted to capture the view of the estuary from where I sat.
I went out to throw some peanuts out for the badger later on and accidentally let this rather magnificent Cockchafer beetle into the house!
He flew loudly around the kitchen for a few minutes, whacking into all the doors and walls before finally settling down behind the microwave. 🤦♀️ Once released outside he refused to leave my hand, then latched onto my arm and finally took up residence on my leg until I shook him off. XD
Tuesday
As we did every morning, we had our breakfast watching the red squirrels out of the window. I could honestly get used to this kind of thing!
We fancied a pretty chilled out day so headed into Dalbeattie for the charity shops and ooooft, bargains galore!
It took a good hour to sort everything out but wow, I'm so glad I bought those bags!
Most of the clothing was hand knitted and pretty hideous, but there were some that I thought had potential and a lot of stuff I could rip apart and use to make patterns.
The best part by far though were all the accessories. I fully intend to make Max and Juno a kitchen set soon, so all this stuff was an absolute gold mine!
The dog there was a huge blast from the past as I've still got my own one from one of the Barbie vet playsets. He's also missing his tail, but years and years ago I remember gluing in a scrap of scuffed denim to replace it!
That coffee machine will look great in Deja Brew with a bit of work!
Included was this possessed labrador... XD
On a high from that we set off for coffee and cake somewhere, only apparently everywhere down there closes at 4 and literally everywhere was shut, including The Ark at Kippford, which had a rather ominous sign saying the cafe was shut 'until further notice' which was a real shame, so we just went home and had a leisurely wander down the beach at Rockcliffe.
Someone had constructed a whole host of sandcastles on top of the saltmarsh tufts and they really reminded me of Threave when the tide came in!
We came back to more squirrels doing their thing, followed by a singular game of Scrabble where, for once, Mum didn't win!
The Velux window came in handy again later on for the sunset photos. :P
Wednesday
A woodpecker was the surprise visitor this morning; just a fleeting glimpse but not something we see very often.
Kirkcudbright was our first destination of choice that morning, and after scouring the charity shops there (no bargains) had a nice slice of lemon drizzle cake at a little cafe we'd never been to.
Our next stop was Carrick, a quiet little beach we'd visited before, but en route there we called in at the now tumbledown Kirkandrew Kirk for a few photos.
I love the old style fonts on the gravestones and the subtle lines in the stone where the carvers plotted their text to keep it level.
Much hilarity was had at my expense after I commented on the unusual name of 'Alfo Hugh' only to be reminded that the 'f' was actually an 's' in that style of font.
Fail!
Fail!
Round the corner were two lovely horses, both of whom immediately ignored me after I took this photo. T.T
Carrick isn't ever hugely busy as it isn't one of the big sandy beaches which suits us fine, but it isn't quite as good for beachcombing unfortunately.
It's really pretty though.
<3 p="">
It was the perfect place for a picnic lunch...
...and some creativity...
<3 p="">
<3 p="">I can't take credit for the 'line' one above, I found it like that!
<3 p="">We needed a coffee and cake to finish off but it was approaching 4pm so we rushed over to Gatehouse of Fleet as there was a place there that we knew was open later, but alas, not on this day! On the plus side, there was this excellent tagline for a fish van. XD
<3 p=""><3 p=""> 
Back at the house we got our first glimpse of the woodmouse - super, duper cute!
Thursday
Thursday began with moths. Dad always puts a moth trap out (basically a glorified bucket with a big light in it 😂) whenever we go on holiday so he can record the species in the area and this morning he had a few beauties like this gorgeous Poplar Hawk Moth that enjoyed using my arm as a perch. She’s warming her wings up here. (the second part is slowed down)
*blep*
Another beauty was this Puss Moth -so fluffy!
I can't remember what this one was but eeee, so cute!
Also in the trap was another friendly Cockchafer - they've got such expressive faces, I love them.
The plan for today was to go to a little cafe nearby that we missed going to last year as it was only open a few days a week. We got there to find that it was undergoing renovations and wouldn't be open until long after we'd gone home - we just couldn't win when it came to finding a good source of holiday cake!
Failing that, we had a quick jaunt in Castle Douglas for lunch. Bacon, Brie and Cranberry is one of my all time favourite panini/toastie options and the ones at 'Designs' there are just 👌
Once back at the house, Dad went for a walk whilst Mum and I settled in for a 'Crafternoon'
It was a really gorgeous day so I sat outside in the sun with my watercolours, listening to the chaffinches in the tree above me. I'd made up a few more mini canvases to paint so I looked back at some of the photos I'd taken that week for inspiration.
Later we headed into Dalbeattie to the little Italian place we went to last time, Luigi’s. I settled on pasta with a cheese and garlic focaccia to start - unbeknownst to me, they didn't believe in small portions and what I thought was going to be a small piece of bread turned out to be the size of a large dinner plate! The pasta was just as generously proportioned and I felt so bad for not being able to finish it as it was all absolutely delicious!
We needed to walk it off afterwards, so having Rockcliffe beach just literally down the road from the house was ideal!
I spent most of the evening watching the little Wood Mouse on the patio - honestly I could watch them all day, they're hilariously adorable.
After it got dark later on, I set up the tripod and tried out some Astrophotography with the new camera. I still had to edit the resulting images but I'm pretty pleased with the results!
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| Shooting star? |
At one point I noticed a strange orange light over the other side of the estuary. There aren't any buildings or habitation on that little promontory so I was totally stumped as to what it was. One moment it was there, then it disappeared, only to appear again even brighter than before, a little to the side! In hindsight it may have been the army doing manoeuvres or something, but it was really eerie!
Friday
Another squirrel sighting to start!
After a brief visit to Kirkcudbright for some coffee and cake. (one of the few places we'd actually managed to find some in this holiday, lol) it was back to Carrick for a relaxing afternoon. I spent most of it trying to do some painting but I just wasn't 'in the zone' as it were, so I wasn't hugely pleased with my work.
There wasn't much in the way of beachcombing finds but I did find a sea potato...
...and a sea horse! XD
I spent the rest of the day photographing my dolls, but they'll get their own post later!
Saturday
Today was our last here, and leaving is always really bittersweet as to me at least, Dumfries and Galloway always feels like home more than Glasgow does.
We went to Castle Douglas first, having a last look in the charity shops and the veritable Aladdin's cave/junk shop that is 'Hazel’s Antiques'.
I bought a couple of bits and pieces from there, nothing huge, just an old book I'd been eyeing up in there for years, a wooden music box in the shape of an old wooden chest and one of the little novelty cocktail swords I'd always fancied as it was more or less 1/6th scale! They're pretty canny when it comes to deals in there, so we ended up paying rather more than we'd intended as Mum got a few books too but never mind.
Our last holiday coffee and cake was had at Loch Arthur and then it was off to Thornhill for lunch.
There isn't much to Thornhill really, but I did like this pegasus statue in the middle of the town. Apparently it's made of lead, something the town was famous for the production of.
We took a different route back and stopped off in Sanquhar where Dad and I went off to investigate the ruined castle there.
It doesn't look hugely exciting here but the earthworks around it were rather impressive and you'd have really struggled to attack it successfully!
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| 'That rock's loose' |
On Dad's advice we made a quick stop on the road to Wanlockhead; Scotland's highest village. (I know right, you'd have expected it to be somewhere in the highlands, not the borders!)
The landscape was stunning, and it would have been a great place for a picnic, if a little windy!
There were sheep and lambs everywhere!
We'd originally planned on going to the Lead Mining Museum at Wanlockhead but it had just closed, (typical!) so we made do with a quick coffee before heading home.
And that, as they say, was that!
*insert usual spiel about procrastination here*
Great post! I enjoyed all the photos and videos very much :-). Congratulations with the Barbie catch! The fluffy moth must be my favorite, it's beautiful :-).
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