Scotland Spring 2019. Day 2.

We woke to gloomy skies and rain today.  Not unexpected   but least it is a travelling day.  Hopefully things will improve later and into next week.  We enjoyed a very comfortable night and are looking forward to a Full Cumbrian breakfast.  After our meal last night we enjoyed a short, damp walk.  Looking at the community notice board we had to admire what a thriving social intinerary was available with a whole range of interesting activities going on.

After an excellent breakfast we drove back over the M6 to meet up with the rest of the team at Larch Cottage Nursery in the Eden valley.  This is one of the best nurseries we know and hands had to be kept firmly in pockets to avoid spending lots of pennies.  After coffee we headed north, again enjoying the verge-side flora: water avens, buttercup, gorse and broom.  Driving alongside Loch Lomond the hillsides and verges were a haze of blue, the bluebells still in their prime; at home they are finished!

It didn't seem long before we arrived at the sharply angled entrance to Stronshira House.  What a magnificent old Scottish house it is located right on the side of Loch Fyne looking across to Inveraray on the far shore.  High mountains surround us and from Arrochar there were stunning views of Ben Arthur, The Cobbler.  Unfortunately the weather has closed in and Inveraray has vanished into the murk.

Exploration begins tomorrow!

Scotland, Spring 2019. Day 1 Mungrisdale.

This Spring Bank Holiday we are looking forward to an extended family holiday at Stronshira House near Inveraray.   We woke up today to cloudless skies and as we were stopping off overnight in the Lakes we were able to indulge ourselves in a lazy, relaxed start; when don't we!!  Our spring garden looks beautiful and as the official gardener fed and watered I couldn't resist a few photographs.  I am gradually building a portfolio of images to make a book of the garden year.

Packing and loading the car went smoothly and we were finally away at 2.00 stopping off only for alcohol supplies at Aldi.  The journey passed quickly  although the clear skies soon clouded over.  However, as we increased our distance from the influence of the coast the temperature increased from 17C to 21C.

Our chosen route took us up the A1 and the across The Pennines on the A66.  Sadly, at Scotch Corner cloudy skies turned to rain and it was a gloomy crossing of the high ground with the temperature plummeting to only 10C, making me regret my choice of short sleeved shirt and shorts.  I was interested to note, however, that the verges were brightened by copious patches of cowslips in their prime.  Red campion was plentiful as was one of my favourites: swathes of oxeye daisy, a perfect symbol of spring.

After crossing the M6 we continued along the A66 towards Keswick with the huge bulk and steep slopes of Blencathra looming out of the murk.  An alternative name for Blencathra, although not so much used now, is Saddleback, from its shape when seen from the south.  Although  many years ago, I have climbed it on 3 occasions by varying routes; a fine mountain! Turning off the A66 the road immediately became a narrow country lane and we soon arrived at Mungrisdale.   The Mill Inn turned out to be a fine,  comfortable hostelry.  It is famous for its pies each named after a local fell.  Our lamb and mint Carrock pie was excellent, made, as it should be, with crisp short crust pastry and accompanied by delicious mushy peas.  I was delighted to find Robinson's on tap and the Dizzy Blonde is to be recommended.  The last time I had been here I had been on my bike on our third day of the C2C cycle ride.

An excellent start to our holiday.

A Walk in Dixon Woods

It was a beautiful day today and, not wanting to drive far, we decided to try Dixon Wood on the opposite of the road to Bradley for a change.  In some ways it is more attractive than Bradley with a more open woodland with quite a large number of hazel coppice stools in evidence.  Bluebells were again plentiful, as was stitchwort and one or two good patches of early purple orchids.  Red campions were coming into flower and there were still some primroses showing flowers.  Initially the scent of may blossom was heavy on the air, but as we got further around the wood, the cool breeze off the sea brought the heavy aroma of oil seed rape.  In one of the more open areas which must be more acidic, bracken was growing up amongst the bluebells.  At one point we came across a very large patch of thriving bugle, the blue flower spikes thrusting up through the surrounding vegetation.  The down side of Dixon Wood over Bradley is that a good stretch of the footpath runs along side the road, busy with traffic using Bradley Road as a shortcut to the main Louth road, so it gets intrusively noisy.

Bluebells in Bradley Woods

On Saturday 4th, Jet needing a walk, we returned to Bradley Woods again; this time with the aim of making long exposure ICM shots of the bluebells.  The flowers were still in their prime, as were the early purple orchids and the frothy white of cow parsley could be seen along with the myriad white stars of stitchwort which looked stunning alongside the bluebells.  Although not the brightest of days, I still required a strong neutral density filter to slow down the exposure to 2 or 3 seconds, long enough for the Intentional Camera Movement shots I was after.  I have recently taken ICMs down on the beach and of trees, but for some reason found the bluebells in a woodland setting more challenging.  A work in progress.

Wildlife in the Garden

Over the last few weeks our garden has been a delight as it has come back to life with the spring.  Not only are the plants burgeoning and I am in the process of installing an automatic watering system for the pots, but the wildlife has been particularly active.  We have had several butterfly species visit: brimstone, comma, holly blue and peacock, and birds have been very active.  Blue and great tits, chaffinches and a wren can often be seen foraging and trying out the nest box and we have at least three pairs of blackbirds collecting nesting material, often from the gutter of the studio, with the males vying for supremacy as they sing from the apple tree.

Our Mammillaria comes into Flower

For years, now, we have had a mammillaria cactus growing in a pot in our conservatory.  Out of the blue the other day it began to flower.  The tiny gems of flowers are stunning.  I await with interest to see what happens now.  I wonder whether it will flower again in years to come or die as in the case of agaves.

Spring in Bradley Woods

On Easter Monday we decided to take Jet for a walk round Bradley Woods as I was keen to see how the bluebells were doing.  I was sorry to have missed them in Rather Heath wood where we keep our caravan at Ashes Lane.  They were a picture here in 2016 as this blog post shows.  However the best display of bluebells I have ever seen was in North Yorkshire last year in Newton Wood at Great Ayton with Roseberry Topping in the background during our Cleveland Way campaign.  The images are in this blog post.

Having said that those in Bradley Woods were putting on a grand show and when in amongst them the hyacinth scent (of which they are a member) was truly evocative.  The woods were looking really spring-like with wood anemones continuing to put on a good show, lesser stichwort, lesser celendines and pleasing numbers of early purple orchids looking their best.