Wednesday, 29 February 2012
A River Walk - 2
From The Raptor
This continues The Raptors walk along a section of river
on Ardnamurchan Estate land.
I sat and watched the busy and brave bird turning and looking up and down the river, bobbing in the classic fashion, gauging when to make a dive into the biting cold water and, using its strong wings, swim under the water picking up any insects or tiny fish as it goes, before reappearing and effortlessly leaving the water to alight on another rock, eat its catch and start again.
This river, with it steep gorges, is the perfect environment for the dippers to nest in. They seem to like the daredevil life and build nests under ledges above usually the fastest flowing water available, but this means safety from predators and prying eyes like mine. But it makes fledging for the young an bit of an endevour.
A few moments later and both were gone, flying back up the river in the direction that I had just came from.
Tuesday, 28 February 2012
First it was Pigs....

Labels:
crofting
A River Walk - 1
From The Raptor

On a bleak grey Sunday morning I thought I'd take a walk along a river bank. I set off by slopping through the fields frequented by the Estate cows which made a very muddy sticky start, but the river was not far away. I decided to walk in a southerly direction heading towards Loch Sunart (although I wasn't going all the way to the loch). The river was quite swollen with all the rain we have had and was running fast in places and you could see how much higher it had been by the flattened grass along the banks. Spring must be nearing as there are some wild primrose clinging to the banks above the river.
Picking my way carefully I crossed from one bank to another making sure I had good foot holds to ensure I didn't take an early bath. Just a wee bit further along I picked up a bit of a pong on the air and soon found the cause, the remains of a young deer which had either fallen from the not too high rock it lay beneath or had just given up to the inclement weather we have been having. Either way as you can see it has been making good eating for other wildlife, helping sustain the chain of natural life which goes on in the wild. This also made me aware of how many bones I was seeing in the river, I suppose from many types of animal.
I soon came to an area of high banks and twists and bends allowing trees to grow in the relative shelter provided by the high banks, it was there that I spotted a small flock of fieldfares and one redwing making the best of what's left of the autumn berries. A robin was chattering away in the trees making sure I kept moving along.
Soon the river began to make a bit more noise as the banks closed in and the ground began to fall away allowing the river to pick up speed as the first waterfalls neared. I had to leave the rivers shore as the first of the steep sided gorges came into view. The river was lost to sight below and flowed onwards towards the loch about a mile or so ahead.


It was then that I moved on and then came across this tenacious tree clinging to the vertical rock wall, amazing considering I had already walked past fallen trees in much more sheltered areas that had given way to all the severe storms that we have had this winter.
Good luck to it.
Part 2 of The Raptor's walk follows tomorrow.
Monday, 27 February 2012
Walking past Meall mo Chridhe
Meall mo Chridhe is a restaurant with rooms, website here.
Sunday, 26 February 2012
A Frustrating Walk
A dun is an Iron Age fort, usually very small, but this one is interesting because it lies inland and seems to dominate nothing - unless there was a regularly-used trackway between Swordle and Camas nan Geall, which would have passed close by it.
We left the car near the entrance to Swordle Farm and followed the Allt Dochan a' Churra - the top picture looks back down its valley towards the farm buildings.
A map of the area is here.
Saturday, 25 February 2012
Has Spring Sprung?
The snowdrops were out before the snow came, and since then the other spring garden flowers have been following quickly. There are daffodils in many people's gardens, but these ones were growing in a field in amongst some brambles; they'd obviously been thrown over the fence from the neighbouring garden, and taken root.
With the first feelings of spring, the local humans have also sprung into action. There are two building sites in operation down our road, one at the camp site where Trevor Potts is building his house, and one further down opposite Cruachan. With heavy vehicles such as this pre-mix cement lorry going up and down it, the road is rapidly falling apart.
It has been an unusually wet and mild winter, with only five light ground frosts since the beginning of the new year. But to talk of winter being already behind us would be very premature. It may well be that the coldest part is yet to come.
Friday, 24 February 2012
Ships in the Sound
This smart trawler is the Stefani, N265, registered in Newry. She's equipped with pelagic pair trawl nets, and her main catch is either herring or mackerel. Pair trawling, as the name suggests, involves the use of two boats to tow a large net, one of the advantages of the system being that the disturbance caused by the two ships helps to herd the fish into the net. There's more about the system here.
The ship on the right is the Fri Skein. To add to the variety of flags represented this month, she's registered in Gibraltar.
Labels:
ships
Thursday, 23 February 2012
Consultation
The consultation exercise with West Ardnamurchan carried out by NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service failed miserably to achieve its end - to institute change with the support of the community. The people who ran it made a mess of it.
We have many people to thank for helping us to see Ms Sturgeon: our MSPs, particularly Mary Scanlon, our friends in the press, and our many friends across this country, the UK, and overseas who wrote and emailed their support. It won't be possible to thank all of them in person - but they know who they are.
One thing is very important - Nicola Sturgeon's promise that she will be watching what happens here, and will come down, in due course, to talk to us and make sure we're happy.
Photos thanks to Trevor Potts. Top: Rosie, Jac and May McNicol with whisky and prawns. Second, our representatives who met Ms Sturgeon: Jac, Rosie, Davie & Jessie. Third: yesterday's demonstration outside the Scottish Parliament. Bottom: John Chapple.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
The Day in Edinburgh
Follow the news from Edinburgh on the West Ardnamurchan News site, here.
House for Sale
Property for sale is rare at this end of the peninsula, but a house in Kilchoan is about to come on to the market. Strictly, it's in the crofting township of Ormsaigbeg, a few steps along the cul-de-sac that branches left at The Ferry Stores. In this picture it's at bottom left. It looks out across a small tidal pond and Kilchoan Bay to the Sound of Mull, Tobermory and Ben Talla, some 25 miles away.
In the above picture, which shows most of the village of Kilchoan, it's marked with a red arrow towards the bottom right.
The property will be put in the hands of an agent but if anyone would like further details, please email Georgia Baker.
Labels:
property
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
Nurses - News
Follow the latest news on the meetings in Fort William and Edinburgh on the West Ardnamurchan News, here.
Fox Hunt
The Diary has news for them. When we walked up the hill at the back of Ormsaigbeg on Sunday morning, the snow was pitted with the tracks of foxes - see picture. They criss-crossed the hill, they seemed to go in circles, they moved back and forth.
Perhaps the foxes had inside intelligence of what was about to happen. Perhaps they knew they'd be safe in Ormsaigbeg. Perhaps the fox population was all here for a Saturday night party, dancing... the foxtrot?
Labels:
wildlife
Monday, 20 February 2012
Ardnamurchan's Whisky Distilleries
The field shown in this picture, taken in yesterday's snow, is to the left of the road from Kilchoan to Portuairk, just after one passes the Fire Station. It lies in a wide hollow called Lag a Choire, the Still in the Corrie. It was a good place to have a clandestine still, as it was both secluded and offered a good lookout point for the Excise men.
With the temperature hovering just above zero and badly in need of a wee dram, we were checking it out yesterday and, sadly, there was no sign that of an illegal still.
Meanwhile, back in the modern world, the arguments over whether we should have a distillery at Glen Beg continue. I have been asked by proponents on both sides to air their views through The Diary so, in fairness, I'm carrying something from each. The first is an email from an Adelphi consultant to Michael MacGregor which straightens out the question of whether there are alternative sites for a distillery on West Ardnamurchan:
Dear Michael,
As consultant to the Adelphi Distillery Company, I was both surprised and concerned to read in the press your assertion that a consultant to Adephi (preumably myself, following our telephone conversations recently) had claimed that Glenbeg was not the preferred site for the distillery. I am sure that you will recall I mentioned that several possible locations had
been examined, both on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and Morven, adjacent to
Loch Sunart. Of these only Liddesdale would have been considered over the
Glenbeg site EXCEPT that a strategically important part of the site, i.e. the land occupied by Liddesdale House adjacent to the loch, was not in the ownership of Laudale Estates, which consequently excluded it from further consideration.
Therefore, my view, as clearly expressed to you, is that of all the potential locations earmarked for further detailed investigation only the Glenbeg site was suitable.
Yours truly, Ian Lambart
The second is a document from Maurice Hardy of Ultimate PR Ltd, which not only tackles the problems of siting a distillery at Glen Beg but also the whole way that this end of the peninsula could project itself. It's a long document, so it's offered as a download, which can be found by clicking here.
The public consultation closes tomorrow - not helped by the fact that Highland Council's website wasn't working yesterday afternoon.
Sunday, 19 February 2012
Our Nurses: One Last Appeal for Help
If you have a moment or two, please write to her before Rosie, Jac, Davie and Jessie meet her. The sort of thing to write has been superbly put by Colin Marsh, who is a visitor to Ardnamurchan:
To Nicola Sturgeon, MSP
Dear Nicola,
I understand you are meeting representatives from West Ardnamurchan Community Council on Wednesday 22 February regarding the provision of nurse support to the isolated communities at the end of the long single track road of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. As frequent visitor to the peninsula on holiday, the provision of 24 hour, 7 day a week emergency provision of a nurse is a key attraction to returning. Withdrawing this provision may lead me and others to reconsider whether this is a safe area to stay for prolonged holiday periods. Please support this small community as their service to holiday makers is greatly appreciated and is vital to developing a vibrant Scottish tourist economy. I write as a holiday visitor to the Highlands of Scotland for 40 years.
Your sincerely,
Colin (Revd Colin Marsh)
If you want to send an email, the address is scottish.ministers@scotland.gsi.gov.uk - make clear to whom you are writing.
If you prefer to write by post, the address is:
Cabinet Secretary for Health & WellbeingSt Andrew’s House
Regent Road
Edinburgh EH1 3DG
To the many of you who have helped us over the last fourteen difficult months - thank you.
Labels:
community,
District Nurses
Snow on the Hills
This is a hard time of year for the sheep that winter on the hills. This ewe appeared to have died very recently having fallen down a bank to come to rest against an old piece of farm machinery.
Saturday, 18 February 2012
Winter Returns
More on the Geological Mystery

Rob has made microscope slides, and what he has found strongly supports his argument. The green in the middle of the slide is the basalt, the greeny-grey material around it is silica.
This photo shows the structure even more clearly.
"This is strong evidence that the concretions date from the Paleogene (Tertiary) volcanic era, and have nothing to do with the earlier Triassic/Jurassic/Cretaceous sedimentary rocks. I cannot think of any other process other than hydrothermal sinter deposition that could account for what we are seeing. I have also sectioned a 'pipe' from Ormsaigbeg. This does not show a core nucleus, which surely, is what one would expect."
Labels:
geology
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