Put a bit of Welly in it!

Anyone for Wellies? It never seems to rain enough here to need them. Everything is green though, so maybe it rains when I'm not looking? These are at the huge local Tescos. ( think Woolies+Big W)

In the Borders....where Scotland meets England....there are mills that have been producing woollen Tweed cloth since the early 1800s. Tweed was called Twill, til someone wrote it badly and it was interpreted as Tweed. The Mill Owner saw a marketing opportunity and went with the name, to distinguish it from the competition. This is the very practical sales room of a Mill that has been manufacuring on site since the mid 1800s. I suspect most of their sales are on a wholesale basis, as it took them a while to get their Card reader functioning. Maybe that guy is the buyer for a Chinese suit factory...... (or maybe not).

My eldest and best-dressed had requested some tweed and here it is being cut. Happy Xmas for the next ten years!!

There is a cottage craft industry too. While I was admiring felted pictures in the Art centre shop, a lovely auburn-haired woman dropped off these phone covers, and was so dismissive of her work I bought one ( and because I liked it, obviously.)

Most of the Tweed is a blend of the colours from the surrounding countryside, all mixed in together in different proportions. If only they could ask the sheep to grow their wool in colours that reflect what they munch on ( grass, buttercups, brown bits) then they could skip the dyeing process:) . This professional photograph of the surrounding hills is a good indication.

Well, that's enough educational information for today: you may go back to your morning coffee.

 

Assorted Stunning Scottish Scenery

Brooding mists as we drive through Glencoe.

View from our B& B window near Spean Bridge in the Highlands.

Beach on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides

One of the countless bodies of water on Lewis.

On the West Coast of Lewis.

 

 

The OUTER Hebrides.

A headless sheep in Stornaway.

Good Visual Merch. David thought I was looking at the jewellery, but it was the rocks that caught my eye:)

 

Seems approriate clothing.

We went to a Craft Market in the Town Hall. I bought a GF pie.

There were a lot of dogs on the ferry over. It takes 2 hours. Because of a proposed ( and rare) Strike on the day of our return, we've had to cut short our stay.

Large trucks can drive on too. This is from Uig, on Skye.

 

From Callander to Skye via Glencoe: the Highlands

The SAS Memorial just near Spean Bridge. Traces of snow on the mountains.

It's impossible to convey the granduer but here's a faint approximation.

Here's a wee cottage.

Or you may prefer something more rugged.

Eilean Donan Castle

Then over the sea to Skye. Portree Habour.

We did not stay here. But it was a lovely shade of pink!

 

 

A Long Day on the High Road to the Isles

The Angel of the North dominates the skyline just before Newcastle in Yorkshire. This was taken from the Motorway so it's not a crisp image.

Finally the Scottish Border looms. No passport checks, thanks to the Referendum result.

Oo, here's a nice building. What is it? A Power-Station-by-Sea.

A Service stop. Anyone for an olive tree, or two?

Ah, beautiful hills while bypassing Edinburgh.

Followed by a welcome cup of tea at our B&B. View from our window.

Good to rest after a long day. Like Shammy, who has wormed her way into Claire's study area and acquired an additional bed:)

 

It's Not All Squirrels and Woodlands

There are streets, warehouses, industrial areas - like this one where my Yoga class is. Right behind The Scottish Power Company.

There happens to be a Physio Clinic too.

And a different sort of BodyWorks...

Afterwards, while waiting for the bus home, you can prop yourself on one of these mean sloping bus-stop seats.

Off to the Outer Hebrides tomorrow.

 

Hair is Big This Year and Life in the 'Burbs: No Higher Than the Spire

The shaved sides, curly on top look is big here. This Council Worker seems to have grown a couple of Dreadlock handles as well. It is a guy, btw.

It seems on closer inspection that the handles are part of the front bars of the mowing tractor. Phew..

Another good Council service is the provision of study compost bins, which are collected on Bin Day, along with the Recycling bin.

Ours is the part of the terrace on the right of the photo. Hidden by the shubbery is the third house of the terrace. The new white van belongs to the couple there: it's for their road bikes when they head off for cycle meets where they ride for hundreds of miles. Literally.

George, our landlord's dad, came to fix the meter-box door yesterday. He was a Game-Keeper's son and grew up in the Village near the Big House where His Lordship lived. The Lord came to a sticky end when he was 50, slipping on the steps of the marble Mausoleum when paying his respects to his ancestors. O, the perils of Victorian architecture. George has a satisfying number of random tattoos and dubious teeth. We have a lot in common ( except the tatts). He likes to go caravanning with his wife.

I think the best description of the housing clusters is a "Close", though each cluster is called only by its name....ours is Matley. There are usually a few branches, and the houses are numbered and the postcodes are unique to each cluster. Because it's such a maze I have resolved to take a compass when I go walking. The trees are high and thick, and there is no view of highrises to get a bearing from. It is a Cathedral city, and nothing is allowed to be built higher than the spire.

 

A Walk Through the (Red)woods

If you go down to the woods today... you might find some giant sequoia trees. With squirrels scrambling up them. Again, within 20 minutes walk. Or more, if you get lost on the way home as I do.

The sign said I reeley shouldn't go in because of the Giant Hog

but it turned out to be ....

...which didn't seem quite so scary. Though I made sure not to engage with it.

I felt a bit like Little Red Riding Hood, though the closest to a Wolf was the spaniel being walked by an older lady.

And there are Wolves about. Though like everywhere, they are usually well known to their victims.

 

 

 

Windy Weather on a Walk

Each direction from our house is different. Yesterday I discovered a Horse Riding School, a retirement Village and a Chinese Restaurant. Today it was the remains of a thatched house village, an old church and a gardening allotment. All within 20 minutes walk.

The wind was waving the washing over the dry-stone wall.

The Church is in use and has an old graveyard too.

Yet from standing in the same spot, I took this picture of the houses opposite; a complete contrast to the old thatched cottages nearby, and almost Perth-like in style.

Just around the corner is an allotement garden

So much growing, but there's always room for a flower or two.