The Scottish Border

The ruin of Melrose Abbey sits on the edge of the small town of Melrose, with great views of the surrounding hills.  Here is a view from the top of the abbey.

This is the dividing wall which separated the monks part of the church from the lay brothers' part. Apparently you had to have some status to even think of becoming a monk!

The tomb of the physicist Sir David Brewster is close here, surrounded by a low wall. Brewster was famous for his experimental work in optics, especially in the field of polarisation.  He developed the subject of the optical properties of the minerals of rocks.  His invention of the kaliedoscope was a great commercial success and these are still manufactured in quantity as children's toys!

And here is a flying pig.

Hopetoun Houes

Sneaking briefly over the Forth river we found Hopetoun House.  "I thought I parked the car here...".

The gardens are lovely and there are some interesting trees, such as the Chinese paper bark tree (I may not have that name exactly right) and the Dawn Redwood.

Volcanoes on the Fife coast?

Well, it has been quite a while since my last post - but the time has come!  And I have some great images for you.

The first picture is a dramatic column made of two volcanic rocks. The blue sky actually occurred on a lovely January day at the shore between St Monans and Elie in Fife. In the distance you can see a ruined castle and the steeple of Elie church.

This stretch of coast is intensely volcanic. A little further south a group of geologists traversed the Elie chain walk to view some exciting features.

During the lunch break a wave cut notch provided shelter from the rain.

But across this small bay there was a dramatic tower of regular columns of rock.  These are the remnant of a magma lake that lay within the neck of an ancient volcano.

Close up, these rocks are very impressive.

Anstruther

Anstruther seems to have lovely weather - or perhaps I just visit when it the sun is shining!

This small east-facing town is very popular and the pictures below show the sun sparkling on the North Sea, outside and inside the harbour.

Anstruther beach and southern harbour wall 

Inside Anstruther harbour

The town is picturesque when viewed from the harbour walls.  The first photo above was taken from the beach near the centre of the view below.

View of houses from Anstruther harbour

Finally, a view inside the excellent Waterfront restaurant.

Inside the Waterfront restaurant

The Sidlaws: Auchterhouse Hill

An afternoon walk-cum-climb in the Sidlaw hills, just north of Dundee and the river Tay.  

I started out mid-afternoon from the car park at Balkello Community Woodland, on a unusually warm, sunny March day. So early in the year the trees have yet to gain their leaves.  Here is a picture of branches against a beautiful blue sky. Note the Moon in the centre - a surprisingly good view with my trusty Canon Ixus.

March sky near Dundee

After a hands-and-knees scramble straight up the hillside I am near the top (well, on flatter ground!). The patch of sand in the distance is Barry Buddon.

Looking ESE towards Barry Buddon.

There are also great views of the Sidlaws marching west towards Perth.  The rows of hills were created by faults as the Tay grabben formed and long blocks of rock slipped downwards as the region was bent  upwards along what is now the Tay valley. The houses in the picture are part of a new housing estate in the village of Auchterhouse.

Looking west along the Sidlaws.

Shortly after, and somewhat higher, I zoomed the camera to photograph a distant mountain towards the west.  It looks interesting - but I don't know its name! Schiehallion?

Mystery Mountain

There seemed to be a few small groups of deer on the hillside. Or maybe the same three deer were following me?

Oh deer!

Auchterhouse Hill has a hill fort (apparently).  I confess it was difficult to be sure the structure was there, amongst the trees.   From the windy top there is a good view of the highest Sidlaw, Craigowl hill with its communication masts.

Craigowl Hill from Auchterhouse Hill

There is also a good view of Dundee from the top.  The Law, either an extinct volcano or part of a sill, is visible in the middle of the city (just left of the cenbtre of the image). To its right, the tall chimney is Cox's stack, part of an old jute mill. On the right is the wooded Balgay Hill, which is the site of the Mills Observatory.

Dundee from Auchterhouse Hill

The beginning

Welcome to my blog - Out & About in Tayside & Fife!

I want to record some of my trips around the area, and perhaps inspire other people.

The entries will primarily be about places in Tayside and Fife, but from time to time I will share notes about trips to the wider world. As I am interested in astronomy and geology there will be comments on these topics as well from time to time.

So to start the blog off here is:

Edinburgh!

Edinburgh Castle (left of centre) viewed from Arthur's Seat - Edinburgh's volcano.

The walk up Arthur's Seat does not take long. You steadily rise higher and higher, obtaining better and better views of the city and its surroundings. The final section is quite rocky, until you arrive on the smooth, polished basalt summit. Notice the sunlight reflecting off the foreground rocks. Although the weather is fine and sunny this afternoon, it is quite windy on the crowded top.


The next day I visited the impressive Edinburgh University quad on the corner of Chambers St and South Bridge. A pleasant place for a rest!

Edinburgh University quad

And then into the National Museum of Scotland next door. But where have all the fossils gone?

Natural science in the National Museum of Scotland

Here is a self-portrait taken in the museum.

Yes, I am somewhere in this picture of the atrium of the museum. 

However, I notice that not all of Edinburgh's architecture is so regular and geometric.

Maybe I am overdoing things!

Here is a view of Arthur's Seat form the Castle car park. I climbed up there yesterday!

Arthur's Seat, from the Castle car park.