Walking Anti-Clockwise

For 47 years or thereabouts I have walked in the Stornoway Castle Grounds. For some reason which I cannot explain, 99% of the time (perhaps more) my walk has been in a clockwise direction. 

Today, after having had breakfast in The Woodlands Café, I decided to walk in an anti-clockwise direction. It felt quite strange.

However that was not all that was unusual. I noticed something that I cannot recall being so aware of before. The huge number of Blackbirds flying around. There are a lot of birds in the Grounds from Cranes and Ravens down in size to Wrens. Most of the time the most noticeable bird is the Robin. However this year there seems to have been a dearth of birds on many of my walks. Today was different. I doubt that there was a single step when there was not a Blackbird or several Blackbirds in view. 

Anyway I thought that, as it's a while since I showed any pictures of my walks, I'd show you a few today. 

The first thing I did was check the rain app to make sure I wasn't going to get soaked because I wasn't dressed for an 'any-weather' walk. I had enough time for the 'Short Walk' which is about 1.3 miles

2021 - New Year's Day, First Walk of The Year

Yesterday was a beautiful day: almost windless, just above freezing and sunny. I decided on the spur of the moment in the morning to get back into my practice of walking in the Castle Grounds. So I drove into town and parked at The Woodlands Café as always and set off. The walk up into the woods and along to the River Creed was fairly quiet. There were not even many dog walkers about. Many of you will have seen pictures of the walk, or parts of it, before but I thought I'd publish some of the winter ones I took yesterday anyway. 

An icy stretch

The River Creed in full flow.

The River Creed just above the estuary

The estuary and slack water at low tide. Quietness after the noisy torrent. 

The estuary 

And again.

A good place for a summer picnic

In memory of someone or perhaps of the RAF. Fresh roses.

I have photographed this tree in almost every month of the year.

A gull, a cormorant and a heron sat on a rock......

The Lews Castle resplendent with it's rebuilt stone wall.

My Few Previous Days

This is what my last post was really intended to be about. Much more mundane and requiring no thought whatsoever. My 'average day' tends to involve getting up and abluting and footling about with a mug of hot water and lemon and eating my breakfast of banana, blueberries and muesli (possibly with some Grapenuts) whilst checking emails and so on.

I then try to go for a walk in the woods in the Castle Grounds in Stornoway followed by a coffee in The Woodlands often with friends. Then I'll do what I need to do in Stornoway before home for lunch. The afternoons and evenings are varied well beyond 'average'.

In pictures the following has been part of life on Lewis this last week or so.

Last Saturday my son and daughter-in-law's home village of Grimshader had it's belated Novemver 5th bonfire night:

My son, a very keen cyclist, decided that one of the bikes he had made as a project was perfect for a child seat. Brodie absolutely loves it.

My daily drive into Stornoway involves driving over the 'spine' of the peninsula on which I live. This photo is of a heavy shower right over the top of Stornoway where I was about to walk. As it happens when I started on my walk the rain had disappeared and the sun had emerged.

The autumnal woods in the Castle Grounds were basking in glorious sun.

A couple of days ago I finished baking the last of the six Christmas cakes I've made over the last few weeks. The new oven in the new kitchen has been the best thing I've purchased for a long time.

Talking of the new kitchen I fitted a blind  this week.

This morning's sunrise over the Scottish mainland as seen from my kitchen was a mixed bag of snow showers and brilliant sun:

My garden pond was frozen over which is very rare here just above the sea

Now it is almost time to think of Christmas.

Another Walk in The Woods

It was a beautiful morning: sunny (almost), mild (almost), dry (for the next two hours). I decided that I wouldn't need to don my waterproofs and could enjoy my walk in the woods with just a light windproof jacket over my shirt and light fleece (not really midsummer attire). So off I set on a walk through the Castle Grounds. I have a great choice of routes depending on the weather and the direction of the wind and, possibly, the driven rain. The trees can be a great source of protection and one doesn't want to be tramping across a wide open stretch or along the waterfront in the rain with the gale in your face driving the rain under one's hood and hat and down one's neck.

A number of people have commented on the lack of trees on Lewis and some have asked what my walks are like. I've posted some photos from my walks in the past but I decided today that with the trees in full leaf I'd give you the full works just to show that I really can walk in the woods.

The walk. Clockwise.

The following photos are shown in the order of the walk

Speedwell (I think)

A few rhododendrons are still out 

The Ninth Hole

Monkey Flower, Mimulus guttatas (?)

Across the golf course going North

Along the Willow Glen

Leaving the Willow Glen and returning South

Add caption

Looking North across the course

Along the river towards the harbour

An alternative path that I didn't take.

Along the harbour side

The Woodlands

A Walk and Unexplained Things

I decided on Monday night that, regardless of the weather next morning, I would resume my walks in the Castle Grounds. So I was a little less than enthused when the day broke wet and windy although, to be fair, at 4℃ at least the temperature had increased. So, waterproofs duly donned, I set off with the aim of being back at The Woodlands for my coffee just after opening time (10am in the winter).

I set off with my face into the wind and rain and chose a route into the trees and eschewed the coastal path. After a few hundred yards along a path into the woods I stopped to blow my nose and turned my back to the direction of travel for a few seconds whilst I did so. When I turned back there were two people about 20 yards in front of me. I was rather puzzled because there were no paths joining in that 20 or so yards and they hadn't been there before I turned round. I just wondered and carried on at the same pace as they were walking.

They appeared identically dressed. They both had dull peacock blue hooded jackets with the hoods up. The person on the left as I looked at them was slightly shorter. They were not holding hands so far as I can recall.

We walked on and then I looked down for perhaps 10 or 20 paces as the rain was in my face. When I looked up again they had disappeared. They were not on the main path. They would have reached two other paths off to the left and right. I had a clear sight down both for far further than they could possibly have run in that time, never mind walked. There was nowhere else for them to have hidden.

Some things in life may just never be explained. 

On the topic of unexplained things like Pixies here are the pictures of the book The Adventures of Pip as suggested by Rachel in a comment on my last post in case they jog any memories.

1948/9 Edition

1968 Edition