Bursting a Bottle

This is a Sigg bottle that I'd left in the boot of the car, full of water with the top on during the recent very cold weather. 

Ice must have formed inside and the whole thing split open.

Winter magic on the way south

I headed south for Christmas.  We went down on the 23rd of December and were driving through some amazing scenery.  Pure blue skies and clean white fields, trees brittle with snow.

Just north of Dolphinton on the A 702 I pulled into a layby and we took some photos.  It was beautiful:



It was a tough Christmas though.  My Dad was not well.  His dementia is progressing which is difficult to witness.  The effort of keeping him in touch with reality is exhausting.  He manages to construct all sorts of realities around what he is witnessing and explaining to him what is "true" is a battle which is not always won.

I was up most of last night with him and am knackered  now.

The drive back was mostly in the dark and before that it was foggy and wet.  I gave up at Tebay as I was drifting off to sleep, absolutely drained.  Marian drove the rest as I zoned out, thinking.....worrying.

Again more perspective.  This year has been tough with lots of things, but when I see my Dad I wonder what really matters.  I spent a lot of time in the office and much less in the hills.    Too much time in the office perhaps.

It will be a new year soon and I can only guess at what that will bring.   I would never have anticipated much of this year. Next year more hills and less work?  Who knows.

Happy Christmas

Hope anyone reading this has a great Christmas.

More Edinburgh Snow

Off work today, originally to do some Christmas shopping etc but it turned out that I was able to go to a funeral of an old lady from the church.

It was a spectacular day.  Clear blue skies and brilliant powder snow everywhere.   The trees are laden with the stuff.  Driving is not fun and I've been sliding all over the place.

After the crematorium there was a lunch at a golf club with a stunning view of the Pentlands.   


Spectacular stuff, that you wanted to play out in.

Loch Fyne

Some friends had managed to get a cottage over on the shores of Loch Fyne at the weekend and had invited us over for the night.  The weather was iffy and we were not keen on travelling but they were keen to see us so we headed over.

The weather was not too bad until around Dumbarton when the snow started and then it was rotten conditions all the way up over the Rest and Be Thankful and down the other side, deteriorating especially when we turned off down the Dunoon road to the cottage at St Catherines.  I hated the drive in deepening snow, slippy slush.  The road was getting covered so you couldn't see either the edges nor the middle.

Still once there it was nice to relax in a warm kitchen chatting, eating and tending big fires.

Late at night after the Strictly Come Dancing final (!) we all went outside to look at the moon and stars in a clear sky and over at the glinting lights of Inveraray, walking down a pier out above gentling lapping waves.  Freezing but stunning.

The next day I was up early and returned to the pier to take some photos.



After breakfast we went for a walk up forest tracks behind the cottages, the snow was perfect.  Climbing higher we looked across the Loch at the larger hills.  A robin was flying round us in the snow like a cliche.


A lunch of soup saw us ready to go - I'd been checking the weather and the route back over the M8 looked dodgy with loads of snow in Edinburgh.   So I was a bit concerned about how things would be getting back.

We stopped at Butterbridge to take some photos and then at the top of the pass. Ben Ime and some Corbetts - nice hills - above us



After Arrochar everything deteriorated and the heavy snow returned.  The roads were rotten but people were driving sensibly in general.  I neve felt as scared and stressed as I did on the way there though.

It took 3 hours but we eventually got back to a very snowy Edinburgh, deep powder everywhere, cars buried again.

It was beautiful, exciting, Christmassy.  But there is a part of me that is desiring clear safe roads.

360 Panorama from Trafalgar Square

I was in London again on Monday.  Got the sleeper down on Sunday night which was an experience.  Anyway, just an experiment with an iPhone app that Darren recommended.

London eye, early morning

The mighty thaw : Sunset in the Pentlands

I had to get out again today.  Last night there were Christmas parties.  It started off at a really nice meal to celebrate the Chief Exec's retirement and then I went on a tour of the political parties' parties:  Conservatives, SNP, Labour.  Each with their own character....and character.  The Tories do the best cakes....the others seem more like embarrassing family weddings.

Anyway I was undone by the free flowing (and free) booze.  The meal had champagne, white wine, red wine and then Lagavulin whisky.  Then there was more wine at the parties....I should have known better and kept a glass ceiling but I indulged a bit too enthusiastically.   Nothing embarrassing was done, but I felt pretty poor this morning!

Lots of tea and a nice fry up had everything back in line, but I didn't head into the hills until about 2:45, late in the day at this time of year.

Most of the snow had melted and there were torrents flowing down the hill as I climbed up onto the tops along Carkaetton.   The thaw had come fast.

I was stunned by the setting sun over behind the kips.  I took lots of photos and to be honest, the sunset looked better on the camera than it did in reality.  Strange.   It was beautiful though and I was glad that I'd left it until later in the day to come up here to see it.


There was not much to see to the north - no clarity in the view and things faded to mist.

I dropped down a long snowy slope and then back to the car.

It had been good - essential - to get out for a bit.  There is too much winding me up at the moment:  work, family etc.   An hour in the wild was a  relief.

Back at the car it was almost dark....but I felt better

A snowy Edinburgh

Just a few photos of a very snowy Edinburgh.  It has been wild here!


The volume of snow in the city has been unbelievable but what is more striking is the temperature - bitterly cold, down at -15C some nights. Yesterday it snowed again, initially wet warm snow then huge flakes. It went on all day and by early afternoon Twitter was telling me that all the buses in the city had been called back to the depot.

After work we briefly wandered round the German market - eerily quiet in the centre with few buses passing by.

Today it was sunny with blue skies contrasting against the pure white snow. Beautiful, but I am starting to get fed up with it now!

Snow but no hills.....

Well I am back in Edinburgh after a week down south with my parents.  My Dad was in hospital and I spent a tough week visiting and helping out in different ways.  It was hard to leave, but if I didn't I think I'd be there permanently!

I was tired when I went down for the week and am even more so now!

Getting back up was fine - all the roads clear until you hit Edinburgh where city was inundated by snow.  Hard to believe the volume that is here - cars buried deep in duvets of the stuff.

I ended up driving round for 45 minutes trying to find somewhere to park.  The car is dumped a mile from home at the moment in an rare space.  Just left it there yesterday and it is still there today so I've not headed up to the Pentlands for my usual walk.  Maybe a wader on the Braids this afternoon.

A good day training with Erwan Le Corre yesterday,  but that is for a different blog!