ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Tuesday 1 April 2014

THE ROCKER. (30/03/14)

I drove the forty miles south from Arisaig to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan penisular. The last seventeen miles and the road is so narrow and twisty and turny that I wondered if I would ever arrive. When I did I was less than impressed. I was underwhelmed. I decided to give the place a chance and parked up at vast expense. I would have had better views had I parked on the CalMac dock. The showers would have been a ten minute walk nearer as well.

I’ve always held a fascination for things that are incomprehensible. Navigating with a sextant just grabbed me. The one trans-Atlantic  we did with a home made sun stick job was equally impressive. I hit the Caribbean not more than five miles away from our intended land fall which was Ginger Island and behind it Tortola, the capital of the Virgin Islands. It was a great experience. Just lots of worry for three weeks and then for everything to come good. By did we get wrecked when we got ashore but we didn’t get wrecked on the shore.

Ardnamurchan is a magnet for geologists. Sixty million years ago you could see Greenland from here and Iceland was just a volcano. It still is.

The weather hasn’t been helpful.

_MG_3309      This is Ben Hiant from the pier at Kilchoan I am parked in somebodies back garden just to the right of the pine trees you can see in the middle distance. To the left is a pitchstone ridge and to the right summat else. It’s very complikated.

_MG_3308    The pier.

_MG_3307  Kilchoan shop. I was getting out of sorts so decided to head back home. I know it is me and not the area. I walked all the way back and carried on down to the pier where the CalMac docks.

_MG_3305   This looked like a bit of a Basalt dyke. Not too clear or obvious in the murk but as a Rocker I guessed. The white stuff is a form of ogsummat. I’ll guess at tonalatite. Don’t fret. They are all igneous and Basalts. The same as Fingals cave on Staffa or the Giants Causeway in Ireland

_MG_3306   I was in a good mood again for this is a Cone Sheet overlaying sedimentary rock. I love looking at stuff that can survive two or three ice ages. I wish I knew more about what I am looking at. I bought a book ‘Ardnamurchan a guide to geological excursions’ by C. D. Gribble. I did try to understand it and it was helpful but the language was worse than ‘Twelve Years a Slave’. It gave me a headache.

By Monday I was getting a bit pissed off with the southern English tosser who owns the house in whose garden I was parked. No showers, a nasty twisty entrance and £15.00p/night.

Monday morning I got up early, I thought I have to take the truck through the calderos or whatever the volcano magma top is called. It is impressive and would have been more so had it not been misty. I got to Sanna.

Sannamar1    Perfect sea and beach. No Scottish totty playing beach volley ball. There wasn’t anyone at all.

Portuairk_Panorama1   Portuairk. This is the most westerly habitated place on mainland Britain. It doesn’t mean anything much to me as there are loads of off lying Islands.

I’ve moved, I needed a rest from my fellow English. I’m now on Loch Sunart at Resipole about seven miles west of Strontian. Weather is drizzly but clearing.

_V0G8407   Guess who was here to greet me. The Hooded Crow. I know it isn’t perfect. The crow is but I wasn’t. Eleven months since I saw my first one. I’m trying to tame it but it is very wary.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

 

33 comments:

  1. Hi Adrian Thanks for telling and taking us on your journey even further north. Good to seee all the scenery and that Hooded Crow is a cracker. Have a great week.

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  2. Margaret, I headed south but not by much. Hooded crows are little devils to capture. I have been feeding it. Next thing it will rip a wiper blade away if food is late. Naughty little things are Corvus.

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  3. I rather like the idea of a hooded crow joining you and your traveling team.

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  4. Lucy, we did have a friendly Jackdaw but it used to rip hairs out of the dogs, decide to fly about in the early hours and it shit everywhere. I do like this Hooded Crow but wont encourage it too much.

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  5. Beautiful trip around Scotland, Ardnamurchan. Ah, I love it. And, you caught the Hooded Crow, not fare.

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    1. Bob, it has taken me a year to get this close to one.

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  6. What a stunning place with the white sands.

    It's been years since I've seen a Hooded Crow. A beauty of a shot.

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    1. Keith, it is grand sand. I'll try for more crow shots. This one seems half friendly.

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  7. Belas fotografias....Espectacular....
    Cumprimentos

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  8. It looks lovely, but you need to come south a bit, Adrian. I'll buy you a pint if you make Devizes...?

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    1. Frances, now you are talking. I enjoy a pint. I like it up here in good weather. I don't know whether i could handle the crowds down south.

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  9. So Adrian, setting the old satnav for Ginger Island again by the sounds of it?

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    1. Gary my days of wandering the world are long gone.

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  10. Ah well, every place can't please us all the time, there are always some places that are better than others, huh. Where you are now looks good, with the added benefit of the crow.

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    1. Pauline, there are places I really have to make an effort to like.

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  11. "No Scottish totty playing beach volley ball" is a very sexist observation Adrian. It is about time you learnt that women are much more than your idle playthings. With this in mind I have arranged with the Ardnamurchan Women's Institute to pay you a late night visit. They're going to pummel you! BTW The Hooded Crow looks a magnificent creature and I must confess I have never seen one.

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    1. YP, it is but it would have made a good beach perfect.
      The hooded crows are quite common in certain areas. This one is a fine specimen.

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  12. You catch the wild rugged nature of this area with your photos. Basic geology gives us a much better idea of what's around us. You recognize the different rock and how it was formed. Yes, consult your book. The rocks may be easier to photograph that the birds. Get big Bertha out!

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    1. Red, it is something i know little about but as you say a little knowledge makes a walk more interesting.

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    2. PS. the crow was taken with Bertha and hand held.

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  13. The hooded crow is new to me, a very handsome bird.

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    1. Gillian, I have only seen them in the Scottish Highlands.

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  14. The photos are beautiful Adian, I love the mood in them

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    1. Laura, the photos were in a better mood than I was.

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  15. I'm not sure what I like more the Hooded Crow or the sandy beaches, if those beaches were anywhere else they'd be packed with tourist.....gorgeous looking beach

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    1. Douglas, if the weather were more clement then all these beaches would be surrouned by hotels.
      This crow is a friendly one. They usually clear off if I get within a hundred yards.

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  16. Have a beach just for you, your dog and the new friend, the Raven ... you have a good time. Adrian;)
    Here, we continue with cold: ((
    Good Wednesdays.
    A hug.

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    1. Laura, it is warm as I write this but it is still the big coat to walk outside. The Crow is a beautiful bird.

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  17. This crow species is from Europe I believe.

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  18. Yes Maria, They are all Corvus. The Jay is the prettiest the Magpie next but the hooded Crow is the rarest.

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  19. Beach volleyball on the west coast of Scotland haha, hey what a good idea ... just need a heavier ball so it doesn't blow away.
    Thanks for the look around, never been here before and the possibility of coming here would only be on a calmac island hopscotch.

    The friend I climbed the snow covered Cheviots on Boxing day wants me to do a calmac boat and walking holiday ... maybe next year as it'll take some planning but I think it'll be Outer Hebrides instead.

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  20. Jay, it is an interesting area. Getting to Sanna is a good walk from the ferry dock. Not enough people for beach volleyball. I only saw one other person all day.

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