Highland terrain

Thomas · Mar 13, 2002

That kinda looks like New Hampshire in some areas..maybe that why they call New hampshire the Granite State. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Egon · Mar 13, 2002

ANDY:

Lovely intriguing pictures. I'd love to travell the country on a bicycle with lots of time on my hands. Then there are also the Hebridies and Shetlands to see.

I live in Nova Scotia not to far from where it is said Henry Sinclair had set up a settlement in the late 1300's.

Also read a very few of Lillian Beckwiths books set in north Scotland or the Islands.

Egon

Devildog · Mar 13, 2002

Andy,
Awesome pics. I think its great to see all the fantastic pics from all the other country's, since that is really all the closer I will get /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif How populated is it where you live?
_____________________________________________
Take care, Jim

Harv · Mar 13, 2002

Loch Ness

Now that's a coincidence -- just a few hours ago Loch Ness was being shown on CNN. Seems another controversial video of Nessie has shown up. Looked to me like a compact tractor chasin' fish. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

I see what I want to see...

AndyR · Mar 13, 2002

Looks great. Last time I hiked in the Highlands it was a lesson on how silly the movies are - running across the heather indeed! I near broke a leg when we came across a little stream that had cut straight down in the peat. Just about 8" wide and 3 feet deep.

I love the countryside though. My wife's family has a place in Drimmnen, just north of the Isle of Mull. Our idea of a great vacation - a good book, a good hike and a wee dram. Thanks for the pictures.

Andyfr · Mar 14, 2002

Neil:

What materials is your house/garage ??made of?

Can you really see Loch Ness from your property?

The houses in this part of the country are timber framed, this shell then has the roof put on and when that is done concrete blocks are built around the outside to form the exterior. This is then 'harled' which means buttering the wall with mortar and then throwing stone chippings on. The garage/workshop doesn't have the timber frame just the blocks and then harled.

Loch Ness is about 8 miles from where we live so we can't see it from the house unfortunately. I included the photo as I thought it might be of interest. Never seen the monster though /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif.

Thomas:

...maybe that why they call New hampshire the Granite State.

Over here we have Aberdeen which is known as the Granite city, about a hundred miles away.

Egon:

I'd love to travell the country on a bicycle with lots of time on my hands.

Probably the best way to see the Highlands, provided you get the nice weather. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

Devildog:

How populated is it where you live?

There are six houses in a four mile radius of us, the nearest is a quarter of a mile away. In Inverness - 15 miles away - the population is about 50,000 while the Highlands in total has a population of 320,000 spread over an area the size of Wales or Belgium.

Harv:

Seems another controversial video of Nessie has shown up. Looked to me like a compact tractor chasin' fish.

They do crop up from time to time, never look much like a monster either! Maybe Nessie is just camera shy /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.

AndyR:

...a little stream that had cut straight down in the peat. Just about 8" wide and 3 feet deep.

Sounds like you were in our garden at the time /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

GlueGuy · Mar 15, 2002

Great shots Andy! Do you know the name of the bunch grass that seems to be prominent in many of those pix?

Andyfr · Mar 15, 2002

GlueGuy

The stuff with the redish tinge is Bog Myrtle. It grows - as its name suggests - in peaty, boggy conditions. It is a nightmare to get rid of as the roots spread out like veins underground and you can pull and tug and see another clump of it start to move 6 feet away. If a small piece of the root breaks off then it starts to grow again, so the best way to get rid of it is by hand as machines would break the roots up into smaller bits. The leaves when crushed are supposed to keep the midges away /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif if they did then I could retire on the proceeds of the harvest /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

The dark green stuff on the right hand side of the third picture is Heather. Looks nice when in flower but boring for the rest of the year.

The rest of the stuff is mainly just wild grass. Before we bought the plot of land to build on it was just wild moorland.../w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif still is I suppose!

genelp · Mar 16, 2002

Beautiful country, My wife and I were there two years ago for our 25th anniversary. Went to England and Scotland, got as far north as Loch Ness and the Isle of Skye. I didn't see the monster, but my wife could have captured it on film if she hadn't left the lens cap on /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif. Actually we both agreed that the highlands were the most scenic of the whole trip. We would love to go back sometime! I was pleasantly surprised that the Loch Ness area wasn't developed into some kind of tourist trap like they would do here in the states. Do you find time to fish in Loch Ness?

Gene

Neil, if you read this, I wanted to mention that there was a lady from Australia on our tour and she was a blast!

Gene

Andyfr · Mar 17, 2002

There are two Loch Ness exhibitions but they are quite small so it doesn't detract from the scenery. I don't know if they allow fishing on Loch Ness, got to leave some friends for Nessie /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif.