Edinburgh

Edinburgh in winter; long shadows, low sun and short days. Bright lights, Christmas markets and fairground lights make the cold nights a little nicer. 

I spent Friday roaming around the city, mostly with the intention of taking photos, drinking coffee and soaking in some of the atmosphere. It's been a while since I have spent a full day in Edinburgh and I was a bit surprised at how excited I was to step off the train at Waverley. Needless to say I had to make the pilgrimage to the Apple Store first, at the top of Waverley Steps.

You can pretty much trace out my day from the images below, started off by walking to Stockbridge to (finally) take some shots of Circus Lane, walked up to Calton Hill, then up to the university area and finally the South side of North Bridge to shoot the Christmas market and the fairground rides. At which point my camera battery died. 

I took some other shots that didn't turn out as well as was hoped, hence why they aren't posted, but I'll go back for them before they turn off the lights of the winter festivities. 

Teviot Row and McEwan Hall

December

I'll start by explaining the photograph, it is the entrance to the harbour (haven in Dutch) at Scheveningen, The Hague. It has taken me what can only be described as a ridiculous amount of time to learn Port (left)  and Starboard (right). Even now I laugh at myself about how very simple things can trip me up. As a geographer probably the most embarrassing thing to admit is that I still sometimes use NESW (never eat shredded wheat) when I think about east and west. 

So back to the point of this post, apart from the pretty photo of a storm brewing.

All my living in the moment went straight out the window when I realised that December is here and good lord where the hell did the rest of the year go? No seriously, where the hell did the rest of the year go? I have stuff to finish and do, December is not a productive month. To many mince pies to eat and sweet tea to drink. :-)

I reflect once again on achievements made over the year, the new people I have met, reconnecting with those that I had lost touch with and personal achievements that I feel good about. It's easy to look and find the things that I feel good about, so I have been trying to deconstruct the parts of the year that I don't feel good about or that went wrong.

I was once taught to remove my emotions from criticism and to try to look at criticism objectively and rationally. It's amazing how useful this has been throughout my life. It has allowed me to think about any problems or criticism and not react "all guns blazing". It has provided a useful technique in thinking about what I could have done better and how this could have been achieved and can be avoided in the future.

In every December I look forward to the winter solstice. I have always felt that this is a much more significant day in the calendar than any other, the general thought of our planet spinning through a vast universe in almost perfect balance makes me laugh at how insignificant we are. So spare some time on the 21st December at 16:28 for the point where the day starts getting longer again.

Thanks for reading!

The Falkirk Wheel

Taken on iPhone X

Taken on iPhone X

The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift in Scotland, connecting the Forth and Clyde Canal with the Union Canal. The lift is named after the town it resides in of Falkirk in central Scotland. It opened in 2002, reconnecting the two canals for the first time since the 1933. Before the Forth & Clyde and Union canals were connected by a staircase of 11 locks which took nearly a day to transit. The design is claimed to have been inspired by a Celtic double headed spear. Work started on the project in 1998 at a cost of £84.5 million.

The plan to regenerate central Scotland's canals and reconnect Glasgow with Edinburgh was led by British Waterways with support and funding from seven local authorities, the Scottish Enterprise Network, the European Regional Development Fund, and the Millennium Commission. Planners decided early on to create a dramatic 21st-century landmark structure to reconnect the canals, instead of simply recreating the historic lock flight.

The wheel raises boats by 24 metres (79 ft), but the Union Canal is still 11 metres (36 ft) higher than the aqueduct which meets the wheel. Boats must also pass through a pair of locks between the top of the wheel and the Union Canal. The Falkirk Wheel is the only rotating boat lift of its kind in the world. 

I have been trying to get some night shots of the wheel when it is lit up, but unfortunately I haven't managed to pass when it is. But I did manger to get these shots on Sunday,

Birks o' Aberfeldy

The  next stop after The Hermitage with @alycoste saw us stop at the Birks o' Aberfeldy. This beautiful short walk is extremely popular. The walk up a steep gorge alongside the Moness Burn was popularised by Scotlands Bard (Robert Burns) in a song suitably titled 'The Birks o' Aberfeldy'.

Robert Burns

 

"Bonie lassie, will ye go, 
Will ye go, will ye go, 
Bonie lassie, will ye go
To the birks of Aberfeldy!"

 

 

As you can see from the photo's below, Autumn was definitely going on here! Have never seen so many auburn and red leaves in one place. The beauty of the areas end in a crescendo of waterfalls, The Moness Falls. It's a beautiful area and I was really happy that I got to see it for the first time at this time of year.

I often forget how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful country that is relatively at peace, moderately prosperous and generally safe.

The Hermitage, Dunkeld

Finally posting some photos from The Hermitage from my visit on the 29th of October. Mental note never to visit again when the weather is good...everyone and there dog was there and it felt like the entire population of Scotland was on the road when heading back that evening.

Nestled in the north of Perthshire amid towering Douglas Firs is a pleasure ground built in the 18th century for the Dukes of Atholl. The River Braan runs through this area with many waterfalls the most impressive of which is overlooked by Ossian's Hall. The hall was built in 1757 as the focal point and is a splendid spot to watch the waterfall that roars beneath.