Spring time in Scotland

It's, Scotland, it's Easter, it's spring time... So, plenty of snow then... Walking in the Pentlands today, snow left from the dreadful weather earlier this week which dumped snow over a lot of Scotland and storms that have made a mess of a lot of bits of the coastline. Some of it has melted away but in the Pentlands on the edge of Edinburgh it's still lying there, from light dusting on some spots to seriously deep snow in other spots, coming up our shins almost to our knees.







Walking up the hill the skyline gave a great effect, making it look like the clouds were rising up from below the horizon:










Walking through snow is tiring, time for a breather; this also means time for Bruce the dog to scrounge a biccie from his master:






You can see Edinburgh spread out in the background here (click for the larger version on Flickr):

Brrrsville!

Walking along the gorge of the River Almond by the weir and ruined old mill by Cramond, big chunks of ice floating in the river, large, flat sheets which the ducks were using to sit on, and huge rows of icicles hanging down from the overhanging rocks like enormous fangs. Couldn't resist taking some pics and shooting a brief video 360; the roar of water over the weir and the current in the river below it were both very strong, presumably with some of the snow and ice melting into it (going to be a lot more of that over the UK when the cold snap actually lifts properly). The temperature was actually slightly better during the daylight hours today than it's been recently, but on the banks of the nearby Forth the ferocious wind felt like it was straight from the Arctic. Still, at least it was good for the kite surfers who were having fun when we passed along the windswept and still icy prom.

The mysterious White Isles...

Somewhere, legend tells us, off the western end of the dark sea by the very edge of the known world lie the mysterious White Isles, a strange land blanketed in snow and ice where few may travel... How cool is this NASA satellite image of frozen Britain (via the BBC)? There's barely a scrap of colour to be seen, the entire British Isles appears to be white (must be a BNP dream!). Check the larger version on the Beeb site, its beautifully detailed and clear, you can easily see Loch Ness and the Great Glen in the north of Scotland while the western coast of Scotland looks astonishing

Christmas greetings from Scotland

After finishing work for the year I walked up a very snowy Royal Mile to the Castle gates. For the first time ever I had it all to myself, not another soul there for ten minutes, just me standing in snow that came over the toes of my boots, that soft scrunching sound that reminds you instantly of childhood playtimes in the snow. Just me and the cold and the snow and the Castle glowing in the night above the city, dusted with snow like icing on a historical cake. Below and around me views across the whole of Edinburgh, right out to the Pentland Hills. Freezing but incomparably beautiful. Merry Christmas from a snowy Scotland!

Snowy Edinburgh

On the way home this evening after the last book group of the year and a nice drink, passing Princes Street Gardens, the Christmas lights, snow, Edinburgh Castle... This is my view on the way home and one of the reasons I love living here in one of the most beautiful cities on the planet.

Snowy hills

In the Campsie Hills (an extinct volcanic range north of Glasgow - my parent's home has a great view of them) a couple of weekends ago with dad taking some photos; snow lower down had melted, snow on top of the hills and bens was still there, the streams and burns full of ice and the wind bitterly arctic. Still beautiful though and the weather didn't stop people going out for a good walk on the hills as we passed quite a few.

Edinburgh in the snow

A very quick 360 degree video panorama of Edinburgh from North Bridge (which connects Old and New Towns) during the heavy snows on the way to work last week. It only took a minute but my coat was covered white in that time and the high winds on such an exposed spot were swirling the snow flakes so much you can barely see the Castle, but I thought it was worth it for a quick capture to give you an idea. In better weather this is a great spot for views across the city (if you are ever visiting its a good spot to take pics from)

The iron road to the Highlands

Early yesterday morning I caught the train for Inverness to cover a brand-new comics convention for the FPI blog. Crossing over the mighty Forth Bridge (I can't remember going over that since I was a kid, usually I'm going over the nearby road bridge) the train went along the Fife coast to begin with, curving around past Burntisland, giving great views right across the Firth of Forth where you could see all of Edinburgh in profile, the Pentland Hills behind the city dusted with snow and an orange glow behind them as the early morning winter sun struggled to rise above the hills. As the train turned further inland the rolling hills of Fife were sprinkled with snow too, while the rich farmland between them was mostly snow (although not ice) free.


(click the pics to see the full size version on the Woolamaloo Flickr stream)

However, as I got further north, heading up past Perth, Pitlochry and further, the snow went from a light sprinkle to deeper, purer, whiter. As we got up into the Highlands proper and the Cairngorms national park it got colder and ever more spectacular. The view from the train window was quite simply spectacular: snowbound forests (fallen trees with their skinny, snow-covered branches looked like the skeletons of some long-spined creature), rivers swollen and fast-running with recent rain and snow runoff from the mountains, except where the water had frozen fast into ice.



Deer ran lightly through the snow; as the train past one field I saw a young buck, couldn't have been more than two years old, bouncing through the snow and off into the treeline. There were a number of football fans, all loaded up with beer, on the train (I think their match ended up cancelled because of the weather) but even they grew quiet, totally taken in with the astonishing beauty of the Scottish Highlands passing outside their window to the clickety-clack, clickety-clack beat of the train on its rails. You can feel the pressure on your ears as the train begins to climb steeply - it isn't as clear from the view but your body can feel it as the train pulls you ever higher into the land of mountains.



I haven't been up that far north in years, not since going on a few ski trips many moons ago and that was driving so you don't get to appreciate the view quite so much. Sitting on a train with a great big window you could just watch all of this slip past, one of most scenic parts of the whole of Europe just sliding past my window. God we're so lucky to live in this country - next time any of us moan about our weather we should think about these scenes then realise just how utterly beautiful our mountain kingdom is.

snowy Saltire
Originally uploaded by byronv2

Wind whipping around a Saltire above the entrance to the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh as snow makes streaks across a leaden night sky