Tag: pier

Round Britain: Arisaig to Ardnamuchan

On By Carol HenshawIn Ferries & boats, Scotland1 Comment

The evening before we left Arisaig I watched the sun go down from the beach.

The following morning was calm and sunny when we departed. After following the A380 to Lochailort, we took the A861 which runs down the side of Loch Ailort.

Like many roads in Scotland, it is bordered with woodland containing purple rhododendrons. They were first introduced into Scotland in the 1700s and have become the most invasive plant. The road descends to the Sound of Arisaig which has views over to Eigg and Rhum.

Further on it ascends Glen Uig and then runs down to Loch Moidart.

Near Kinlochmoidart several kayakers were getting ready to get into the still water. The road then continues up Drynie Hill before descending past Dalnabreck and Mingarry Park (which has a wild venison shop)  to Shiel Bridge which sits at the foot of the Five Sisters of Kintail mountains.  After crossing the bridge, we stopped at Acharacle for a coffee. We then continued to Salen and Loch Sunart. Beyond Laga and Glenborrodale is Ardnamurchan Distillery.

The road then turned inland and descends to Kilchoan. Several classic cars passed us on the way down who were presumably heading to an event. Before settling into the campsite, we drove out to the lighthouse at the most westerly point on the British mainland.

 The lighthouse was built in 1849 by Alan Stevenson in an Egyptian style. It is 36 metres high. There is a café and you can take a tour to the top of the building

or just admire the views.

We settled into our campsite at Ormsaigbeg which lies to the west of the main village. The last time we were in Kilchoan was our honeymoon in 1987. The next morning, we walked towards the centre. There are views across to Mull from the road and we then entered Kilchoan Bay where the jetty is located. Small boats and kayaks use this.

Further on, past the road to the lighthouse, is the school and the road down to the pier. Pier Road passes the community centre which has a café and then descends to Mingary Pier where the ferry runs to Tobermory on Mull. One had just left as we got there.

There was an interesting information board about the geology of Ardnamurchan. It is comprised of three overlapping rings from three volcanic centres. There are plenty of volcanic rocks around.  

Just before we left, we heard James Crawford talking about his latest book: Wild History: journeys into lost Scotland at Toppings Bookshop in Edinburgh. The only place in Ardnamurchan in the book is a Viking boat burial in Swordle Bay on the north coast of the peninsula. He says that the name Swordle is derived from a Norse word for ‘green valley. The Vikings arrived at some point in the 10th century and buried the boat and one dead member. This was not discovered until 2011. We will not be able to get round there on this trip.

Round Britain: Kinlochbervie

On By Carol HenshawIn roads, ScotlandLeave a comment

Leaving Durness on a very wet grey day, we took the A838 southwards. Ordnance Survey maps show a lot of hut circles, cairns and old field systems on the land on each side of the road. There are also abandoned quarries and some patches of last years burnt moor for grouse shooting. The road passes Loch Caladail and then runs down to the shores of the Kyle. At the end of the Kyle, it follows the River Dionard for a while before passing Gualin House and Loch Tarbhajh. The A838 goes by the end of Loch Inchard at Riconcich where the junction of the B80 to Kinlochbervie, the most northwesterly port in Scotland is. The road winds along the lochside and through several small communities: Achriesgill, Inshegra and Badcall before heading down a 15% descent into Kinlochbervie. The roadside is littered with dead and decaying cars, lorries and tractors. Just as we passed the end of Loch Sheigra, the rain ceased for a while so I could take a photo.

Prior to the early 1960s Kinlochbervie was a crofting village. Some abandoned houses are still in the middle of the town

close to the Free Presbyterian Church, the only church in the community. There is a community fire station, coastguard, a medical practice, a filling station, a couple of stores, café, a hotel and several B&Bs. The old harbour at Loch Clash is now a motorhome stop-over which is where we are spending one night. If you arrive early, you can use one of the five electric hook-ups and there are ten off-grid places. Payment is made to the Spar shop just up the road.

The pebble beach at the head of Loch Clash is littered with plastic waste from the fishing industry.

In 1964, work began to convert the village into a major European fishing harbour. This took around twenty years and although the local fishing fleet is small; other ships bring in their catch and it is processed here. The new harbour is certainly busy with large buildings for processing the fish, housing the harbour master and others behind where many nets were laid out to dry. HGVs were getting ready to load up late afternoon.

While I was wandering around, the sun finally came out very briefly.

There are interesting rocks just past the end of the pier;

and a lot of native plants: gorse, speedwells, rowan and elder trees coming into leaf and buds on the heather. However, along one road someone must have planted bamboo and an arum-like large lily which I could not identify. They have now become very invasive over a large area. Elsewhere I saw Spanish bluebells escaping out of a garden.

If you have more time and good weather, you can go to Oldshoremore along the minor road from Kinlochbervie and from there; do an eight-mile return walk to Sandwood Bay which is part of the Sandwood Estate run by the John Muir Trust. Unfortunately, heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow so that and the possibility of a boat trip from Tarbert to Handa Island are probably not going to happen.

Sampling Southport

On By Carol HenshawIn Beaches, Books, bookshops and libraries, EnglandLeave a comment

On one of our recent trips to Edinburgh, we decided to divert via Southport. It is the largest seaside town in Merseyside and the only Conservative constituency in the region. The town lies on the Sefton Coast of the Irish sea with the Ribble Estuary to the north. To the south is Ainsdale and Birkdale Sandhills Nature Reserve which is one of the largest areas of wild sand dunes left in the UK. Southport is home to the second longest pier in the country; the longest being Southend. It opened in August 1860 and is the oldest iron pier in the country and at a length of 1,108m, the longest iron one.

Interestingly in a time of climate change, global warming, rising sea levels and parts of the east coast of England disappearing into the sea; the sea in Southport has been recessing away from the coast during the 20th century. The Kings Gardens and Marine Lake are now where the beach was previously.

They were opened in 1913 and reopened after restoration in 2014. Swans and other water birds were on the water while bridges and the pier take traffic and pedestrians across to the sea front. Other green spaces in town are Hesketh Gardens and Victoria Park. Every year Southport hosts a Flower Show which celebrated its 90th anniversary in summer 2019. Lord Street is in the town centre lined with Victorian buildings and many shops. Southport still has many independent shops but has also lost some and some of the chain stores have left like many other towns in the country. Lord Street hosts Wayfarers arcade which opened in 1898 with 30 stores. There are now a few empty ones.

In September 2019, the town received £1.6m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and in addition to money given by the council, this is being devoted to rejuvenating the town centre. Most of the market was being renovated and only a few stalls were open. We found Broadhurst’s Bookshop on Market Street. It has new books on the ground floor and two floors of secondhand books.

There are two other secondhand bookshops in town. We passed one of them but it was closed. A picnic was had in the sun by the beach and I had a brief beachcomb. There was only a narrow strip of sand but a long stretch of mud and the tide was out.

On an off-season weekday it was very quiet with just a few dog walkers. There were lots of razor shells on the beach; more than I have seen anywhere else, a few cockles and whelks. I found one piece of sea glass and then noticed an older man picking up something and filling bags which he was then loading onto his cycle. We got chatting and he told me that he was picking up coal for his fire. It is not something I have seen on a beach before but he told me that he had heard of a guy in Yorkshire who collected large amounts of coal from his local beach and sold it to a power station. Later, we watched the sun go down at the end of the pier

and the lights come on.

We had to leave the next morning and driving out of town it was hard to find a Guardian newspaper at any of the garages or newsagents in the outskirts. With a bit more time and when our coastal journey gets round here there is the Botanic Gardens to explore, the Atkinson Centre and a bird reserve slightly north of the town on the coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A wet weekend in Brighton

On By Carol HenshawIn Art & Architecture, BeachesLeave a comment


I had first visited Brighton a couple of years ago for work and James joined me for a day or so after the conference. We had both felt it warranted a second visit and booked this trip last autumn. It turned out to be a good time to be heading south rather than to Scotland with wintry weather blocking roads up there. On the day we arrived the University of Sussex were holding a graduation ceremony in the theatre near our hotel. There were many Chinese families taking photographs along the sea front. We did get a couple of breaks in the rain for a bracing walk on the mainly pebble beach in the late afternoon where the supports and the remains of the old West Pier are.


We spent some time wandering around the lanes where there are some chain stores but also many independent shops including some very quirky ones. One thing I did notice was that people we encountered in the hotel, cafes and shops were very friendly, unlike some other southern cities I have visited. Several years ago I stayed with a friend in Southampton in December and while she was at the university, I went into town to do some Christmas shopping. The only person who said anything more to me than the bare minimum to carry out the transaction was the Big Issue seller who was from Manchester.

Having visited the pavilion on our last trip, this time we explored the Museum and Art Gallery. It has a number of permanent galleries including one on 20th century furniture and art.

I was particularly struck by this lift compartment installed in Selfridges on Oxford Street, London in 1929. Designed by a French artist, Edgar Brandt and entitled ‘Les Cignones (storks) d’Alsace’ they remained in place until 1971 when they were removed because of new fire regulations.

There was a gallery devoted to Brighton in the 20th century with displays of mods and rockers who clashed on the seafront in 1964.

Other galleries contained their pottery, china and fine art collections, John Pipers aquatints of Brighton, performance and toys, youth projects in Brighton with youngsters from different countries exploring their culture and traditional costume including New Ireland, Myanmar, Peru, Canada and Alaska and Mali. There is also a collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts and the Museum of Transology.

All too soon it was time to head for home. Had it been drier I would have liked to walk the Undercliff Path which heads east for 3km and also to explore the huge amount of street art in the city including a Banksy.

Brighton evening

On By Carol HenshawIn BeachesLeave a comment

After two days of an intense but very stimulating conference, it was a relief to don my jeans and go out into bracing sea air. The sea, which had looked blue first thing this morning was now somewhat greyer but there were still a few people on the shingle beach. The first sight outside our hotel is what remains of the West Pier, part of which collapsed in 2002 and the remainder caught fire twice in 2002.
Burnt out Pier Brighton 17 Oct 2014 (1 of 1)
The lights were coming on and birds wheeling in the sky as we wandered along the promenade to the remaining piers before having something to eat and a relaxing evening before more exploration tomorrow
Brighton Promenade Evening 17 Oct 2014 (1 of 1)