This is the night train crossing the Border

May 11, 2013 14:45

I've just remembered that I haven't yet done my Scottish picspam. It's not really worth the wait but here it is anyway ( Read more... )

scotland, hols, pic spam

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Comments 26

archaeologist_d May 11 2013, 13:50:42 UTC
Did someone import the American grey squirrel? They are really quite territorial. We have black squirrels in our area but I don't think I've ever seen a red one over here.

Siskins. We have goldfinches which look quite similar.

Lovely views but a bit cold. It's been a very cold spring here, too.

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kathyh May 11 2013, 14:01:39 UTC
It's been one of the longest coldest springs I've ever experienced I think.

I originally thought the siskins were greenfinches but the notes in the shop made me think they were siskins. They are very like greenfinches but smaller, not that I know anything about birds.

Red squirrels are our native squirrels but when some idiot imported a grey squirrel in the late 19th/early 20th century they started to be chased out. There are very few left in England now apart from on the Isle of Wight and parts of Cheshire I think. I've never seen a black squirrel.

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archaeologist_d May 11 2013, 14:07:01 UTC
Idiot is right. Grey squirrels push every other squirrel group out.

Black squirrels are black with a rich brown underbelly. They are quite beautiful. Apparently I thought they were only in the US but can be found in the UK as well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_squirrel

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kathyh May 11 2013, 15:52:27 UTC
Oh, fascinating. I had no idea we had black squirrels as well as grey (and red).

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enednoviel May 11 2013, 14:17:08 UTC
Lovely pics, thank you!

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kathyh May 11 2013, 15:53:04 UTC
My pleasure :)

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scotscookie May 11 2013, 14:44:22 UTC
Oh my gosh... that brought so many memories back...

In my youth I used to go grousebeating on the Revack Estate (got taken by my sister the first time!). While at school I used to go up for a couple of weeks and when I went to Uni I did the whole 6 week season. The girls used to live in the bothy that is next door to what is now the restaurant. I adored it up there. Quite often my parents would come up to collect me at the end and we would go to the Ceilidh at the Craiglynne Hotel in Grantown-on Spey (my father wearing his kilt, natch!).

So many happy times...

And my sister now lives in Kingussie and is a primary school teacher in Newtonmore!

Glad you had a good time - and what a beautiful place for your father's bench.

ps there also used to be parrots living around house at Revack!

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kathyh May 11 2013, 15:59:00 UTC
Glad that brought back so many happy memories. We saw the Newtonmore school children running about to keep warm during their break. I was very pleased to see that the school was still there as so much has disappeared since we first went up there.

I liked what I saw of Revack very much but we didn't stay nearly long enough. I wish I'd seen a parrot though I did see a Greater Spotted Woodpecker.

I can remember when I had to go to Grantown-on-Spey to get money because it was the only place that had a Clydesdale Bank which was linked to mine. The first place we stayed when we came to that part of Scotland on holiday was Nethy Bridge which is quite close.

As you say, so many happy times :)

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selenak May 11 2013, 14:55:14 UTC
The lambs are too adorable!

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kathyh May 11 2013, 16:00:09 UTC
Aren't they. Some of them were smaller than those and were wobbling about, but I was never close enough to take a picture.

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elisi May 11 2013, 15:08:42 UTC
We've got family in Newton Stewart (a good bit further south, but still very Scottish) and it makes me want to go again. The landscape is just amazing.

Thank you for sharing. :)

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kathyh May 11 2013, 16:00:38 UTC
My pleasure. I've been near Newton Stewart, but not for many years.

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