Passing Places Around Scotland

Just a short piece of audio to let you know that Passing Places Around Scotland will be back with new episodes as soon as we are re-listed in iTunes.

Hill Walking near Glasgow and visiting Glasgow Parks
Enjoying some late summer sunshine this week as I wander the Kilpatrick hills above Glasgow and then pay a visit to Bellahouston Park, the site of the famous Empire Exhibition in 1938 and now home to the Charles Rennie Mackintosh designed House for an Art Lover which was completed in 1995 from original plans produced by Mackintosh in 1901. Glasgow has a large number of public parks, far more than many cities and the majority of them well worth a visit.

Outdoors in Scotland
Lots of audio clips from Balmaha, Duncryne Hill and around Stirling as I spend a week counting steps in the great outdoors.  I’m using my fitness tracker and local walks to see if I can get back to some form of fitness.  Walking in Scotland especially in fine weather is a real pleasure.  September is a great month as summer comes to end and the first signs of Autumn appear. I spend time tracking down a few memories of Tom Weir as well as tackling some local forest paths.

Another visit to the East Neuk of Fife to one of the coastal fishing villages which is now popular with tourists.  Don’t forget to pop into the Fishing Museum.  I stayed at the Silverdyke Caravan Park in Cellardyke and enjoyed the walk into Anstruther through the fishermens cottages past Cellardyke harbour and enjoyed a coffee and some people watching opposite Anstruther harbour.  Would suggest you consider taking a boat trip out to the Isle of May to see the seabirds and seals or take the new boat service over to North Berwick for the day.  All the boat trips are seasonal so check online.

Flanders Moss nature Reserve
Its great to be back in front of the microphone (yet another new one) after being absent for many months.  I make a few visits to Flanders Moss a national nature reserve near Stirling, some audio from the Western Isles and I update listeners on up and coming developments in the Passing Places podcast.

A real wander around Scotland in this episode. I have spent  a fair amount of time in recent weeks clocking up some serious mileage all over Scotland including Angus, Fife, Stirlingshire and the Highlands. As always I’m chasing the weather, the northern lights and the quieter more remote parts of Scotland.  In this episode however I also spend a few days in the busy harbour at Peterhead as well as few great nights at Cruden Bay.

Visiting Skye & appearing on The Motorhome Podcast

I’m finally back in front of the microphone. In this weeks episode I cover some of my recent trip to Skye as well as giving you some idea of where I have been the past two months.  I have also included an excerpt from my recent appearance on The Motorhome Podcast.  Finally I also include some musical audio from the Mull of Kintrye.

East Neuk of Fife and Kirriemuir Angus

A great few days on the east side of Scotland.  Some days spent adjacent to the wonderful villages on the Fife Coastal Path.  The coastal villages of St Monan’s, Anstruther, Elie, Earslferry, Pittenweem and Crail are often referred to as the strings of pearls. Its a wonderful location for walking and enjoying the very best of the Kingdom of Fife. The second half of the podcast is based in the small town of Kirriemuir in Angus.  I mention J.M. Barrie and his famous novel Peter Pan.  I also reflect on my imminent trip to the the Isle of Skye.

On The Mull of Kintyre at Easter

The ten days or so I spent on the Mull of Kintyre delivered some great weather, magical sunsets on glorious beaches and a number of starlit nights watching the International Space Station tracking overhead.  I also enjoyed a brief stop at Butter Bridge in Glen Kinglas on my way home. It was a lovely day and a great spot to have a break, take in the views and paddle in the river.

The Mull of Kintyre is almost a hidden gem, shunned by many of the tourists in their rush to head north to the more famous locations of Oban, Fort William and Inverness.  It really is a special place and remarkably quiet even on an Easter bank holiday week-end.

Interview with Glen Moyer from Louisana USA

I’m on the Mull of Kintyre in my van talking to a new friend living across the pond about his impending visit to Scotland.  It’s also a birthday week and I’m enjoying being away for my birthday and finally again introducing new voices to Passing Places.  It’s great to see technology linking the wider Scottish diaspora to each other and finally rejoining all the Scottish connections across the globe.

The internet is bringing people together so check out Glen’s blog A Glen in Scotland and for the motorhome and caravan folk I also cover one possible way how you could possibly connect to the web using your mobile phone.

I’ll be back next week with more details of my current travels in the motorhome.  I’m back on the road travelling around Scotland.

Culloden & Glasgow’s Link to Slavery

A busy week on the podcast wandering from London to Glasgow.  I share some thoughts on the Commonwealth Games and the current controversy around the permission to allow a private housing development on the Culloden Battlefied outside Inverness.

Please checkout the current planning decision about Culloden. It is a site of international importance and one which has been failed by the current planning regulations in Scotland.

It is now spring in Scotland and I visit Aberfoyle and the Loch Ard area of the Trossachs and for the first time provide an update on the buzz which is being created around the Scottish vote on independence which will take place this September.

The Hills north of Glasgow

Whilst Glasgow unfairly has a reputation merely as an industrial city, it sits in a most beautiful location with some wonderful hills minutes away from the city.  In Passing Places this week I visit The Campsie Fells and mention the exodus of Glaswegians in the 1900’s and beyond, as they escaped the smog and discovered the magic of the Scottish countryside. In particular I talk about Tom Weir one of the the most influential men of his time in his ability to share his passion for Scotland.  He is remembered by most, for his STV series Weirs Way but he was much more than that. He was a naturalist, acclaimed climber, prolific writer, photographer and a fantastic ambassador for the wild places of Scotland.

I hope to produce an episode of Passing Places this year all about Tom Weir and the current campaign to erect a statue in his memory on the banks of Loch Lomond.

Balmaha Rowardennan Conic Hill & Ben Lomond

In the podcast this week I discuss the merits of visiting the East side of Loch Lomond and taking in a boat trip to some of the many fifty plus islands.  I also talk about climbing Conic hill, walking the West Highland Way and bagging Ben Lomond perhaps your first munro?

The area is beautiful and as well as walking and water sports there are two campsites on the east side of Loch Lomond. Finish your day in either the Rowardennan Hotel or the Oak Tree Inn at Balmaha.

Saint Conan’s Church, Lochawe Village, Argyll.

The area around Loch Awe offers the visitor many attractions.  I focus this week on St Conan’s Kirk, a real gem, located in the village of Lochawe.  The church is a truly unique, one off example, of an amateur architects vision of a church.  It’s free to visit and never busy. Almost every period of architectural design is included in the building. I can’t recommend a visit highly enough.

The whole area around Loch Awe from the fishing, the hill-walking and the various visitor attractions creates a must see part of any trip around Scotland.  I mention The Cruchan Visitor experience to the Hydro-Electric scheme as well as the Bonawe Iron Furnace at Taynuilt.

I also mention the week that was and discuss the plans for including guest contributions on the podcast in the weeks ahead.

The Clyde steamers mark a remarkable period in Scottish history where people from the central belt, from the poor to the rich, enjoyed the dramatic scenery and landscapes of the The Firth of Clyde.  For over a hundred years until the 1950’s over 300 steamers transported passengers throughout the area.  I also talk about the The Kelpies, the dramatic new horse head sculptures on the Forth Canal near Falkirk.

I also rejoice in the fact I’m finally back in my van. I make what turns out to be a dreadful trip to Moffat in Dumfries & Galloway.  It’s a lovely wee town and a place I really like but we all remember weekends that just didn’t work out.   The whole week-end was instantly forgettable.  I came down with a chest infection and the rest is history. Thankfully.

The Rob Roy Way & Camping in the Loch Lomond National Park

Out and about in The Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park in search of Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish Robin Hood romanticised in Scottish history and a half baked notion to walk The Rob Roy Way, a lovely long distance footpath from Drymen to Pitlochry.  I also drop into the newly completed visitor amenities located on Loch Lubnaig just north of Callander.

The national park have a development plan for the five lochs in the area which includes regulating camping on the loch-sides, in part by providing new facilities including car parking and camping.  There are also elements of the plan that include attempting to meet the needs of motorhome owners.  I will cover all these topics in more detail in future episodes but  I can’t recommend the countryside around the national park and The Rob Roy Way.  It really is a great mix of Scottish landscapes.

Get in touch if you visit the new facilities on Loch Lubnaig and let me know your thoughts.

A Happy New Year from Scotland to everybody who listens to Passing Places. In this weeks episode of the podcast I make a few New Year resolutions and a couple of predictions for 2014.  This year is the most significant year in the  history of Scotland. As a nation we face the momentous decision on regaining our independence for our country.  I’m confident that Scotland will vote positively for such a change. I also feel certain that 2014 will redefine our place in the cosmos.

The knowledge we have gleaned in the last twenty years about astronomy and the cosmos is difficult to fully comprehend. So I fell confident that this year will see the announcement of an earth like planet in the Goldilocks zone and whilst that for me is profound I also feel certain that we will be able to confirm the existence of life beyond earth.

So what an historic year we have ahead.  Join me on my travels around Scotland and get in touch with our listeners if you share an interest, an affinity with, or a desire to travel around Scotland.

Happy New Year.

It’s great to be back with another episode of Passing Places. I briefly review a few personal travel highlights from 2013 and go on to mention that 2014 is the Year of Homecoming Scotland. As well as the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles we have the independence referendum to look forward to.  It’s going to be the biggest year in Scotland certainly in my lifetime.

It is also the seven hundredth anniversary of The Battle of Bannockburn which took place a few miles away from my home. A major refurbishment of the visitor attraction is just nearing completion as well as restoration of the monuments on the site. So if you are visiting Scotland during the year of homecoming a visit to Bannockburn, Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument would be highly recommended.  I think Stirling is rightly justified in being called the heart of Scotland.