A few pictures from around Newton Stewart

Pictures from a couple of walks around the town's periphery.

A colourful welcome

Towards Barrhill Farm

Small Toirtoiseshell

Dragonfly 

Same dragonfly different angle

The best picture

(I can't find what name it goes by)
Bob from Blue Sky Scotland tells me it's a Ruddy Darter. Having done a Google image search I must concur.

The same tortoiseshell

Newton Stewart view

Cree estuary view

A little way behind sat his harem

Ducks on Blairmout

Of the remaining six cygnets, five seem to be doing well. I fear for the wee fella !

Field bindweed

Monnigaff old parish church

Interesting wall plaque

I wonder who PM was ?

View to Drigmorn and Millfore

The Penkiln Burn

Bower Drive bird feeders

A popular dining area

View towards Wigtown Bay from Newton Stewart old golf fairways

an inland Oystercatcher

A drystone wall mystery

Zoom in to Wigtown Bay

Kirroughtree House

Last picture of the day

Wigtownshire Ramblers Auchencrosh Ballantrae Circular July 2014

Saturday the 26th of July

After a bad night's sleep and still feeling below par, I decided not to go on this walk.

It turned into a good ten miler, and though chances are I'd have finished the walk, I'd have still been recovering from it now.

But the good news is I'm definitely on the mend. 

I managed a fair walk yesterday (Sunday, I even broke into a run !) and today I managed to cut my hedge with no after effects. I'll be out walking quite a bit this week.

My doctor thinks I may have had one of those unexplained viral infections or even the Epstein Barr virus.

It looks as thought a good walk was had however. Shame the rain spoiled the conclusion.

The photographs are courtesy of Miss Goodnight, Scoop and Shorty, the report was written by Shorty.

Here are the pictures, apologies if they're not in order.

G.I Joe led the walk. 

Wigtownshire Ramblers – Saturday 26 July 2014 – Auchencrosh to Ballantrae Circular

After the recent hot weather the grey skies and gentle breeze gave more reasonable temperatures which made a welcome start for the 27 ramblers who assembled at the Auchencrosh crossroads on the A77 north of Glenapp.  After a cheerful briefing from our leader we set off across the A77 and along the county road towards Kilantringan and the coast.  The tarmac soon gave way to stone as we followed the track past High Ballochdowan, admiring the cattle and calves in the adjacent fields and amused by the young pheasants which scuttled ahead of us as we walked.

On reaching the junction with the Ayrshire Coastal Path we turned north along the Path towards Ballantrae.  The track took us downwards above the Shallochwreck Burn in a bracken and bramble clad valley which lead down to the sea.  It was reminiscent of the Devonshire coombes found below Exmoor, the effect enhanced by the higher temperatures as we were sheltered from the breeze.  Once on the shingly shore at Currarie Port we found a new track, probably constructed for the Ireland electricity interconnector.  Unfortunately, the winter storms had washed much of the fill over the large culverts on the Ballochdowan Burn.  A little scrambling got us across and we climbed up the hill and through the freshly cut bracken around Donald Bowie hill and onto a path above the cliffs.  There were fine views over the calm sea with Corsewall lighthouse and the ferries visible to the south and Ailsa Craig just appearing through the murk.

We followed the cliffs with the many small inlets as far as Wilson’s Glen where we stopped for lunch sitting on the rocks above the burn in the weak sunshine.  The burn in the valley was no more than a trickle after the recent dry weather.  After refreshment we continued northwards along the cliffs and around Downan Hill. We then turned inland and joined the tarmac road heading towards Ballantrae.  The sky was now becoming threatening with a bank of dark cloud to the west.  As we followed the road we had fine views of Ballantrae and Knockdolian Hill – one of our favourite walks.

We continued along the road and then turned back past the cemetery and then took the path up the glen of the Kilphin burn.  The first section through a young plantation was almost overgrown with the ground surprisingly damp.  We soon reached the larger trees and the path opened out.  There had been some wind damage since our last visit with one huge fir tree snapped and fallen into the burn.  Higher up the glen we were warned that no more than three people should be on the old swing bridge at one time.  It was decided that some of the larger members should cross alone.

The first drops of rain were felt as we proceeded up through the trees and by the time we reached Smyrton it had become a steady drizzle.  Waterproofs were donned and we carried on through the village and past the memorial hall.  At the crossroads in the green lane we turned back towards Auchencrosh in what was now a considerable downpour.  We soon reached the converter station and regained our cars after an enjoyable, if slightly soggy, ten mile walk.  We then repaired to the Merchant House in Cairnryan where we received the usual copious and excellent tea and cakes.

Next Saturday’s walk will be the popular figure of 8 walk around the Mull of Galloway starting from the Gallie Craig car park at 10:00. (NX 154 304)  Meet at the Riverside car park in Newton Stewart at 09:00 or the Breastworks car park at 09:15 to share transport.  New walkers are always welcome but please contact the walk leader on 01776 840636 for full details.

Titanic Belfast Visit July 2014

Me and my Ayrshire walking friend, the 'Ranger' are finally making a trip we talked about over twelve months ago. We're taking the ferry to visit Titanic Belfast

(It's only a few minutes from the terminal to Cairnryan's free north car park, we saved money and walked)

We're also taking advantage of Stena Line's Wonderful Wednesdays offer.

A return ticket for £10 includes a 'Metro' bus card for all day use.

A warning about the free transport though, check the times. Buses to Stena Port are limited to a single decker and limited to arriving at the port one and a half hours before sailing times.

Because I'd have missed our booking time at Titanic, I'd already decided on a taxi. We shared a 7 seater with one other and were charged £8 for the two of us to the Titanic Quarter. 

I'll start with a few pictures from the boat, then a few from the attraction.

Corsewall lighthouse after rounding Milleur Point.

Ailsa Craig.

The 'Ranger' thought she was Marilyn Monroe as she had to hold down her skirt from the wind.

Two more Stena ferries and Kilroot Power Station, the only coal-fired power station in Northern Ireland.

Carrickfergus Castle.

It's possible there are a few of my readers who have never come across the song Carrickfergus.

One of the most beautiful ballads ever in the history of music. Almost every ballad singer of note has recorded it at some time or another. Fifteen year old Charlotte Church sang it quite beautifully back in 2001, but my favourite singer of it is Brian Kennedy.

I seem to remember identifying this big house on Belfast  Lough's southern shore once before, but at the moment it's slipped my mind.

I zoomed in for this picture from the boat. At the time I hadn't realized I'd got a sneak preview.

So, after disembarking, we did go round to the bus stances, but we'd have had to wait around fifteen minutes, and then we'd have to change in the city centre. We got the taxi.

Here then is the view of the centre as you approach.

Having booked online, we now had to collect our tickets from one of the kiosks just inside the entrance.

There's an official photographer who'll take a picture of you on your way in. We thought it was a compulsory  part of the experience since our way to the escalator was roped off. It was only after we'd had our picture taken we saw people remove the rope and head up the escalator. At £7.50 for the cheapest we decided against. I can take a selfie for free !

An escalator took us up to the first of  The Galleries. ...........

There are website links to each of these and I'll include them as we move along.

..............the first of these is called Boomtown Belfast

I wonder if our Mary is related ?

For anyone who wants to take in all the experience, you won't do it in a couple of hours. There is so much content that were we to stop and study every information board or exhibit we'd still be there.

Modern technology and very large exhibits work together with 'hands on' computer terminals to begin the story.

We move on to the Arrol Gantry and The Shipyard Ride

We climb into carriages for the Shipyard Ride This is like a fairground ride that ascends a replica of one of the giant pillars of the Arrol Gantry. As we spiral upwards, we see animations and reconstructions recreating the shipbuilding of the time. It's quite a trip !

There must be an amazing control room somewhere in the centre.

As we come to the top of the Shipyard Ride, there's a lot of noisy activity behind the bar doors.

We thought perhaps if they had the doors bursting open and someone falling out it would add more authenticity. More likely give someone a heart attack.

The next gallery is The Launch

There's a screen showing the launch (CGI I think)

Then somehow the windows are electronically wired up.............

..............which suddenly clear from opaque to a view of the gantry and the ship.

Before moving along to the next gallery, there's an opportunity to look over and down to the entrance hall.

It's a busy place so I can understand why they have booking times.

We're now into the Fitting Out gallery

I mentioned earlier that I thought there was a lot of CGI imagery, the web page for this gallery confirms it.

Before we reached this exhibit, I wondered whether they hired actors to recreate scenes.

It was only as we got closer I realized it was screens on either side of the mirror giving the effect of a hologram.

Very clever !

Second and third class compartments were really small.

A young lady goes about readying for bed.

Here we stand in The Cave. It's a 270°, high resolution, moving up through the decks, reconstruction of the interiors of the Titanic. It can make you dizzy, a woman nearly fell on to me. 

I took some video here, but I've since learned it's prohibited, but have a look at this link to see how it pans out.

Isodesign - The Cave

  

There are lots of Artefacts throughout the building.

The next gallery concerns the Maiden Voyage.

A window looks out on a very modern city. Well done Belfast.

We continue on to The Sinking

It's another electronic display..............

...............with an inevitable outcome !

Here there are stories of the survivors and those notables that perished.

The gallery of The Aftermath.

This reconstruction of a member of the enquiry board makes him out to be nodding off to sleep occasionally.

There'll be many an untold story yet.

Harland and Wolff

Titanic Layout

Myths and Legends gallery.

More views of the city of Belfast.

It's almost a cinema that begins the Explore the Wreck gallery.

After sitting watching on screen an underwater exploration, the gallery guide then calls us to the front.............  

...........where we watch 'Titanic Beneath' beneath our feet as Dr Robert Ballard's high definition footage scrolls by. A little imagination and you're in that submersible over the wreck. 

I doubt whether the 'Ranger' is considering the diving suit for her wardrobe.

Our last gallery is in fact not a gallery, but the Ocean Exploration Centre where live pictures are being beamed from the 'Nautilus'. There's a lot happening in the deep. Here's the dedicated website.

Nautilus Live.

Our tour over we headed to the souvenir shop.

After purchasing fridge magnets (I gave the baseball cap a miss), we headed out to find our bus stop.

Here we managed a self timer.

A dry dock holds the old and the new.

We found the bus stop for our journey to the city centre.

We had a short while to wait and as around half a dozen folk congregated, I handed out the wine gums.

Our journey into the city centre didn't take long. 

We'd intended to eat somewhere, but we learned from our bus driver that our terminal bus would leave in twenty minutes. 

As I said earlier, this bus got us back to the terminal way too early.

We ate on the boat.........I shouldn't have had that muffin in the terminal !.

The 'Ranger' having had to leave in the middle of the night to catch the boat managed forty winks.

I took some pictures.

By the time we got to our vehicles the traffic from the boat was well away. I only had one slow car and one slow lorry to overtake. The 'Ranger' wasn't so lucky she got behind a tractor and a horsebox.

A great day out, but I'm still not back to full health. I'm tiring too easily still.