More Geonting.... and NO rain

For someone who 'wasn't going away' this summer, I've been getting around a fair bit! I have just returned from a lovely weekend in mid Argyll where the locals are complaining of a lack of rain! It was certainly quite a relief to get away from the grey skies and heavy rains which have plagued the east coast for the last fortnight and I'm sure it won't come as a surprise that there was lots of good geography....

The map shows where I was based - near to the town of Lochgilphead at the north end of the 70 mile long peninsula called the Mull of Kintyre. The Crinan canal, built back in the 19th century to connect Glasgow with the Inner Hebrides saving vessels the long detour around the Mull cuts through the peninsula at this pont and provides lots of good photograph opportunities..

The sea lock here at Crinan is the last of 15 locks on the canal's 15 mile course from Ardrishaig on Loch Gilp to The Sound of Jura. Today its waters are almost exclusively plied by yachts and the inner harbour at Crinan is always a colourful spot.
You can follow the route of the canal more closely on the map below. The photo below was taken from Crinan looking across Loch Crinan with the sun setting to the north west. The most distant peaks on the skyline are on Mull.....

A walk yesterday produced a few more 'geopportunities' ....

If you are in Form 3 or above, you may remember that when we were learning about forestry in class, we talked about ways of clearfelling trees which were more environmentally friendly. One of these ways was to leave some standing timber - often the broadleaved trees which have self seeded. This preserves some of the former habitat for wildlife. The photo above shows this practice in action...


The purpose of the walk was to climb Dunadd hill which was the ancient seat of the King of Dalriada. You can read about the ancient hill fort which used to surmount it by clicking on the image. When you get to the top, you immediately appreciate why this was the ideal site for a hill fort back in the 10th century.


















Between Dunadd hill and the coast lies the Moine Mhor ('Big Moss') - an extensive area of raised bog which is a National Nature Reserve. Raised bogs are rare habitats which form when bog vegetation builds up in deep accumulations until it rises in a huge dome where plant roots cannot access groundwater. The vegetation therefore has to sustain itself entirely from the atmosphere. Over the centuries, much of the Moine Mhor has been forested or farmed. However, there are still expanses, such as in the photo above, where the natural vegetation can be seen. Click on the image to read more about the area.

The River Add meanders across the Moss and from the top of Dunadd Hill, you can see evidence of its wanderings in the past..... Interestingly, the track of the old course is higher than the present course of the river, adding weight to theory of raised bog formation. You can see more of the previous course of the river in this panorama shot ..

Finally, no visit to this part of mid Argyll is complete without a visit to the 'honeypot' of Tayvallich... ....where our lunch menu comprised mussels, lobster, scallops, sea bass, langoustines, and oysters.

Who said it was a wet weekend?!!