Monday 15 April 2024
Rainbow over Clunie loch
Bad Backs and Pots of Gold
There's been a bit of a delay here due to me having had a 'bad back' (crippling pain for 2 weeks, severe pain for another two, slightly less severe for another two, and so on - as is the way with backs) and feeling obliged to give up my job, with all the stress and worry that that entails.
It's for the best health-wise but but not ideal financially, as unlike the denizens of the Rocky Outcrop I do require 'cash munny' to survive.
Anyway I'll worry about that later. Maybe there's a pot of gold at the end of that rainbow, who knows, and maybe I'm the one to find it.
Tuesday 19 March 2024
Plague Island - or is it?
Thankfully, the T-G hadn't bothered to lock up and it was fairly easy to gain access by sliding a stout piece of card between the two casements. Tuppence and I rolled up the Aubusson, tied it with rope, and shoved it out of the window. There was a lot of rustling as it slid down the ivy and the Moon was shining brightly upon the castle walls leaving us quite exposed to anyone who happened to be having a midnight ramble. However we had to take the chance because unless we tried to cram it through the waste hole of the 'garderobe' we had no other way of getting it out.
Back at the Outcrop we unrolled the rug. The map was clearly visible on the woven underside, rather than on the stained and worn 'pile'.
But what was it a map OF? Or indeed, where? We had to bear in mind that we were looking at a reverse image.
There were symbols for water, and a distinct outline of a tiny island. On the island was the symbol for a church, or at least some sort of religious structure.
And next to it, a skull and crossbones.
'What does that signify?' asked Geoffrey. 'Pirates?'
'Death,' said Tuppence. 'Poison. Disease. It's a plague island. Of all the rotten luck.'
'So we've wasted our time then,' said Geoffrey. 'The whole point of nicking the map was to find buried treasure. Gold coins, doubloons, pieces of eight and caskets of jewels. Because where there's a secret map there's always buried treasure. Not that we need munny or anything, it's just nice to have the satisfaction of finding it. Oh well, I suppose we'd better take the rug back before they notice it's missing.' He reached for the grappling hook.
'Hold up, Geoffrey,' I said. 'Could it be that the skull and crossbones IS a pirate symbol, rather than death or poison, and that there's smuggled treasure hidden there?'
'Or, perhaps whoever made the map wanted people to think it was a plague island to put them off and there is really a hoard of gold and jewels hidden in a crypt or something,' said Geoffrey.
'There's only one way to find out. We have to figure out which island this is and get over there quickstyle,' said Tuppence, twirling a pistol. 'Fetch the coracle Uncle Tuppy, while I fire up the iPhone and do a reverse reverse image search.'
next time - we find the island, only to discover it's already heavily featured as a fun destination on Instagrot and a million people and their kids have already trampled over it, paddle-boarding and barbecuing and defecating everywhere and destroying any potential clues...but the Old Tup was a canny character and nobody's fool. There were secrets yet to be discovered...and we were the ones to find them - with the additional help of Dave, his trailcam and his newly-developed, super-sensitive 'third eye'. More on that next time.
Thursday 4 January 2018
Further to my post about M.R. James...
I say 'all but' and 'modifying' because I'm still dipping into M.R. James, even though it makes me look over my shoulder to check if some nameless beast is following me from the shadows, and I'm frightened to move the duvet in the dark or put the light on in case I find the same awful be-wigged, hairy-mouthed ghastliness has continued to follow me and is now staring at me from hollow, cobwebby eye sockets. Yesterday I startled a hare when walking by the ruins of Clunie Castle, an atmospheric place 'steeped in history' if ever there was, and therefore almost certainly haunted, if you believe in such things, and wondered if there was some significance to the hare, given what we know about the mythology surrounding them.
As I looked at the ruins I thought, of course, about James's story 'A View from a Hill'. I almost wished I had those magic binoculars so that I could see what the castle had looked like in the 1400s when it was built. There are no surviving illustrations, and I can find precious little information about it, which is surprising given that it's a place of some apparent significance and that the ruins are relatively large.
My quest continues.
Overall, it does occur to me that perhaps being creeped out and unsettled - in a mild kind of way - has its merits - it makes you think about things from a different angle.
To be continued...
Tuesday 19 May 2015
A Couple of Short Walks.
The island |
Reeds, Loch Clunie |
Horse Chestnut Candle |
A wander by a familiar haunt, Loch Clunie. Hoped to see an osprey - didn't. It was sunny-ish, but very very cold for May, and I was tired, so I didn't linger.
I did see a Great Crested Grebe, and a swan...
Next day I walked by Loch of the Lowes; in the fields were several pairs of lapwings (more than I've see in years), and numerous brown hares, with swifts, martins and swallows flying across. I also observed a little grebe in another loch, and quite a few tufted ducks.
Still no ospreys.
But it's only a matter of time.
By Loch of the Lowes |
Loch of the Lowes |
Wednesday 25 March 2015
Today's Walk - Clunie
Beavers have had a go at the saplings by the water |
Wednesday 25 February 2015
Today's Walk - Clunie
Loch Clunie - again. A very dreich day, and I was tired, so didn't walk round it as I usually do. I admired the masses of snowdrops, which will be followed by an even better display of bluebells as Spring progresses. Unfortunately my present camera is very basic and can't do them justice.
Good views of Castle Hill (flat-topped mound on the far side) and of the island, with the Bishop of Dunkeld's house. Obviously it doesn't belong to the Bishop of Dunkeld any more - and hasn't for a couple of hundred years, as I remember. It's a shell now. What a shame. It must have been a great place to hole up in on a wild and stormy night...the only access by boat...looking out at the churning black waters of the loch from an upper window, while sipping a glass of best brandy and gnawing a peacock's leg (or your own, if supplies were low), and driftwood smouldered in the stone fireplace...
The house did actually burn down in the 1950s, but I'm unsure why. Possibly smouldering driftwood.
Wildlife spotted today included a herd of about a dozen roe deer in a field (unusual to see such a large group in the open), flocks of geese (greylags I think...) and cormorants on the trees on the island. Mallards and tufted ducks on the loch. Various small birds such as blackies, robins, coal tits and wrens active in the surrounding woods.
Thursday 22 January 2015
Today's Walk - Loch Clunie (again)
Loch frozen over (all but), geese huddled on the far side, buzzards keening to each other in the freezing cold. Lots and lots of snowdrops.
Blue sky reflected in the ice. The air was very still. We threw stones onto the ice and there was a ringing echo.
I go here a lot and I've described this place before, so I won't go into it all again. Click on the links below if you'd like to know more.
Sunday 4 May 2014
Sunday 19 January 2014
Walk of the Day - Loch Clunie
The road leading down to the church and loch. |
Reed beds at the western edge of the loch. |
Clunie church, from the loch side |
Castle Hill - site of Kenneth MacAlpine's hunting lodge, and a castle used by Edward 1st |
Inscription at Clunie church gate |
The island (or crannog) seen from the road - gable of ruined castle just visible |
A very rainy Loch Clunie - the wooded island or crannog on right of photo |
A walk along the road by the loch |