Nature Time without missing a Meal - by Dale

Today has been a very rich time with a little slower pace for good measure. We we invited to join in the traditional Sunday brunch the Gold's enjoy. That starts at 11 and gave me time to head down to the local land trust nature preserve. I could tell it would be a good time to head there after watching lots of bird activity out our upstairs bedroom window.

Not much information but a good place to be on a Sunday morning

Bonney pointed me in the right direction and told me to cross the playing fields to get there. I nearly had the area to myself when I arrived 10 minutes later except for a few jiggers and dog walkers. This area includes part of the Roding river and was previously a farm. A large area is set aside for sports use and a small footbridge takes you over to the preserve. About the time I got there the sun went behind some clouds and the wind dropped the temperature noticeably. A series of footpaths meander through various small wooded pastures that are maintained by fencing and gates. I headed downstream generally and enjoyed the quiet although I wasn't far from the heart of the city. Jeff takes daily walks here and I can see why. I enjoyed some bird sightings including a few new ones but mainly focused on the lush vegetation and moist conditions in spite of October being only a day away. It seems that the land trust uses traditional, low impact methods mainly to manage the land including grazing by longhorn cattle at times. There isn't much information or guidance beyond trail arrows. I did come across an area that was flagged to stay out due to a sewage leak so there is more to the preserve than I was told. I did note that the preserve is known for spring wildflowers as well as rare butterflies and dragonflies too.

A well thoughtout trail system with many view & rest areas

I caught a glimpse of a bright blue kingfisher in flight and a stealthy northern flicker. Both were new sightings for me. I also saw a number of common species and was sure that more were there to be seen given the time. I needed to head back in time for brunch but enjoyed a fine nature walk right out of my front door. 

Back at the house it was fun to watch Amy, Debbie and Lisa divide up some fudge from our Cambridge trip yesterday. Brunch included eggs, bagels, bacon, lox, coffee, tea and more in great quality and quantity. The real feast however was the family banter which was fast, fun, and filled with sharp wit. This tradition only lacked Julia who was home tracking a big database project rollout she is responsible for. We did get to spend time with her yesterday when she took time off to show us around her stomping grounds including Cambridge. 

A fudge sharing party before brunch

Brunch time!

Soon after we were stuffed, Jeff offered to show us part of Epping Forest. This area has been preserved by London for the enjoyment of all and has been managed for around 800 years. A deciduous forest, we saw the early signs of fall colors as well as a diverse mix of mushrooms and fungi. The ground was damp and everything was lush at a time back home that would be a tinder box. Our stroll was interesting with lots of discussion and partially answered questions about management, history and more. The weather and day of the week had many others out enjoying the day too. There were signs of human activity going back perhaps 2000 years or more. The remaining forest is quite narrow in places on the map but still connected over its 15 mile or so length. We'll have to do more homework to get to the technical questions but the open space, mix of familiar and different species, and time spent with someone who has enjoyed the forest for many years was a real treat.

Epping Forest is very old & managed and a delight to explore

Historic fortifications well over 1000 years old & poorly understood

We got back and had a relaxing time while preparing for another adventure to the Cotswalls tomorrow with a tasty dinner cooking downstairs. Who said travel has to be hard?

Initial Thoughts on London - by Dale

We arrived in London several days ago by train from Shrewsbury. It was an easy trip here including a transfer with a short time before our next train. We are getting better at this sort of thing but it's also because the train system is so good here. Once we arrived in London we needed to quickly master the underground tube during the start of rush hour and quickly travel across the city to get to Bonney and Jeff's in time for dinner. This turned out to be simple enough because this transport system is set up so well. We have now been using the tube for all but walking around the city and find it amazing. We are using Oyster cards which allow for easy passage and can be topped off as needed. The tube has clear mapping, understandable voice directions and enough redundancy built into it to be one of the best systems in the world.

Jeff and Bonney, our hosts reflecting on time we spent together while heading home on the tube 
 

Bonney and Jeff and their three daughters, Amy, Debbie and Julia have made us feel so welcome and helped us navigate and taken us to see parts of the city that this is the most relaxed we have felt on the entire trip. Most of our time has been spent around museums and parks as well as at Bonney and Jeff's home. We have also taken an evening walking tour with Amy that covered much of a canal trail connecting to the Thames. The pub dinner we had with Amy and meeting her roommate Paulina were high points yesterday. The time we spent in the Natural History Museum earlier in the day was enough to convince us this is one of the very best museums of the type globally. We will be going back for closer looks too.

A little "Art Work" used to Dress up a Shopping Center for the Olympics Recently
 

London has a comfortable and yet adventurous feel to it. We can get to many places and are beginning to realize how many places there are for us to consider seeing but of course we will only scratch the surface here too. 

Nothing Beats a Good Home Cooked Meal When You are Traveling
 

C.A.T. - by Laurie

NOTE: Since I often leave a post in draft form for several days (like this one), it can come in below the latest post and thereby be overlooked. You may want to occasionally scroll down and see what you've missed.

My top priority for Wales was to visit the Centre for Alternative Technology (C.A.T.). The purpose of the center is to demonstrate and teach sustainable techniques but I didn't know much more about it than that. I was visualizing someplace like Real Goods in Hopland, which showed a major lack of imagination on my part. CAT was so impressive that the visit there alone made our entire trip worthwhile.

The first job was to get there, which proved to be a bit of a challenge. CAT is located in Machynlleth (pronounced ma-HUN-khleth)--trains went there every two hours plus an hourly bus to the Centre, which is 3 miles away. We wisely chose not to go on Sunday when there are only four buses per day. Even so, the connections aren't synchronized so it was 1.5 hours by train and about an hour's wait for the bus to get there, then almost a two hour wait for the train on the way back. But besides the fact that this small effort was totally worth it, we got 50% off the cost of admission for traveling by public transportation.

To get to the Centre you start by going up on the carbon neutral Water-balanced Cliff Railroad, which uses updated 150-year-old technology to drive a special tram almost vertically uphill. Every last bit of energy is wrung out of the water that does the work. The system is more complex than I could follow (so follow the link above for more info), but the friendly man who worked the train assured me that there were several levels of braking built in to make the railway fail safe.

There is no way that I could capture the thrill of this water-balance railway, the steepest in the world. It was almost vertical.

The 7 acres of grounds are absolutely beautiful--plants and flowers everywhere, as well as fascinating structures and other features: energy-efficient buildings, a restaurant, playground, greenhouse and vegetable gardens, pond, biomass facility, solar and wind power, hydroelectric and water purifying facilities, even a giant mole tunnel. This was all developed in the 35 years that the Centre has been at this abandoned slate quarry; old photographs show a barren landscape where this paradise is now.

Dale in the mole tunnel, a fun illustration of the importance of the small things under the ground.

We didn't have much time to explore because of the long journey back so I took photos of everything, especially the signage that involved the public in the discussion of sustainable solutions. I'll study them in more depth later. We also joined CAT, which made us feel good plus gives us access to their expertise. I came away highly inspired and motivated to spread the word about what CAT is doing and to step up my own local efforts to find solutions to the climate crises.

A few more points. The creativity shown here by a small group of people could certainly be replicated all over the world to find local-based solutions to our sustainability challenges. One of CAT's most important projects is "Zero Carbon Britain 2030" which uses the practical information collected from the Centre to demonstrate that Britain can achieve a zero-carbon society in a relatively short time. Closer to home, 350 Sacramento is currently developing plans for a Town Hall meeting in March 2014 to explore how Sacramento can become carbon neutral. If you would like to help us with the town meeting please contact 350 Sacramento.

Beautiful beyond description.

"There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience." --Archibald MacLeish

 

Tracking Darwin - by Dale

Charles Darwin has been the stuff of legends for nearly as long as I can remember and that is getting longer all the time. We were in Brazil some years back and were lucky to be able to see a traveling exhibit celebrating his life and discoveries. He did quite a bit of work along the Brazilian coast and inland while sailing on the Beagle. The exhibit was mostly in Portuguese and one of the things that really impressed me was the large crowds that came out for it. People stood and read complex display material describing these early studies by Darwin as well as his family history and much more. It was clear that Brazilians were interested and proud of this piece of history their country played an important role in.

Darwin outside the city library
 

Not long afterwards, we were able to see the English version of this exhibit in the Chicago Field Museum. We spent the better part of a day in the museum and didn't tire of studying all the materials. This chance opportunity added to the power of Darwin's discoveries and the times he lived for me. 

For the last few days we've been in Shrewsbury where Darwin was born in 1809 and lived the first 27 years of his life. His 200th birthday was well celebrated there a few years back and there are many signs of his celebrity even in this old city that has so much history over its long existence. The library has a large statue of Darwin sitting with a large stack of books in his later years. There are many other places tied to Darwin's time in Shrewsbury including a few strange ones like a shopping center. None the less it was a powerful feeling to be so close to such an important time in history and evolutionary discovery. We enjoyed following part of the Darwin "town trail" but didn't have time to see his home and garden which are not easily available for the public due to some short sighted thinking. His home is used for local government offices and the gardens are only available during church fundraising periods. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.

A different kind of landmark

Darwin's Gate is a landmark in Shrewabury

More importantly, these sights remind me of the importance of ecological discovery and evolutionary principles as well as the need to conserve biological diversity. This is very apparent as we travel through vast areas that have been greatly changed by centuries of human activity. In many areas we've travelled through on this trip the landscape has been greatly changed and many native species are missing or replaced by nonnative ones. There are also many indications that climate change is accelerating this anthromorphic process. 

We missed this talk but know the story well now 

We will be giving much more thought and reflection to the importance of this work as we visit the London Museum of Natural History. I'm specifically interested in the celebration of Alfred Wallace who independently and collaboratively helped shape the theory of evolution. Much of Wallace's work took place in Indonesia. Visiting that special and very diverse place last year will make this opportunity even more meaningful. I'll have more to say about that soon as we had an amazing visit there today and will be back tomorrow for a behind the scenes tour with one of the museum scientists and our hosts in London.

Coming Home to Shrewsbury - by Laurie

Over 40 years ago (!!) my family spent a year traveling through Europe in a Volkswagen bus--all 8 of us (!!!). I was 17 years old, in what should have been my senior year of high school, and it must have been a traumatic year because I remember almost nothing.

We traveled just about everywhere in Western and Eastern Europe that year, except Greece (where there had recently been a coup and people were asked not to support the new government), Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia (which required tourists to spend a certain amount per person per day), and Scotland and Ireland (my parents waited until after we went home at the end of the year to go there).

For 5 months in the winter we lived in a house in Shrewsbury. It was a nice big house in a newer development at the outskirts of town, with four bedrooms upstairs. Pretty luxurious for the likes of us who had been camping/hosteling for months. We settled in and my brothers and sister went to school, my parents traveled around looking at sights, and I stayed home totally bored. At my age students had either left school to work or were going on to university. I wasn't allowed to work. I did have two friends, Rita and Carol, but I believe they worked during the day. The only things I remember are that there were only three channels on the telly and nothing to watch during the day, and that this was when I taught myself to knit and knitted my little brother Jon a sweater.

So, fast forward 40+ years and I'm back in Shrewsbury. I've lost touch with Rita and Carol, which I greatly regret, and have no idea where that house was or anything else here. It's still a total blank.

But, we are staying in the nicest B&B yet, had a fabulous dinner last night, and look forward to exploring Shrewsbury as tourists. It's a really charming town.

Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury.

There is also a Darwin Shopping Centre.

 

Themes - by Laurie

When we planned this trip we decided that our themes would be Nature and Climate Change. It's always good to have a theme, it helps focus the trip and ensures a common thread throughout your travels. Even when we don't have a theme, a common thread usually emerges. 

But trips seldom go as planned. We've been mostly in cities so there has been little opportunity to commune with nature, and I've had few interactions about climate change. In fact, for the last couple of weeks I've been planning to write a post to announce our new themes: trains and eating.

Eating is what we do the very best, and we're certainly enjoying eating our way through the countries we visit. I am well aware I will pay for this joy when we return but I'm not willing to give up one morsel of this aspect of our travels. We start most days with a B&B breakfast--today I had organic fruit salad and porridge plus hot Camembert with mushrooms on seeded toast. Yesterday I had lamb cawl (a lamb vegetable stew) for lunch. And an Eton Mess for dessert last night. Yum!

But the point of this post is that, although eating is certainly our major theme, we've had the ultimate climate change-related experience today so climate change will remain a major theme of this trip. But I think the Centre for Alternative technology deserves a post of its own.

Waffle with brown cheese in Norway. 

Dinner buffet on the ferry--once is enough.

Langoustines at Isle of Mull.

Fish pie for me at the Fish Cafe.

 

Wales in a Whirl - by Laurie

We chose to hang out in Scotland beyond our allotted days so our time in Wales was severely truncated. In fact, we only stayed there one night, although we'll be going back today for the day. 

We got the last accommodation available in Aberystwyth--a somewhat seedy resort hotel along the promenade. Certainly not up to our new elitist standards. But Aberystwyth was well worth visiting. It's a college town and very lively. We used our time there well.

We explored the ruins of a fascinating castle, with standing stones, at sunset. Then we went to dinner at a local pub chock full of students and ambience, with a burger menu on a 2-story chalkboard that reached down from the second floor. I have been sampling the local draft (draught) cider at each pub while Dale checks out the local ale.

The castle. Note one of the standing stones to the right, a Bardic Circle.

Next morning (after breakfast of course--we never miss a breakfast) we went on a hike along the coastal trail. Just in the last year or so Wales completed a walking trail around the country--over 800 miles, I believe. Much of the trail follows the coast. This was a 5-mile, 2-hour walk from Aberystwyth to Borth. One of the great things about Wales is the train system, which goes to many small places, including from Borth to Aberystwyth, so we didn't have to walk back.

So we headed up Constitution Hill to the trail, vast ocean on one side and indifferent sheep on the other. We saw cormorant-covered rocks below and 4 to 8 (depending on whether second sittings were new birds or not) red kites flew overhead. The two hour estimate was highly optimistic. This trail went way up and then down and then up again over and over again. The trail description said there were 1 or 2 hills. This Sacramento girl would say 8 or 10 really steep hills. After we completed the trail there was still a mile or more walk to the train station in Broth. I was very pleased to have accomplished the whole walk and even more happy to take the train back.

A georgeous walk along the coast in Wales. 

Borth is a resort town that never quite made the big time like Aberystwyth. The small railroad station, built 150 years ago, is now a train museum. The man and wife who run the museum talked to us enthusiastically about their trip to the US 17 years ago when they put 12,000 miles on their railpasses in a month! We also learned more about Borth than we'd ever expected.

Borth back to Aberystwyth, picked up our luggage from the hotel, then back to the train station for the trip to Shrewsbury. When we first came into town we didn't even know which direction to take from the train station. Now, a day later, we knew that station and town like an old friend. 

Red kite flying overhead (note the forked tail), one of the highest points of this very high day.

 

Wales, or Aberystwyth to be more precise - by Dale

We had to leave our quaint old hotel in Glasgow this morning without knowing where we would be at the end of the day. We landed there on Friday and with our approach of flexible last minute planning decent lodging for the coming weekend was tough to find anywhere we were hoping to be. 

A fancy breakfast right in our room as Scotland continues to spoil us!

We tried to be cocky about our situation as we enjoyed a traditional Scottish breakfast served right in our room on the third floor overlooking well maintained gardens in a beautiful of lively Glasgow we told ourselves we would just take off in the direction we wanted to be and work out in route. Sounds good but we were edgy already by the time we got to the train station. We used a cab to save precious minutes and enjoyed his comments and recommendations for this city as the best Scotland has. He gave us much to consider and a reason to come back with more time to spend here.

This is the gateway to the Lake District we want to come back and explore

We got advice at the train station about how to get to central Wales via Shrewsbury and found it wouldn't cost anything due to our rail pass but would take three trains and some short transfer times. That we were up for but we still had to land a place to stay there or along the way and change our plans to go on to Wales the next day which would further shorten the time we have to spend there. We used our SIM cards to good advantage while the train took us out of Scotland and thrould he famed Lake District and rolling Yorkshire hills of England. We left voicemails, sent text messages and surfed tourist webpages for leads on lodging while trying to enjoy the beautiful countryside around us. We finally got a tip that there had been a cancellation at the pricy Marine Hotel on the coast of Wales where we wanted to be. We grabbed it and whispered credit card details on the train. This cost quite a bit more than we try to spend but was worth the piece of mind and travel flexibility. Shortly afterwards a well rated bed and breakfast called back with space if we wanted it. Too late now but it could come in handy on the way back in a day or too.

Exploring these castle ruins at dusk was a great start in Wales!
 

As we passed through Shrewsbury, Laurie reflected on when she lived there for some months with her whole family of eight during the year they spent traveling Europe. We plan to spend some time there to look sround and see who and what might still be around. Our train through Wales gave us a preview of how green, rural and charming this place is. We arrived at Aberystwyth, and no I can't spell it right, with enough energy to walk the half mile and then head back out to walk along the ocean and then explore the castle ruins nearby before heading down to find a hearty dinner & liquid refreshment after another long day. This traveling isn't relaxing or easy although we are getting better at it and able to roll with what comes up along the way.

Laurie contemplates a stone formation in the castle ruins

I could probably say a lot about the quirky room we have here too but I'll leave that for Laurie and another day.

 

Catching Up - by Laurie

The days are full and I do my research for the next day in the evenings--there just aren't enough hours in a vacation day. And that's my excuse for not being able to keep up with this blog. There is no down time and nothing relaxing about traveling like this. However, it's totally our choice. We want to see everything, experience all we can, taste it all (literally too).

Once again I'll just put up a few photos to catch up with what we've been doing. 

A pretty typical B&B breakfast. It's hard to resist but I finally cut back to porridge and fruit.

Tobermory on the Isle of Mull may be the cutest town ever. This photo was taken from a hike above the town. We stayed in a house up the hill above the colorful waterfront.

We had to decide between our whisky tour or this hike. Did you know that Scottish whisky never has an "e"? Whiskey is Irish. We travel to learn important facts like that. 

The Fish Cafe doesn't look like much either inside or out but it's considered the best seafood restaurant in the United Kingdom. We ate there both nights we were there and totally agree. 

Stuck! - by Dale

We said goodbye to our hosts in Tobermory this morning and hit the road to catch a bus back to the ferry and then on to the mainland in Oban. That went without a hitch and we had a nice visit with two women from the east coast who had also been visiting the Isle of Mull. After a short wait we were on the train leaving Oban for Glasgow and traveling through some more beautiful Scottish countryside. We had several nice visits with Scottish travelers on the train who gave us more information and encouragement  with our travels. It's clear we will have to come back soon.

The local Whisky Distillery we nearly toured...

Cold, but at least we aren't hitch hiking in the dark this time

 

Laurie (trapped in back), and two fellow travelers from Mull (on the right) wait to leave ferry

Now it's time to move on to England and Wales for the next phase of our trip. It seems that our plans and good luck aren't holding though as we have been unable to come up with a solution that allows us to visit Shrewsbury on our way into Wales for a short stay before heading o to London next. It seems that lodging and connections are harder than we realized. As it stands now, late at night here, we need to check out in the morning without another destination and lodging lined up. We will need to head to the train station and work something out. Admittedly more of a "first world" problem than something serious but it has us tired and a bit stressed at this point.

Rainy Day Fun in Tobermory - by Dale

We weren't able to schedule space in a wildlife tour today as we had hoped to have a last try to see the White-tailed eagles that are coming back from near extinction. We were close yesterday when we spent time in some good areas but the weather went from rain squall to bright sun and, while we had a great time, these huge and rare eagles eluded us. We did have other great sightings with our host Alan's help, including a pair of golden eagles on the ground with a rabbit kill.

The weather called for rain and heavy at times all today. We set our sights on exploring the town and had a fun and full time doing so. Fueled with another great breakfast we set out down the steep wet hill for the main town below. I had spotted a small laundrymat yesterday so we loaded all our dirties and were able to drop them off and spend the day wandering about. First stop, the volunteer marine rescue center where summaries of their busy rescue events give a feeling for what it can be like in rough seas and other problems. We decided to stay on dry land and move on to a very well stocked book store where we could have filled our luggage but opted to mostly write down titles for later and limit ourselves to a small but very good bird guide to Mull and Iona islands and a comprehensive map of the region. Both will help us plan future visits and save our backs.

A stormy day expected for our last time here today
 

We moved on to the tiny but detailed Marine Mammal Centre for a review of the many species here. I learned that there is a resident Orca population and read about the amount of plastic showing up from remote locations as well as listening to the sounds of Minke whales and other species. We squeezed into the tiny Mull museum next and the next thing we knew, several hours had gone by. This museum is a wealth of information on Mull and surrounding areas going back thousands of years in human habitation as well as much farther in the geologic record. An old fashioned museum with clippings and re-creations by hand so that models told the rich and diverse history of the area.

It was mid afternoon by the time we got to the harbor visitor center. We checked out the bus stop we will use tomorrow to get to the ferry to take us to the train station to take us to Glasgow. Laurie wanted to take the local whisky distillery tour and have a "wee dram" as is expected when visiting these parts. We managed to get the last two spaces for the last tour at 3:00 and headed off for a hot drink and snack. We also got an early reservation in for the Fish Cafe so that we could have another go at the huge and tasty menu there. Along the way back we discovered a hiking trail up into the woods along the cliffs near town. Now we had a dilemma of "Nature vs Whisky". The rainy conditions were factored in but up the muddy trail we went after weighing our options. We were rewarded with some great views and sightings and came back drenched and happy. Now it was time to pick up our clean laundry with just enough time to deliver the bundle back at the B&B grab a little rest and clean up for dinner. 

The Best Fish Resturant in Britain is not much to look at outside
 

We got to the cafe as it opened after negotiating a deal of staying for less than the full two hours allotted per table. We noted that we may be rookies in Scotland but when it comes to excellent food we are pros at such situations. Our great meal included Laurie's favorite cider and my bottle of "Red Monk" Mull beer. This will be as close to the Isle of Iona where the monk is famous for a key role in bringing Christianity to Scotland as we get on this trip. We've got it high on the list for next time instead based on recommendations from those who have been there.

Wise words we try to follow as well as an unusual way to advertise great food!
 

All packed now and ready for our early departure, we looked back and realized that our "slow mostly unorganized day" was anything but that! I've added more photos from today here.

Calgary Bay with the Dogs - by Laurie

The Isle of Mull is our absolutely favorite place. It's a very large island, about 350 miles around, but only about 2500 people live here. It's like harkening back to a more innocent time--people wave to one another when they pass on the road, doors are never locked, stores leave items outside overnight and people pick up hitchhikers. Best of all, it's as beautiful as can be, with a wild unspoiled landscape and many diverse habitats. 

We are somewhat hampered here by being carless. The island is large but buses are extremely limited and the places we want to go are off the bus route. But we were extremely lucky. Our B&B host, Alan, invited us to come along when he took his dogs for a run on the beach at Calgary Bay, which turned into a 5-hour tour of the north island. We couldn't have had a better or more generous guide. The exuberant Mungo was generous too--he shared his seat with Dale. 

Species list for the day: white wagtail, Eurasian curlew, greylag goose, Eurasian oystercatcher, common gull, hooded crow, common raven, meadow pipit, chaffinch, house sparrow, European robin, Scottish Highland cattle (hairy cows), black-faced sheep, hares, ring-necked pheasant, common buzzard, grey heron, mallard, common wood pigeon, house martin, great tit, great cormorant, Eurasian coot, black-backed gull. The prize of the day was Dale's sighting of two golden eagles on the ground. One of them flew up with a rabbit, which it dropped, possibly because of our proximity.

In addition to wildlife, Alan generously answered all my questions so we also learned about the island, its history, the people, the language...it was quite an amazing opportunity. 

Hairy cow. A herd of these stopped us on the road. 

One of many educational stops along the way, this one to tell us about the old kelp industry here. 

Lobster traps, another local industry.

Dale and I went for a walk while Alan ran the dogs. 
 

Mungo and Fergus. 

 

A Hitch in Mull - by Laurie

Today was a travel day. After a slow delicious morning of Scottish breakfast and wandering in Inverness we got on our first bus. We were coached to sit on the left as the bus followed Loch Ness for much of the journey to Fort William. Beautiful! But no monsters. The second bus ride was from Fort William to Oban (sit on the right). Even more beautiful. The Scottish Highlands are unbelievably gorgeous. 

The one fly in our ointment was an email this afternoon from the B&B host on the Isle of Mull to say the bus from the ferry stopped running last week for the season. Uh oh. The town we were heading for, Tobermory, is over 20 miles from the ferry landing. We were already on our way so we just had to trust that things would work themselves out somehow. 

We talked to the ferry purser who made an announcement looking for a ride for us--no offers. We left the ferry hoping for a miracle but weren't that lucky. We had our Plans B, C, and D. Our B&B hosts didn't have a car available but we could call the one taxi on the island, based in Tobermory, which would cost a fortune; we could look for accommodations in Craigmure and forfeit our rooms in Tobermory, we could stay where we were and freeze to death...we decided to hitchhike. 

An older couple hitchhiking on the road with luggage should get results--problem was, there wasn't much traffic that late in the day. Sensible people were at dinner. We stood out there for about 45 minutes (and as if the cold and uncertainty weren't enough, a gawdawful alarm went off nearby threatening to destroy our hearing). But despite the racket we finally got our miracle. A couple on holiday from Sheffield, England, stopped and drove us all the way to our door where we were greeted with hugs and joy by our hosts. 

Warmth, tea, a nice bed...adventures are so satisfying when they're over and we're cozy once again. 

Adventures can sometimes be uncomfortable. 

 

Red Kites, a Conservation Success Story - by Dale

We were very lucky to see several red kites, impressive birds of prey, soaring overhead in the midst of flocks of black-backed gulls, crows, and ravens. The private Tollie Red Kite Centre has only been open for little over a year and is not that easy to find or get to. 

We took a bus to the tiny community of Maryburgh ("marybura") and walked several miles to get to the Centre, including missed turns and steep hills on narrow county roads. Several other groups drove in. The rain showers and icy winds did not spoil our experience in the least. There is a blind and visitor area to watch from and road-killed meat is put out each day to entice these birds to remain in the area and increase their reproductive potential. Artificial feeding is not necessary to recover the species but is a tool commonly used with red kites to produce more young and expand populations by relocating young birds to areas formerly occupied by the species.  

We earned our views of Red Kites at Tollie yesterday
 

Red Kites have been written about and loved or hated going back in the records for a thousand years or more. At some point it seems that hate won out and these majestic raptors with a wingspan of nearly 2 meters were driven to extinction in most of the Western European countries where they are native. They are not hunters as much as the clean-up crew that kept areas in the cities and countryside clear of death and decay. Apparently there was confusion and people believed they preyed on domestic animals and were somehow filthy and the cause of disease. Bounties and other methods decimated the populations of this once very common and majestic bird. Today, poisoning meant for other species, habitat conversion, shooting and similar problems still take a toll but the very impressive and widespread recovery efforts seem to be having much positive effect.

The red kite is an elegant bird, soaring on long wings, with a long forked tail, and twisting as it changes direction. Watching these very large birds soar effortlessly in the hard winds and heavy bird traffic made an even bigger impression. The Red Kite's diet consists mainly of small mammals such as mice, voles, shrews, young hares and rabbits. It feeds on a wide variety of carrion including sheep carcasses and dead game birds. Live birds are also taken and occasionally reptiles and amphibians. Earthworms form an important part of their diet, especially in spring. As scavengers, Red Kites are particularly susceptible to poisoning.

We got the last two red kite pins for our effort and interest.

In the United Kingdom, Red Kites were ubiquitous scavengers that lived on carrion and garbage. Shakespeare's King Lear describes his daughter Goneril as a detested kite, and he wrote "when the kite builds, look to your lesser linen" in reference to their habit of stealing washing hung out to dry in the nesting season. In the mid-15th century King James II of Scotland decreed that they should be "killed wherever possible", but they remained protected in England and Wales for the next 100 years as they kept the streets free of carrion and rotting food. Under Tudor "vermin laws" many creatures were seen as competitors for the produce of the countryside and bounties were paid by the parish for their carcasses.

By the 20th century the Red Kite breeding population was restricted to a handful of pairs in South Wales, but recently the Welsh population has been supplemented by re-introductions in England and Scotland. In 1999 the Red Kite was named 'Bird of the Century' by the British Trust for Ornithology. It has been unofficially adopted as the National Bird of Wales.  The protection and re-introduction efforts for this species have been widespread and successful making for a great conservation success story that is ongoing and still has challenges to overcome.  It's not clear what lies ahead for this species as habitat conversion, poisoning and other negative impacts continue. It isn't known what side effects could result from populations in other countries given the changes that are resulting from climate change either. I intend to follow this story that continues to unfold.

An Unexpected Perfect Day - by Laurie

Perfect days are rare, even on vacation. But today was one. 

It wasn't an auspicious beginning. We got up with no idea what we wanted to do. We hadn't decided whether to stay another night in Inverness or move on to someplace else in the Scottish Highlands. If we stayed we hadn't decided what to do. If we traveled on we hadn't decided where to go. When decisions become so complicated we've learned that it's best to take a break. So we stayed. 

Inverness is a working class town, known as the Capital of the Highlands. The River Ness runs through the middle of town with a lovely river walk. The downtown has been "pedestrianized" so there are several cobbled streets with little traffic. Most of all, Inverness is the jumping off point for Loch Ness and other Highland destinations. We loved Edinburgh but Inverness feels even better. 

After a hearty Scottish breakfast at the B&B we walked into town and dropped in to the Tourist Information Center. We had narrowed our choices for the day to taking the train up and back to Wick at the top of Scotland to see the scenery; a cruise on Loch Ness with a visit to Urquhart Castle; wandering around town to see the museum/art gallery, the castle, and a local nature reserve; a short tour of the Highlands; or go to some of the nearby historical sights like Culloden Battlefield. All very rich possibilities but nothing that felt compelling.

So we walked into the Tourist Information office just hoping to get some info to help decide so we wouldn't wander in circles all day. I explained to the young woman that we like nature and were looking for someplace to go. She immediately suggested we go see the red kites come to feed and began doing magical things with google to find us the bus schedule and walking route. It was over 2 miles from Maryburgh to the red kite observation site so she showed us the path on Google Earth. We were in.

 

Red kites. 

We're getting better at this process. Find the bus stop, find out the cost, count our money, sit and wait, hope we've got it all right. Get on the bus. Hope we get off at the right place. I can't say it's anxiety-free but we're getting better and Dale and I are still married.

We got off (at the right place), went down a dead end, turned around and found the right path, walked and walked, and finally came to the red kite place. Success! We were pretty proud of ourselves. (Have I mentioned that it's cold here and rains intermittently all day?) The volunteer guy put out meat from road kills and sheep offal for the kites (Dale can get into the red kite story and also the controversy about feeding wild animals). Gulls danced in the wind around the meat but never took any. Crows flew around too, and ravens. Nobody ate the meat. Then one kite and then a second one came to swoop and glide. They are magnificent birds. Large with red plumage and a forked tail. We hung out in the observation blind for about an hour but all the birds just flew around and the meat was still on the table. But it was an exhilarating display.  

Long walk back. Bus ride. Stopped at the Hootenany Restaurant for dinner--cider (I'm addicted), cullen skink soup, fish & chips, no dessert. Walked along the river and across the beautiful islands in the middle connected by footbridges, and back to the cozy B&B. Altogether we walked about 8 miles, saw three endangered red kites, traveled through small Scottish towns, and came back to a warm home. I guess you had to be there to understand the happiness of today's adventure. But this is what a vacation is all about. 

Volunteer bringing food for the kites. 
 

My best kite photo. My camera is inadequate for this job.  

Gulls, crows, and kites circling the food. No one landed to eat. 

Cider and ale. A warm and happy ending.