days out

Isle of Skye, March 2023

In March earlier this year I got to visit the Isle of Skye for the first time, making the pilgrimage west to take part in Misty Isle Bricks, a TartanLUG Lego show. It was the first show of it’s kind in Skye, and though only a one day event, I greatly enjoyed the rest of my weekend on the island, making the absolute most of my time there.

I found Skye incredbly inspiring- stunning views, interesting folklore, and something cultural/historic around each corner- so naturally there were lots of photos. And lots of walking too! Some of the most i’ve done in some time, going up hills, through muddy fields, and down scree paths.

Arriving mid afternoon on the Friday -and before check-in!- I climbed The Storr. Saturday was the show of course, but also a visit to Uig. Sunday was home-time, but some further driving first, with a trip to the Fairy Pools. Throughout, I resided centrally over the weekend, staying at the Portree Hotel- an excellent mid-island base for my weekend.

I’m fortunate to be visiting Skye again next year- i’m looking forward to exploring further then!

June Status Update

Not the usual birthday month.

Beach Day at Brora

At the beginning of the month my friends and I travelled en masse to Brora, and had a meet up at the award winning beach just outside of town. After a truly awful global pandemic and accompanying lockdown this was our first big group meet in a year and a half, with lots to catch up on. Sun screen, snacks, shorts, and a chipper takeaway afterwards, it was great seeing everyone, and genuinely the best day I’ve had in ages. Lots of love, lots of good feels, lots of positive endorphins. One of my big epiphanies last year in lockdown was the importance in my life of friends, and seeing everyone so suddenly, at once, really reinforced that. Very thankful. The week after, I went to head back to Brora once more, but we ended up at Golspie Big Burn instead.

A Quiet Place and A Quiet Place Part II

For my birthday this month, in place of a big party with friends, I only had one other request than the walk at Golspie; a cinema trip. A Quiet Place Part II was a film I’d been waiting to see since March last year, and after thoroughly enjoying it’s predecessor at home, it was one of the big films I really wanted to see live in the cinema. Trusted film critic Mark Kermode frequently talks about the audience tension and atmosphere in showings of the original, and I definitely feel that was replicated with the sequel, at Merlin Thurso. Narratively I feel like the sequel misses some of the clear focus of it’s predecessor and feels looser. It is excellent in different ways however; changing protagonist, continuing a longer plot, and peeling back the layers on a fictional world already established. I definitely found it just as tense. After two short films I’ve found myself incredibly invested in the outcomes of the characters- I’d appreciate a third film if it happened but also just as happy to have it wrapped up here. Eitherway, John Krasinski has done really good work with the series, and I really cant wait to see what he does next.

The Birds

Ailish’s birthday was mostly ruined on account of a) continued lockdown and social restrictions, and b) the story below this one. Amongst other things, I got her a Bird Feeling Station, and after some front garden rearrangements, we installed it near the front door. This took a few days to get going but over the month we’ve had numerous visitors, with at least 20 chirpers present at one point. So many birds! We have now had Dunnocks, House Sparrows, Starlings, A crow, and the most spooked pair of Collared Doves I’ve ever seen. It sounds stupid, but this was all incredibly rewarding and weirdly fascinating- I LOVE WATCHING THEM! Feeding the birds outside and spying on them, I am now the oldest I’ve ever been, I am very aware of this.

Covid Positive

The month ended with this bombshell. After a coworker had a recurring cough and a whirlwind of subsequent days -involving countless negative lateral flow tests and a sore throat like glass- I tested positive. This was incredibly jarring, I spent so long scared of something possibly happening, and then it just did. I didn’t panic as such, but I remember feeling distinctly worried about what would come next, and just accepting it. There was lots of days in bed, and while I felt run down as hell it’s only looking back now that I stop and realise how bad it actually was. Lots of sleep, lots of sweat, and losing my voice for a bit of it. I’m thankfully getting over it now and recovering more and more each day, getting strong, and back to where I was.

This month marks the one year anniversary of these status updates. Born last year out of both the whole nasty global pandemic business and deactivating Facebook, writing monthly status updates has been a great way to reflect, pass time, and check in remotely. I’m not sure how fully enjoyable these posts -or even this blog- are but it’s something I’m looking to continue doing as a kind of go-to centre point for anything and everything I’m upto. It’s been great breaking down habits and activities into months, as seasons change and mental health varies. If these posts are interesting, enjoyable, or helpful in any way, please let me know.

Onwards and upwards!

Castle Urquhart and The Loch Ness Centre

Last month as a bit of an escape, Ailish and I had a few nights staycation, with one night spent in Inverness and another in Nairn. Originally at the end of September we were going to be attending a wedding, but with that cancelled and excess work leave still to take, we decided to head off all the same for a bit of escapism. The car *might have* needed a service too, but that’s besides the point. All the same, after months indoors and looking at mostly the same walls, we had a few nights staying somewhere else for honestly the first time since March and it was incredibly refreshing.

With a worldwide Covid pandemic still largely in progress (and particularly in Scotland) we weren’t really keen for much shopping or crowded streets so when we reached Inverness we kept going and went to Castle Urquhart just outside Drumnadrochit, and next to Loch Ness. This is a place i’ve been wanting to revisit for a few years now, only vaguely remembering a trip there when I was much much younger. The drive there and heading south out of Inverness was warm with bright beautiful scenery. We followed great roads under trees beckoning us down the map and to the loch; a loch certainly a lot bigger than what I remembered. We passed lots of great houses and small hamlets and drove by plenty of parked would-be-photographers, before the sight of the castle on the edge of the loch began to appear in earnest; everything picturesque as hell.

Even though the castle has been there 800 years the afore-mentioned virus really has changed everything socially, so booking tickets the night before was a requirement for entry. As we drove in this was reiterated again, and the restrictions and changes outlined. Masks optional when outside, stick to the right of the paths where you can. the cafe is closed for sitting in. There were a few cars there and people milling about but I fully expect the ticket pre-order had maybe caught a few tourists and visitors off guard. Advantage us. As with the loch, the walk down to the castle was equally bigger than what I remembered from my childhood, but with mostly clear skies, a soft breeze, and a reduction in numbers it was incredible to see the castle and it’s surroundings open up as we trod passively downhill.

Castle Urquhart’s history is one of much conflict with the castle itself participating in numerous battles, wars, and raids while in use over a period of roughly 500 years. It shows. A motte and bailey fortification founded in the 13th century, the castle’s place in history gave it a supporting role in The Wars of Scottish Independence changing hands between Scotland and England (and vice versa) before subsequently being owned by a series of Scottish clans and families. During exchanges destructions and renovations shaped the castle into the structure that it is now- a composite of leftovers, extensions, and rebuilds; defenses added as combat continued and time passed. By the end of the eighteenth century the actual castle was roofless, mostly ruin, and a scenic wonder only to artists and tourists alike. Which takes us to this post today… I’m not the artist.

The skies opened as we made our way down the hill to the castle proper as we passed a repro-educational trebuchet and crossed what would have been the drawbridge upto the gatehouse to seek shelter. Like the rest of the castle the gatehouse has suffered destruction in parts with collapsed masonry visible on approach, but the structure itself is mostly still there- as the rain continued quite heavily now it provided shelter to a number of us, though, alarmingly not always socially distanced. We left and took our chances elsewhere in the grounds, exploring the wall remains of the “castle-toun” assortment of smithy, great hall, and doocot. That there were once pigeons housed and farmed in the castle grounds to provide eggs and subsequently meat in the winter surprised me a lot more than I would have thought.

Grant Tower, the towerhouse is perhaps the postcard centrepiece of the castle remains, but due to pesky virus restrictions yet again we weren’t allowed to climb fully to the top. Nontheless we still got to explore the interior of the five-storey structure -one way paths- and hang hands and phones out of windows and openings to take photos of a now quite bleak and stormy surrounding loch. The Jacobite Ferry was on the water- thankfully no signs of any monster activty.

The sun did reappear after a while and the skies warmed but by this time we were mostly back up the hill and in the car. We headed back to Drumnadrochit and decided to visit The Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition, an impressive looking building and bright garden that was once The Drumnadrochit Hotel. Ailish had been here when she was younger; a ‘museum’ about the loch and all the scientific discoveries and wonder it had generated over the last century. This time there was no mention of middle-ages conflict or battle, but the experience was a bit of a ruin itself.

The hotel experienced a devastating fire in 1984 so while the outside looks forgive me (again) picturesque as hell, the inside is a weird plastic cavern misery where you go from one room to the next watching very dated timed videos on a projector. I read as much in the reviews on the Tripadvisor page but we gave the place the benefit of the doubt and decided to go. It’s…okay for what it is, but zero interactivity and the attraction could probably learn quite a bit from the edutainment and joy of places like The Edinburgh Dungeons et al, but that’s just me. The place had an ironic B-movie esque charm but it hurt me more knowing that it and the accompanying cafe, tourist hotspot to world-famous Loch Ness definitely had a lot more potential, just maybe not the inspiration.

Fear of open water -yes, that one, i’m that person- meant we didnt go on a cruise or boatride of the loch, but with an afternoon of rain soaked into my clothes and a chill from dated attractions freezing my bones, we went back to the car and headed off. I’m really glad we visited the loch that day because with so much reiteration of everything on the news and social media and even day to day it felt great to break that cycle a little and go somewhere new and genuinely different, without having to travel too far. Yes, it was only one day, but that really made a difference; the castle itself inspired me quite a bit in regards to my ongoing long-fabled work-in-progress Lego Castle, and I left with a new desire to learn more about Scottish history. I would definitely recommend anyone reading to not just visit the castle ruins, but the loch itself at some point- there’s no certainty of monster sightings, but you’re guaranteed some equally impressive views away from home.