Redheugh Salmon Station

The weather forecast said there was to be occasional showers of rain today. That didn't sound too bad so I went for a wander down to Redheugh near Cockburnspath. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to that ominous looking sky.

I parked at the farm and headed down the track to the coastguard cottages before I started the descent of the cliffs. The track is pretty indistinct but the slope was reasonable which was just as well because halfway down there was a flash of lightning, a long rumble of thunder and a "shower" started. I decided to keep going, believing the rain wouldn't last for long. How wrong I was!

It got darker and the rain was really lashing down by the time I reached the shore. I sheltered under an overhang of rock whilst Fly happily sat in the rain as squall after squall gusted in off the sea.

 I eventually gave up trying to shelter and decided to make the best of it and scramble along under the cliffs. At a lower tide it's a lot easier as there is an old track cut through the rock for horses and carts.

After a lot of slipping and sliding, and occasionally having to lift Fly over particularly steep rocks, I made it to the old boat shed. There was a salmon fishing station here but I think this shed was property of  the local coastguard. 

The rails for launching and recovering are still in place and further along the beach was the remains of a winch. The rain was getting really heavy now so I sheltered in the shed in the vague hope that it would ease. I also took the chance to try to dry out the camera.

Fly was busy farther along the beach. Unbelievably she had managed to find a tennis ball amongst miles of boulders.

The salmon fishing bothy.

Not much left now but there is a fire place and that big rope that is strung across the building would be ideal for stringing a hammock.

There was one final building that I had heard of but had missed last time I was here. Apparently there was a little power station above the boat house and sure enough when I looked into the tiny shed there was a wee turbine and generation board.

Water flowed down the hill in the pipe that enters the far corner of the building and through the green turbine.

Big old control valve for the water supply. I managed to resist the temptation to try to turning it.

Great old switches and cutouts. Dr Frankenstein would have been proud of a board like that.

 A bank of old Lucas lead acid batteries.

The rain had finally eased but with all the time I had spent nosing along the shore, the tide had risen farther than I had allowed for. So rather than retrace my route I took the other option and started up cliffs following the line of the poles carrying the electricity wires to the farm.

As the cloud lifted a little, the red of the local sandstone became apparent in the cliffs.

Back at the farm and the swallows were flitting across the pond feeding on the insects. They were too fast to catch on the camera. Not quite so fast was this older collie that had the sense to stay undercover in a barn.

Big old 25 tooth sprocket. It must have been some size of chain that fitted it. I was soaked when I got back to the car and feeling that climb back up the cliffs but it was a good outing and Fly has slept all afternoon.

Mid Week Cycle 20th June

It was a lovely sunny evening yesterday but I got caught up with other things, although I stopped to take a quick picture of the LHT looking out over the castle and the sea on the way home.

This evening the weather was not so good with rain threatening. I needed to get out on the bike and work some things through in my head, so I took the route to Cockburnspath I know pretty well. It is easy to get into a rhythm, cycling along, and letting my mind wander when I know the destination.
 

Beside the track to Torness is fresh expanse of new wheat with waves of green as the breeze blew gently across.

I stopped at the Cockburnspath post office and shop. It was closed, no great surprise, but the cards in the windows provide an interesting insight into village life.

The lane behind the shop leads to the church. Its a fine old building that I don't really know much about other than it quite obviously has an unusual round bell tower. This was built in the 1650s and I've heard stories that it was this design to support a light as a beacon towards the sea. I doubt this.

It looks good though. The little slit windows in the tower are stained glass, as are the larger side windows illuminating the main aisle of the kirk.

The rain had started and the light was poor for getting any pictures but I find churchyards all the more atmospheric in dank weather. Time was getting on, so I headed back.  A couple of hundred yards short of twenty miles tonight and I have to get back into having more little outings like this.

Sunny Sunday just being busy doing nothing

It's been a strange old weekend. Saturday was spent travelling to Fife, laying carpet, receiving abuse, and generally wondering about families and why I feel I must support an uncle that I have no feelings for. As a child, my sister and I dreaded his visits. He never did anything inappropriate, but he has always been a belligerent character.

As an adult I look at him and see an unfortunate personality and probably a low grade paranoid psychosis. Since my fathers passing I have found myself taking on family roles that I don't want but feel obliged to accept. I suppose it's just part of growing older....and that Scottish Presbyterian work ethic. ...Aye...

Any hoo, Sunday was warm and bright.  Stuart has had problems with his outboard missing on one cylinder. Off I went on the Surly LHT, multimeter in hand and a lot of faith in my diagnostic abilities.

Parked up in the sailing club. The dog at the door is Bouncer. A regular face around Dunbar harbour.

Yamaha 6hp, lower plug doesn't have a spark. The impedance over the secondary winding's seems way off target, so swap coils and we have a spark at lower cylinder but not top. Time to find a new coil! 30 euros on Ebay but anyone who has owned a  2 stroke motor bike will tell you that you can pick up a Nippon coil like that for pennies.

So with Stuart and Scott considering how to source a new coil, I sat back and watched the the local Scottish Coastal Rowing cometition in the company of assorted lifeboat crew and various passers by. We somehow also got convinced to help lift the boats back out of the water onto their trailers.

 That's my foot after wading into the water to lift a boat! I have a similar one on the other side.

The skiff crews had traveled from all over the east coast of Scotland for a hard day of rowing and enjoyed a good days racing in perfect conditions.

Some folk just enjoyed a beer in the sun.

On the way home I spotted Alan Kelly with his very orange Brompton. I'm not wholly convinced about small tyre bikes but I freely admit that the way a Brompton can fold up is well impressive. 

Not a lot of cycling, not any sailing, but a day in the sun just doing what I wanted, which may seem frivolous to some, but is very important to me.

Mid Week Cycle 12th June

I was away visiting in Glasgow at the weekend and didn't manage to fit in any cycling, so by Wednesday evening I was keen to get out and about. I took the old Falcon this week, no particular reason, I just fancied a change. 

It's an old lugged steel frame with 700x35 tyres and steel bars, so it's no lightweight, but it is noticeably lighter than the LHT. It also feels sharper in the corners with steeper geometry and a more aggressive riding position. I prefer the LHT but the Falcon has it's place.

The sun managed to disappear behind cloud for the couple of hours I was out and about so the pictures are either a little dark, or over-exposed to try and show some detail. The route started out along the 'dump' road with it's new cycle path and crossed over the Biel Burn into John Muir Country Park.

The tracks here are bone dry despite today's rain. Although they are a bit bumpy with the occasional patch of deep sand, I was able to keep going. I just kept the front end light and mashed away on the pedals. 

There were Skylarks soaring over the salt marshes as I picked my way around the rabbit scrapes.

I don't know what these tree carvings are about. They stand guard around the children's play park and probably give the wee ones nightmares.

After the new bridge I pedaled out over the sands past the WWII defences. It would be easier on a fat bike but I just took my time and picked a route over the firmer sand.

It's not what you ride.........

No-one around, just me, my bike and the distant calls of the wading birds. I could happily have sat for hours watching the evening tide creep in across the sand.

But I needed to get home, so off I went winding along the single track in the woods.

The Falcon has it's place and it should really be on the road but it managed fine this evening. I've been thinking again about putting a single speed cog and crankset on it. We'll see.

Not many miles this evening but a good pedal with some hard intervals and some relaxing moments.

Mid week wandering

I've been working late, and when I did get home this evening I had to wait around for someone from the Office of National statistics. He was half an hour late and implied that as a Government employee he had the right to enter my home and ask me all about my life. He didn't get past the front door.

It was getting late and heavy clouds were threatening rain, so I gave up on the idea of a cycle and took Fly out for a good wander through the woods.

A happy dog scenting the air.

Coastkid was up around these woods recently and when I read his post I was impressed with how dry the wood was this year. Normally taking Fly up there ends in a very muddy wee dog. This doesn't bother me, or Fly either, but El often has something to say about it.

The trails were bone dry underfoot and starting to get overgrown with the thick green vegetation of the long awaited summer. The woods here are carefully farmed to encourage native plants and wildlife by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (I'm a member).

In the glades between the felled trees the sun reaches the woodland floor and ground plants abound. The air was full of the smell of wild garlic, or ransoms, and pheasants were picking through the wood piles along the hedges. 

The mix of trees and open spaces is also ideal for birdlife. Throughout the canopy was full of the sound of the  birds singing, the occasional alarm call and the clatter of wood pigeons.

Along the old dam road I could see a buzzard gliding slowly over the dry reservoir before it disappeared into the oak trees on the hillside.

The crumbling dam walls leading down to the burn. There were deer tracks criss-crossing the mud alongside the water where they stop to drink.
No cycling tonight but it was a good walk in a beautiful place.

Saturday Sailing on Film!

Two days of warm weather. It must be summer! The conditions on Saturday were perfect for finally getting the mighty Heron out for a sail.

There were lots of comings and goings at the harbour as folk headed out fishing and the local RNLI were exercising.

The little outboard fired up, I dropped the moorings and off I went.

The best bit is always when I switch off the engine and everything goes silent. Just the breeze in the sails and the swoosh of the hull cutting through the water.

A happy me relaxing in the sun.

 The peace was shattered by the helicopter that was training with the lifeboat. The little lens on the pentax gives no idea of how close that thing got. I could quite clearly see the crew at the side door.

I'm not sure how long I was out but eventually the wind began to shift and cloud rolled in. I headed back to the harbour along with Stuart and Scott who had appeared on their yacht Selene.

That's Stuart at the helm in case you hadn't guessed.

Back in the harbour and Bob's wee fifie  is in the water and getting used. He's made a great job of the restoration, with authentic rigging and fittings.

I also tried making a film of sailing out of Dunbar on the Heron. I take my hat off to the likes of Coastkid and other bloggers who post wee films regularly. It's a lot of work!

The music is Solo Acoustic Guitar from Audionautix album by Jason Shaw.