A watery week

Well it's Nature Friday again, and truth to tell, I've been struggling a bit this week to come up with a coherent post, as we've been here, there and everywhere, including a quick trip over to Torridon to deal with a (Gail says) boring cottage maintenance issue.

Looking at the various photos taken over the week, a common theme did emerge.

Water! 

Something we are never short of in this part of the world. 

So here I am by the River Dee on a peaceful Sunday walk with our friends M, J and K (photo taken by M).

Then a day later, on the Nairn beach, favourite stop en route to Torridon. (These days I'm let out of the car after an hour of driving, or maximum an hour and a half, which means lots of nice little walks.)

It was a watery scene when we reached Loch Torridon.

See the puddles outside the front gate to the cottage just after dawn on Wednesday.

A bit later that morning I enjoyed the tranquil scene by the loch, for a few minutes anyway, before the wind got up and more rain swept in.

At least the waterfalls never run dry in this part of the world.

Can you see me here, showing great bravery crossing a stream in the woods at the base of Beinn Eighe, a final walk on the western side of Scotland before we set off back to the relative dryness of the north east.

 

Look! There are actual patches of sunshine on the slopes of Slioch. After our walk in the forest, Gail wanted me to wash my paws with a paddle in the clear, clean waters of Loch Maree before I got back into the car, but I did not co-operate.

Happy Nature Friday friends. Was your week a wet or a dry one?

Not what I had in mind...

So when, at the end of a muddy walk this week, Gail suggested I needed a paw spa, I envisaged this kind of a set up.

Followed maybe by this...

Whereas what I got was a cold dip in the River Dee.

And scant sympathy from my owner, who just said don't make a fuss Bertie, I can't see any ice floes...

At least it wasn't total immersion.

PS BREAKING NEWS: It has just been confirmed that my wee poodle pal Ella is arriving at our house tomorrow for a five day Christmas holiday. Oh we're going to have such fun!

We like bridges!

In this time of social isolation, things that connect us are particularly important, aren't they? Which is why Gail and I decided on the theme of bridges for this week's 'walk from home' excursion. 

It was lovely and sunny when we set off on Friday morning to walk across all the bridges spanning the River Dee in Aberdeen. Look, you can see the first and oldest one, the not very originally named Bridge of Dee in the distance here. 

A well proportioned and attractive bridge, I think. It's been around since medieval times, although with lots of upgrades over the years.

Unfortunately the pavement is still too narrow to allow room for pedestrians to pass with ease, and this was so even before social distancing was invented. Luckily there were few people around on Friday.

From Bridge of Dee we head downstream along the river to the King George VI Bridge. This one was completed in 1941, and has a nice wide pavement giving plenty of space for dogs, people and cyclists as well as all the road traffic.

So we cross this bridge and continue along the north side of the river. Fortunately the trees are not yet fully in leaf, so we can peek between the branches look back at the bridge's granite arches sparkling in the sunshine (almost!)

Next comes the railway bridge, although this does't really count for the purposes of today's walk, as only trains are allowed to use it. Gail wondered if we should wait to get a photo of a train crossing the bridge, but then remembered that there are scarcely any running at the moment, so she decided to press on. 

Suddenly, as we came closer to the harbour, the sun disappeared behind a wall of haar (sea fog) and the temperature dropped about 10ºC. So the next photo is a bit dark, but maybe you can make out that there are two bridges right next to each other here. In the foreground is the Wellington Suspension Bridge (1831) and behind it the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge (1984).

Oooh, one last little bit of blue sky reappears as I cross the suspension bridge. This is my favourite bridge as not only is it pretty, but motor vehicles are not allowed these days and so I can stroll at leisure down the middle of the walkway, like I own it.

The Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is not pretty, as you can see below. Frankly, I don't know what our dear Queen did to deserve having such an ugly bit of infrastructure named after her. 

She might even be a bit jealous of her forbear Queen Victoria, for whom today's final bridge is named. The Victoria Bridge was completed in 1881, in the wake of a ferry boat disaster in which 32 people drowned. It might not be spectacular, but is at least pleasingly shapely and symmetrical.

And it really is of no concern to me that Gail says it's not a comfortable bridge to cycle across, because the roadway is still surfaced with the original cobbles.

Downstream of the Victoria Bridge is the harbour. I'm feeling a bit chilly sitting here with the cool damp air drifting off the North Sea, so it's time to head home and warm up.

I hope you enjoyed our little outing today. Below is a map of the route, which was 4.2 miles long.

Safety moment with Bertie in Ballochbuie

As lots of my friends in the Northern Hemisphere have been dealing, to various degrees, with snow and ice this week, I feel a 'Cold Weather Safety Moment' is appropriate today.

Yesterday Gail and I ventured inland to Ballochbuie Forest (part of the Queen's Balmoral estate) where the snow was deep and powdery.

Too deep in fact for us to be able to complete our planned route, but we did manage a short walk along the River Dee.

You see in the picture below that the river looks much narrower than usual, as ice has formed along the banks. It's hard to make out exactly where the solid earth stops and the ice starts, as it's all covered in snow. 

Since I am (mostly) a Good Boy these days, I do not have wear a lead on country walks, unless we are near farm livestock or roads. However, you will notice that here beside the river I am attached to Gail by my 'walking string'. 

This is because, in addition to being a 'Good Boy' I am also, at the age of nearly nine, a 'Sensible Chap', and am comforted by the thought that Gail will will keep me safely away from venturing on to any treacherously thin ice and falling into the fast flowing water.   

It later occurred to me that I would have been even safer had I been wearing my harness (the one normally reserved for train journeys through Newcastle).

Away from the river bank, the main hazard is a chilly bum!

A fishy business..

When Gail comes home from work she has a habit of telling me the news from the office (whether or not I asked). Last week, her Perthshire-based colleague Beth was apparently all excited to be attending a big event celebrating the start of the Scottish salmon fishing season. Beth's husband is a ghillie on the River Tay.

Well yesterday Gail and I went for an amble along our local salmon river, the Dee, but failed to spot any anglers standing in the icy waters. After the walk we passed by a shop in Banchory and, noticing a 'dogs welcome' sign on the door, went in to have a look round.

In one quiet corner of the shop, I spotted some interesting activity and called Gail over to have a look...

Within seconds I was surrounded by admirers.

"Ooh a fox terrier!"
'Such splendid dogs, we had them when I was a boy."
"What a fine specimen, this one, so alert."
"A real terrier, bursting with character."

All true of course.

Rather rudely, I thought, Gail interrupted my new fan club to ask about the equipment on the table.

We learned that we'd chanced upon a fly tying workshop and these men were engaged in the delicate art stitching together assorted feathers and fluff in the hope of fashioning a lure that will prove irresistible to our notoriously wary salmon.

Oh, and apparently the fish on the Dee can swim safely for another couple of weeks, as the men (it almost always is men) with the rods and flies are not let loose until 1st February in this part of Scotland.

I shall report back from the river next month.

Frankly, I would rather have stayed in

"Come on Bertie, chop chop! Never mind the rain, we have a lovely walk planned. Remember what they say. No such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. Look, here's Hamish's old (but scarcely worn) jacket. Cosy, waterproof and a perfect fit."

Thus I was dragged away from the warmth of the study and into the deluge that was our Aberdeen Sunday.

Five miles we walked, along the River Dee. FIVE MILES! Can you credit it?

Frankly, I would rather have stayed in.

Especially given that neither Gail nor the canoeists by the far bank of the river were impressed by my on land demonstration of the Eskimo roll.


Are any of my fellow pups also victims of owners who insist on going the full distance, no matter the conditions?



And they say us terriers are stubborn.

No such thing as a gloomy day...

Gail looked out of the window last Sunday morning and sighed. "Oh what a shame it's such a grey, gloomy day Bertie".

Silly, silly Gail. She was forgetting that there is no such thing as a gloomy day on Planet Bertie.

Not when it's only a short walk to the River Dee,

Where you can meet and greet new friends,

Go for a paddle,

Meet more pals,

Explore the lush green river banks,

Maybe pause a while to enjoy the moment,

Then off again for romp through the woods.

It doesn't have to be sunny to enjoy a walk by the North Sea either. 

Oh yes, my friends, there is no such thing as a grey day with Bouncing Bertie.

When I'm around you will always feel in the pink!