#Lock Etive

[babysackville]

Sunday 20th July 1828

8 10/60

2

Q

Cleaned teeth and a very little motion then some time talking to her and got into bed again for twenty minutes and finally up at nine –

Breakfast at 10 ¼ - we have really been made very comfortable here – our dinners nicely cooked and clean beds – our landlord, Angus Cameron, yesterday recognised Miss McLean remembered herself long since in Charlotte Square Edinburgh – delighted to see her – 20 years since he settled here, on Friday. 1 of his sons drove us yesterday – off at 11 ¼ to cross the ferry – the little white inn on the South side, the ferry kept too by an Angus Cameron, but born Angus Mc. Master and changed his name because he liked Cameron better -

In the cart and off from the South side the ferry at 11 25/60 – fine drive along Loch Leven – surrounding  mountains very fine - At 12 40/60 having for sometime lost sight of the loch ‘Duror Inn’ nice little white Inn – apparently plenty of good stabling – a gig standing out near the stabling at a little distance from the house – surely one might sleep there comfortably – nice neat white church and school house ? manse? and a row of 3 or 4 white blue slated cottages and scattered straw thatched (the thatch everywhere here abouts kept down with long sticks or sometimes straw cords) huts, and stream and nice green wooded glen – Glen Duror – 

At 12 50/60 crossed 1 arch stone bridge over the Duror water and (left) another of those upright stones (memorial stones?) as at Altyre near Forres and views of Loch Leven again – at 1 leave Glen Duror, come down upon Loch Linnhe and pursue our road close along the water’s edge – very fine drive – the Loch and down to its western edge the lofty rugged bare [precipitous] mountains of Ardgour, very fine – at 1 50/60 road still along the water’s edge, shaded (left) by the word of Appin house Robert Dowie Esquire M.P. (Scottish Tourist 381/415) who according to Miss McLean made his money in India – a low mean, vulgar man – at 2, green bare Shuna, divided from us by very narrow water observed the blocks of micaceous granite and at 2 5/60 gate to Appin – at a little distance farther on, the other entrance gate – goodish white, 3 story house – handsomish grounds – 

At 2 20/60 at the south end of Shuna and at 2 25/60 Trossachy head (north end) of Lismore (Scottish Tourist 381/415 and 275-6/415) and ruin of Stalker castle (381/415) square tower on little low rock just big enough for it and surrounded by the loch, tho’ near shore (must be very shallow water) and near to us – finely situated – loch and its mountains and Lismore and little inlets very fine – at 2 27/60 down on the little white Inn of Portnacroish (F.McColl) with its ferry and village – a few little white blue slated cottages ditto ditto church and manse – look back upon the loch fine – leave it behind and enter Invernahacil glen – rather wooded fertile enough – neat straw thatched cottages and a few scattered neat white houses – at 2 ¾ Aunette Lodge neat little rather gothicized place built about 20 years ago by Campbelle of Lochend who ruined himself and went with his wife and 12 children 4 or 5 years ago to new Holland – the property sold 2 or 3 times – little white church at a little distance from Aunette Lodge and a little farther forward (left) peat moss and peat stacks – 

At 2 50/60, road glen Haeil (hae pronounced) – at 3 turn rather round and come in sight of Loch Creran, and at 3 25/60 alight (to bait – no horse to be had on the other side) at Sheun ferry house D.Calquhoun – nice looking enough little 2 story white house outside – but nobody ever stops here and curious place within – on going upstairs queer poor beds in the 2 goodish front rooms – no furniture – straw on bedstocks in a little dark sort of closet not a chamber pot in the house – everybody obliged to go outside. From 3 ½ to 4 ½ wrote out the above of today – off from Shean ferry house (north) at 4 50/60 – 5 minutes getting all into the boat – over in 26 minutes – rained all the way till just  at the last and we sat under the cart for shelter – landed at 5 21/60  off again in the cart at 5 ½ very poor place on this side the ferry  merely 2 cottages under 1 roof 1 for drams, the both for tea tobacco and  snuff – Loch Curan pretty little loch, finely surrounded by magnificent  groups of mountains towards the head of the lock and Glencoe the look back up the loch towards this way and on [?] right the mountains have seen nothing finer – 

At 5 10/60 lose sight of Loch Creran and see Lock Nell house (General Campbell) and the little loch Nell whence the name of the house and Estate – at 5 55/60 pass the neat entrance lodge – large, good looking house – beautiful place says Miss McLean certainly handsome looking well wooded – the view from the towers (summer house) on the torso of the high wooded ridge jutting out from the house and forming the west side of the little must be very fine – Miss McLean says, it is very fine – began to rain about 6 – at 6 10/60 little picturesque village and fine bold rocks just above us right – at 6 ¼ site of the old Bergonium (left) vide Scottish Tourist page 268 Dunstaffnage castle in view and soon after you the sound of mull and very fine lines of surrounding coast mountains – but alas! it now (6 ¼) rained heavily and without intermission till we alighted for shelter at Connel ferry house at 6 ¾ - luckily not wet beneath our coats and cloaks and sent these to be dried and ordered tea – 

General Campbell maternal uncle to Miss Sarah Riddle – divorced his first wife, widow of Sir George Ramsay, by mutual consent on account of bad temper – he continued to keep away from her for 7 years – she begged him to return – he refused and she divorced him for non adherence to conjugal duties declaring when it was over there was no man she would sooner than Duncan Campbell i.e. her late husband by Lochnell who then married a sister of the present Sire Peter Murray, Ochtertyre, near Crieff – no children by either wife – a 5th cousin must have the estate – the branch gone to the dogs by low marriages  &c – brought up a son and put him in the army – expelled – a great raff – died of drinking – Locknell took his son at 5 year old and brings him up not allowing him to see his mother grandfather still living, or any of his family – 

At 7 ½ had just written the last 25 lines – tea at  7 50/60- off again for Connel ferry (north) at 8 ¾ - 10 minutes in crossing Loch Etive tame in comparison with the magnificent mountain surrounded Loch Creran – seated in our cart again and off from the south side the ferry (merely a cottage for the ferry house) at 9 – soon lose sight of the loch Drearyish up and down hill road have shut out by rock and moor – very fine rocks (right) close to Oban where we alighted at the New Inn, Argyle Arms A. Menzies (pronounced mingis) – several showers this morning from Ballahulish to Shean ferry – heavy rain enough from there and from Loch Null to Connal ferry and rain but not much from Connel to Oban – just upon leaving Shean ferry house heard the rumbling of thunder 

Went to her bed double bedded room at twelve and a half, she was feckless and not quite well, talking quietly for a good while then she not objecting at heart had a kiss better to her than usual good to me – and went to my own bed after washing myself at two

Ballahulish ferry (north) to Shean ferry (north) 16                    

Shean ferry (north) to Connel ferry north)        5

Connel ferry (north) to Oban                            5

(Dairy reference: SH7MLE110036)

[heuristicallyinclined]

Nobody Knows

Chapter 2: Ah, here we go again

Part 2/? (Word count: 1,841 | Rated T | Past MSPA Reader x Mallek Adalov,  MSPA Reader x Mallek Adalov, Past MSPA Reader x Polypa Goezee, Background DaveKat)

AO3 Links: Part One  | Part Two  (This) | Part Three

Chapter Summary: MSPA Reader wakes up in an unfamiliar, terrifying place with unfamiliar, terrifying people. But what else is new?

Notes: Thanks for all of the support from the first chapter! I was really blown away by all of it. Enjoy some set-up before the inevitable angst.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

The first thing you notice when you come to is the chittering of machinery. Earth tech hums when it runs, maybe you hear a fan or two. Alternian tech chitters. Sometimes it even makes a soft screeching sound. You prefer not to think too hard about it. The next thing you notice is the headache you have. Your forehead is throbbing and when you open your eyes the room is moving. Damn, you have had your fair share of concussions, but this is new. In your infinite intelligence, you finally realize that this is because you are getting carried like a sack of potatoes over the shoulder of a stranger. Well, fuck.

Slowly and carefully, you crane your head back to get a glimpse of whoever is holding you. You see large horns extending horizontally and curving towards their face. Their uniform having some intricate repeating bronze pattern. Realizing this is an adult, you become very conscious of your breathing. Just extremely slow and even. Oh God. You have never seen this troll before in your life. You continue to glance around and notice you are on some sort of vessel. A door opens and your captor joins another bronze troll. A new stranger, maybe a friend? You stop yourself from introducing yourself so you can hear what they say. Now is not the time to be horny for platonic connections.

“So ! nearly tr!pped over th!s sh!t on my back from do!ng !nventory !n the cargo bay. Do you have any !dea what the fuck th!s !s?” Your captor asks with an excited lit, swinging you off of his shoulder and holding you by the back of the hood. You remain still, motionless, having perfected the art of playing dead to fool drones into not culling you. Not your most dignified skill, but definitely one of your more useful ones. Something thuds as it is set down to your right.

“()h gr()ss, d()n’t t()uch it with y()ur fr()nds.” Your captor chuckles while their colleague sighs in exasperated disgust. Ah yes, you didn’t miss this. Alternia has made you super self-conscious about your body in the weirdest ways just about as much as it has made you fear for your life. But one of those things is temporary. You know you’re cute, friendly, are incredibly resourceful and optimistic. You have nice legs! The clown pope said so! But you can still hear the sneer in her voice, “It pr()bably just wandered ()n b()ard during the last rest()ck and the change in gravity culled it ()r s()mething, I d()n’t kn()w.” She sounds a little pissed now, “Etiv()r just st()p playing with it and dr()p it in with the rest ()f the trash s() y()u can help me get the rest ()f the requisiti()ns delivered.”

Etivor shakes you a bit in front of her. She doesn’t react. “F!ne Yleeda,” he draws her name out and huffs, clearly disappointed, “!’ll be back.” You get thrown back over his shoulder and you can hear a light growl come from him. She apparently does too, and mockingly chitters at him, dropping another box onto her pile. “Wait, what if that thing i-,” she starts, but Etivor isn’t having it and picked up to pace and is already gone. Bold move.

He slows down after a while and walks and as he does you pass by a window. You look for telltale moon colors, but you seem to be in the middle of nowhere with nothing particularly familiar in sight. On a spaceship. Full of adults. Neat. Well, mortal peril is always a solid way of getting out of your head.

He continues onward and you hear other trolls pass by you, all of them caught up in their own work or conversations, none of the spare you two too much of a glace. A door slides open and he sets you on the ground. You hear him step away from you and fiddle with the settings on what you think is the trash, and you'd rather not get immolated today, no thank you. It begins to clunkily whir to life before settling on a scratchy, chittery sound. Luckily, you notice you didn’t hear the door close. You get up slowly, quietly, and slink over to the door, the machine helping to obscure any sounds you were making. You don’t need to be stealthy for too long, just enough to get the door and you can just abs- and he is looking right at you.

You try to match the familiar look of wide-eyed "what in the actual fuck is that" that trolls have often graced you with when meeting you for the first time. His pupil skits widen slightly and his mouth is set in a hard, straight line. You both remain frozen and are locked in a staring contest. You stay like that together for a good ten seconds and you become intimately aware of how long ten seconds in total silence is. He blinks and as he starts to reach for you, you do the only thing you think to do. Blurt out some dumb shit and stick your nose where it doesn’t belong.

Were you also getting a pitch vibe off of that or was that just me, because I know you need to be professional, working here and all but I feel like if I wasn’t there you two would definitely have gotten into an argument? Are you two like a thing or have something going on there or…? You wiggle your hands noncommittally.

If you weren't terrified, you would be laughing at the look he is giving you. He immediately pulls his hand back and holds it to himself, aghast. His mouth opens and shuts as he struggles to figure out what to say before settling into a concerned frown. He steps back in confusion with an expression betraying he was clearly not prepared for you to be alive, or sentient, or fluent in Alternian, or immediately asking him about his love life. He is very clearly trying to unpack a lot and you are just trying to put some space between you and someone who easily has two feet on you and a lot of muscle, hopefully gained from things other than hauling aliens into fiery dumpsters.

“Uh. What. ! mean maybe? But ! don't, wa!t th-“

Because I feel like you were definitely trying to piss her off a little bit, like not enough to ruin her night or anything and fuck up her work, but like she'll be thinking about it, so I think that's smart, kinda leaving the ball in her court as you left.

He gives you the smallest, tightest smile as he uncomfortably, slightly nods, locked in place. He looks like he is trying to smile after biting a lemon. This man is deeply fucking uncomfortable which you can deal with much better rather than hostile. You need to keep this shit up. Fuck, WWGD?

What would Gorgor do? You think back to his tricks and techniques that you learned from being his partner. How to maintain control over a situation without dominating it completely or else a highblood could easily feel like you were overstepping and at best, get defensive and shut you down and choose another teal. You don't want to think about the worst case scenario. But you are not Tagora Gorjek and have not been playing four dimensional mental chess with people since hatching. Also death is more of a temporary roadblock at this point, so really, there is no sweep like the sweep you’re fucking in since you couldn’t escape it even if you wanted to.

You already overstepped by making this about quads so you just need to keep talking confidently long enough to fluster him into answering so that you can try to run off. An alien coming back from the dead out of concern for his personal life is probably doing it well enough.

Do you two have like a history from before this or did it start when you got your assignments here?

You are trying to convey an authority you don't fucking have. But as someone once taught you, image is everything and to fake it until you make it. You don't need to have your shit together, god no, but if religiously following a nineteen step east Alternian skin care regimen or parroting back bullshit you've heard like you're a goddamn relationship wizard makes people think you do, then bitch you better roll with it.

"We started working together l!ke a few wipes ago, but k!nda just started talk!ng," he says slowly and unsure, staring at you. You hum knowingly at him and he squints at you, perturbed. You place a hand on your chin and shift your stance to that of one in thoughtful consideration, the fact that you are closer to door thanks to it is not relevant. You look like you do this all the time, which you do. He glances around the room and pales.

God, he must be panicking worse than you are. He is answering. This is probably ideal. Okay plan time, so he and the other lady, Yleeda, are the only ones who saw you here. Wherever here is, and she thinks you’re dead so really you just need to have him be incredibly cool and then run into literally no other person on board the ship while exploring it, figure out where you are, and how you got here. Easy if you don’t think about it.

You were trying to get to Mallek and he is neither of these people so maybe he is on board somewhere on whatever place they restocked at. Maybe he does get to work with tech and he got to hole up somewhere with access to energy drinks that would kill anyone gold and below. This could mean you will never find him. Okay, you need to deal with one thing at a time.

Oh, so when you got started working on this ship? Is Yleeda doing anything to irk you back?

You ask this while stepping to look cool and relaxed against a wall, like all normal, cool guys do. Guys who are calm and not worried at all about incineration. Guys just trying to get a feel for where others are at so that they can give appropriate advice in appropriate situations that they are in. Those guys. You are them.

Your back finally makes contact with a wall. Or at least you thought it was a wall based off of how solid it was. You look up when you feel something grab your shoulder. The sound of the machinery that you thought would mask your footsteps definitely masked Yleeda’s entering the room. She stares down at you and then back up at Etivor, her gloved hand holding you firm.

Oh.

So that plan didn't work.

Notes: How quickly can one person get attached to fantrolls made up on the spot to act as plot devices? One author finds out.

[threeforfriday]

Scotland: Day Three (the road more or less travelled)

To Glen Etive Road, then, following in the footsteps of Bond and M in Skyfall, with the promise not of being murdered by Javier Bardem but rather driving down a winding road alongside a surging river, further and further off the beaten track until our little Juke must have appeared like a tiny scalextric from a distance in comparison to the hills and mountains and waterfalls and white water.

Word, as ever with these tiny unknown spaces, nevertheless covered in prominent guidebooks of the area, had got around, and it became common to pull over in the abundant “passing places” to wait while a vehicle came back the other way. Sometimes, to wait for a car to overtake us so we didn’t have to enjoy the majesty with a people carrier at our backs. Occasionally we stopped in one of these places (ideally when there was room enough for multiple cars) so we could take in the view on foot.

While being left alone to the road and the glen was never really expected, we did start to notice a surprising amount of traffic that did not seem to fit the bill of tourists precise about their vodka martini preferences. Engineers. White van men. Rent-a-car vans. The odd truck.

A few more bends in the road and it became clear that this isolated brigadoon from the rest of the world had become host to multiple construction sites, parasitic infections on the landscape. So it goes with all such places that become cursed with popularity. The oasis becomes profitable. The idyll could do with a Services.

Undeterred, we beat on and eventually bypassed the tractors and high-vis and regained our sense of serenity and isolation, as the road wended ever thinner. Leaving behind a tiny hamlet in the rearview (past a rustic house with an unintelligible warning sign on the gate that I took to be Gaelic and instinctively knew to be warning trespassers not to cross), all there was left was Loch Etive itself, ready to reward those adventurers that had made it this far.

(People live all along this route. How tiring it must be to have tourists endlessly and conveniently erasing them from existence to fit their narratives of unspoiled exploration.)

For the journey back, and with many slow miles of oncoming vehicles to avoid, we put on a podcast suited for the time of year and the season and the overall ambience. Tales of the paranormal soundtracked our return leg as we raced the setting sun back to the main road (you know the main road. It’s the only road. The Road). As Liz fell asleep next to me I fancied our car was reacclimatising to the rest of the world like an astronaut in an air lock or a diver avoiding the bends, and it struck me that we really had been into a Passing Place, passing into the quiet otherworld or into our own private reveries but detached from The World all the same.

[scottishdreams]

Glasgow > | ...Scene in Lock Etive via Glasgow School of Art and then take the A85...

Want some company?! Lol http://bit.ly/2DqCgzN

[uebays-marine-science]

Diving deep to flush out the old              and wash in the new

Deep water renewal is the process whereby the bottom most water in a lake is flushed out and replaced by new water. This process mixes the lake and can redistribute nutrients to bottom waters previously isolated by thermoclines (heat gradients) and pycnoclines (density gradients) which dramatically reduce the transfer of: heat, oxygen, salt and vital nutrients between the layers of the lake. Renewals can be partial – only some of the bottom water is replaced, or they can be full – all of the water underneath the sill water is changed. 

There are three stages of deep water renewal:     

 1. Stagnation of bottom water, in this stage the lake is stratified, the deep water is motionless and only being lightly eroded at its top most layer where it meets the sill water.     

 2.Over flow of sill water, here the sill water sinks down and replaces the bottom water.    

 3. New bottom water stagnates, in this stage the water column re-stratifies and the new deep water becomes isolated at the lowest point of the lake. 

Deep water renewal is highly dependant on changes in waters’ density which in turn is extremely dependant on salinity concentration. It is important to note that saline water is considerably denser than freshwater. For deep water renewal to occur the sill layer must become denser than the underlying bottom water. Loch Etive is a Scottish fjord which undergoes deep renewal fairly frequently. Etive has three basins and is connected to the sea by a 10m deep sill. It has the largest catchment area of any Scottish fjord measuring 1400km2; another nearby catchment from the adjacent Loch Awe drains in to Loch Etive. The flow from Loch Awe is altered by a hydroelectric scheme which has been operating for over a decade but Loch Awe is still a large freshwater input. In the last 12 years, renewal at Etive has occurred 9 times and varied from a short few weeks apart to a longer 2.5 years apart. Renewal at Etive occurs in approximately 1 week, most often in the spring and summer months, particularly at the end of April. At this time the sill water starts to become denser moves from the sill into the deep water layer. While the transfer is occurring, the mixed water results in the density of the lake layers being rather homogenous. By the middle of May the density of the sill water density has reduced, and the water column begins to stratify once more. Roughly 10% of the time, density fluctuations are due to temperature changes, but most of the time density changes are driven by the salinity concentration/ the volume of freshwater input. This is most likely to occur in dry weather conditions, particularly when there is a drought. This is because when surface runoff is high and/or precipitation is high, a lot of freshwater will be added to the lake. This dilutes the salinity of the top most water layers, causing them to become less dense. Renewal can also be caused by coastal up-welling (rising of cold bottom waters from the deep ocean), this has been shown to occur in Saanich inlet, Vancouver.  Up-welling occurs off the Washington – Oregon coast; this water is cold and saline rich. It moves along the Strait of Juan de Fuca and floods in to the inlet, flooding the shallow 70m deep sill and mixing with the existing water; this new water is much denser due to its high salinity and cool temperature. This leads to the sinking of the new denser water when circulation ceases and fresh deep water, replenished in oxygen, which will once more become stratified.  

                                               Coastal up-welling Atmospheric conditions can greatly affect aquatic systems too, in the Baltic Sea pressure and winds largely dictate deep water renewal. The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe and almost entirely land locked, joined to the North Sea only by the Øresund, Great and Little belt.  The Baltic Sea is permanently stratified with strong haloclines(salt gradients) leaving the lower layers of water devoid of oxygen. Renewals will often occur for several years one after the other but then stop for 2-3yrs until correct conditions rise again. Major Baltic inflows are large influxes of highly saline and oxygenated water which cause deep water renewal, these inflows come from the North Sea. It is only when major Baltic inflows occur that the deep water in the centre of the Baltic can be fully renewed. These arise in high pressure conditions when pressure fields form over the Atlantic and Europe in combination with strong easterly winds. The high pressure reduces run off from rivers into the Baltic and lessens precipitation, this in turn decreases the sea level – intensifying deep currents and causing the mixing required for renewal. In summary, deep water renewal occurs in three main stages and is mainly driven by the changing density of water which is greatly altered by its salinity. Renewal can be caused by: coastal up-welling, periods of drought and atmospheric conditions such as high winds and pressure.

References: Anderson J. J. and Devol A. H. (1973) Deep water renewal in Saanich Inlet, an intermittently anoxic basin. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science. Pp.1-10.

Edwards A. and Edelsten D. J. (1977) Deep water renewal of Loch Etive: a three basin Scottish fjord. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science. Volume 5 pp.575–595.

Schinke H. and Matthäus W. (1998) On the causes of major Baltic inflows--an analysis of long time series. Continental Shelf Research. Volume 18 pp.67–97.

[dokal]

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[newsonlinegroup-blog]

Your pictures

A selection of your pictures of Scotland sent in between 19 and 26 January. Send your photos to scotlandpictures@bbc.co.uk or via Instagram at #bbcscotlandpics

Image copyright Jason Connelly Image caption It was a chilly -7C when Jason Connelly took this photo of the sunrise at Loch Lubnaig on Saturday. He says the bright star in the middle of the image is Jupiter.

Image copyright Jennifer Robertson Image caption In a week of extreme weather, we've been inundated with photos of some very cute dogs in the snow. Among the best is this snap of two-year-old Labradoodle Marnie having a ball at Cairngorm Mountain.

Image copyright David Hall Image caption Shortly after David Hall took this photo of the Pentlands, he said heavy snow and wind rolled across the landscape.

Image copyright William Bark Image caption That must be one hungry bird! William Bark snapped this picture at Hogganfield Loch in Glasgow.

Image copyright Natalya Jagger Image caption Natalya Jagger sent in this photo of the Red Croft at Ardheslaig, on the banks of Loch Shieldaig in Wester Ross.

Image copyright Maureen Scott Image caption More dogs in the snow - Maureen Scott's two West Highland Terriers look like they're enjoying their wintry walk in the Ochils.

Image copyright Luca Massaro Image caption This is a very peaceful photo of the fields around Balerno in the Pentland Hills, sent in by Luca Massaro, from Edinburgh.

Image copyright Allan Petrie Image caption Allan Petrie spotted this Highland cow relaxing in the snow near Kelty, Fife.

Image copyright Angie Morrison Image caption The weekend's snow provided the ideal opportunity for a bit of sledging - Angie Morrison took this photo at West Lomond, Fife.

Image copyright David Main Image caption David Main, of Elgin, sent in this picture of Black Rock Cottage at Glencoe.

Image copyright Sufyaan Aslam Image caption Only in Glasgow..... Sufyaan Aslam sent us this picture of this brilliant snowman, complete with Irn Bru a traffic cone.

Image copyright Andrew Syme Image caption Andrew Syme said this heron is a frequent visitor to the former boating pond on Perth's South Inch. But on Saturday, it looked like it was feeling the cold.

Image copyright Suzanne Christie Image caption Skye-the-Staffy enjoyed her walk in the Lomond Hills in Fife with her owner Suzanne Christie.

Image copyright Nicol Nicolson Image caption Nicol Nicolson photographed a snowstorm in Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, on Sunday afternoon.

Image copyright Jim McAndrew Image caption The last of our dog-in-snow pictures (for this week). Jim McAndrew photographed this happy chap at Whitelees wind farm.

Image copyright Andrew Bunyan Image caption It's not just dogs that enjoy a wintry walk - Andrew Bunyan took these three Alpacas trekking in the Cheviot Hills.

Image copyright Stephanie Hill Image caption Biggar looks bonnie in the snow, says Stephanie Hill, who sent us this lovely image of the town.

Image copyright Darren Image caption This is an unusual view of Dundee's new V&A museum. It was taken from The Law, by Darren Dawson.

Image copyright Nick Edgington Image caption Burns night at Dunstaffnage Castle, close to Dunbeg & overlooking Ardmucknish Bay - near Oban. Taken by Nick Edgington

Image copyright Sobhan Image caption Sobhan, from Glasgow, sent this photo of the scene at Central Station last week

Image copyright Stephen Docherty Image caption Walking up to Loch Sloy, with Ben Lomond in the background. Taken by Stephen Docherty

Image copyright Mark Bull Image caption Mark Bull took this picture of his partner Gillian Duncan ski touring on Sgairneach Mhor, above Drumochter Pass

Image copyright Megan Mackie Image caption Megan Mackie says this was the view back along Glen Mark with the Queen’s Well just visible in the centre of the picture.

Image copyright Fiona Cuthill Image caption Lock 27 on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Anniesland, Glasgow, at sunrise. Taken by Fiona Cuthill

Image copyright Beth Harley-Jepson Image caption A very early start for an outstanding day of ski-touring on Ben Lawers, complete with fresh powder, says Joe Larner

Image copyright Janet MacLeod Image caption The very colourful Brunas really stood out against the white snow at Loch Earn says Janet MacLeod, from Oban

Image copyright John Stewart Image caption Buachaille Etive Mor - John Stewart from Clydebank says he's seen many picture's of this fabulous mountain but none as pure as this. "First time skiing in 27 years for this photo was worth all the pain," he says. All images are copyrighted. Read the full article

[krystalroser-blog]

Stripes on Stripes

Stripes on Stripes by soks featuring a white turtleneck sweater ❤ liked on Polyvore

High neck sweater / Steffen Schraut white turtleneck sweater, $155 / River Island petite white pants / Patent ankle boots / Christian Dior kiss lock handbag / Acrylic jewelry, $3.85 / ETIVAL Blanc, $1.84

[mhrja-blog]

Stay beautiful... by soks featuring blue leather jackets ❤ liked on Polyvore

Dress / MANGO blue leather jacket, €255 / Block heel boots / Kiss lock handbag, €16 / Hinged bangle, €17 / Eyeshadow, €42 / ETIVAL Blanc

[ruanaich]

Shiehallion Instameet with John Muir Trust

Many of us Instagramers had been sharing concerns about the possible impact social media has on many of our beloved beauty spots and wild places around Scotland.

Skye in particular had been taking a beating from bus-loads of visitors in places that maybe don’t have the infrastructure or capabilities to cope with a large footfall. Particularly places like the Fairy Pools and the Storr, Glencoe and Glen Etive.

No-one would deny there is a right to roam and I’m not above a selfie at a favourite landmark. We recognise that maybe we are promoting and possibly encouraging a certain behaviour by posting photos on platforms like Instagram. Katrina, an active member of the community took the reins and reached out to several organisations, asking if there was anything we might be able to do.

The John Muir Trust accepted the opportunity and invited us to meet up for a walk and talk at Sheihallion, one of the properties they are entrusted to look after.

A small band of us met in a drizzly car park and were introduced to the team from JMT. After a very welcome hot coffee and a map briefing, we set off on a low level walk into the valley at the foot of east Schiehallion.

Passing the information boards and recently finished dry-stone wall, we were soon onto the open hillside which consists mostly of a montane environment, with heather moorland, limestone outcrops and some forestry.

Learning about this landscape

We huddled around a large glacial rock which had been covered with cup marks throughout history. No-one really knows the purpose of these hand hewn markings. Could it just be for aesthetic reasons? Do they have deeper meaning in this landscape? Or could it just be something bored travellers did while they rested up on this large rock? Whatever the reason, it shows that this landscape has been home to people for hundreds if not thousands of years.

The valley itself is currently home to a resident black grouse lek. We didn’t see any grouse, but we were treated to a pair of short eared owls. One of which gave us a fly-by as it silently soared over our heads  towards its partner. The croak of ravens also indicated their presence in the surrounding hills.

We passed some old shielings and discussed the ecology of the area and the surrounding countryside. The representatives from John Muir Trust then went in to more detail about what the organisation does. We touched on topics ranging  from wind farms to access rights and responsibilities as well as volunteer and conservation work. It was great that the Trust were open to talk with us, the idea being that we start a dialogue between organisations and instagrammers like us, who can then reach out to the general public. While there are differing agendas amongst NGOs, as many as there are amongst individuals, we hope that between us, we can help to educate and advise where there may be need for it. That could be how and where to access popular spots or, suggest alternative locations to spread the footfall. Highlighting issues such as littering could be another approach. It’s early days though and the aim is feel out what we may be able to do to help.

Social media and the Great Outdoor

I did listen to a BBC Radio Scotland episode  a while ago, where they discussed the use of social media by the US National Parks to ‘forecast’ if you like, potential hot-spots and manage the levels of visitors. While I hope we never get to that level of management here in Scotland it does show that, as well as being a factor in the popularity of certain locations, social media may potentially be used to manage and reduce harm caused by an upturn in popularity.

I was unable to find a link to the BBC Scotland Out of Doors episode, but here are some other links that may be of interest:

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO QUANTIFY NATURE-BASED TOURISM AND RECREATION

FIVE REASONS THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE IS DOMINATING SOCIAL MEDIA

Tackling Schiehallion

The second part of the day consisted of a bunch of us continuing up the mountain itself. The weather did not look like it was changing from drizzle, but some had said it would improve. So we said thanks and goodbye to our hosts and others who had more important things to do before starting our way up the footpath (maintained by some of the volunteers for the John Muir Trust).

I had my concerns, and I don’t like to whinge. But as a middle aged man I am duty bound. A few weeks earlier I’d pulled something in my lower back. This now seemed to be manifesting itself in an extremely week left leg. I had in fact put off a hill walk the week before as I didn’t think this leg would make it. I bit the bullet and gave it a bash as I thought Schiehallion was pretty straight forward and it’s not a hill I’d been up before.

The leg worked, just! Flicking it under me as I went and locking the knee so as not to fall over, I imagined it a bit like an old time pirates peg leg. I struggled and soon found myself walking through the mist on my own, passing bedraggled walkers coming back down the hill. There wasn’t much in the way of scenery as the cloud clung to the scree covered slopes near to the summit.

The leg situation definitely didn’t help me as I clambered over the larger boulders near the summit. But at last I could make out the rest of the group, waiting patiently in the mist. We waited a short time for the rest of the party to make the top, then low and behold, the clouds parted and we could see the glens and lochs below. Silver ribbons flowing through velvet green. There was a mad flurry of shutters (or not, depending on the type of camera used).

It was also time to grab a bite to eat and we soon started the walk down, chatting amongst ourselves. As always the trip down can be more painful than the ascent, and the group soon strung out again. Eventually I met up with most in the carpark before we all went our separate ways.

A great day though, in a lovely part of the world with like minded folk.

What are the answers?

I hope it is the start of something we can do to help. It looks like education is the way forward in protecting places we love. Not forgetting that these can be working landscapes too, we must find ways to make things work for visitors as well as those who’s livelihoods may be rooted in these places we hold so dear.

It would be interesting to hear comments and suggestions on the subject, I am just one voice going to help where I can. And if you would like to find out more about what they do, visit the John Muir Trust website.

Last year we also spent time in Glencoe with the National Trust for Scotland at Lagangarbh Hut, highlighting the work they do on footpaths. You can read about that here.

Does social media impact on our environment? Do we have a responsibility? Shiehallion Instameet with John Muir Trust Many of us Instagramers had been sharing concerns about the possible impact social media has on many of our beloved beauty spots and wild places around Scotland.

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