A tale of lamb chops, coal, caesium, sand, fog, wind mills, government and the environment.

One of my favourite launch spots on the Solway Firth is Dhoon shore on Goat Well Bay. Today I learned from BBC News that SEPA (Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) are investigating the sands for any evidence of radioactive contamination from the Sellafield nuclear plant on the other side of the Solway.

I have no strong feelings against nuclear power but I do expect the operators to run a tight ship and there have been lots of careless lapses both in the UK and elsewhere. There are areas of the Ayrshire and Galloway hills (north of the Solway) where sheep and lambs are still not fit for human consumption due to radioactive caesium fall out from the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.


Elsewhere today, 5,000 Shetland sheep have been slaughtered and buried. They were intended for export to England in the autumn for lamb chops but a government research lab leaked foot and mouth virus. The resulting restrictions on animal movement meant they had to stay on Shetland and now there is no pasture left to feed them.


Now it is not sheep but the wind that is farmed in these hills. Despite the government's recent enthusiasm for wind turbines (and there is a huge offshore development currently being constructed in the Solway) I cannot see that these will meet all our energy needs. Monday dawned in Scotland under clear cold and windless skies.

Cycling through the wind farm in the foggy but clean air of Sunday brought back memories of the smogs of the 1950's caused by burning coal for our energy needs. Of course all the cheap Chinese manufactured goods that are flooding into western Christmas stockings have been made by burning coal but that's on the other side of the world. Isn't it?

Fidden sunset

After returning to Uisken we loaded up the kayaks and drove back to Fidden on the Ross of Mull. We arrived just as the sun was setting.


One of the cottages in Fidden was momentarily bathed in this beautiful warm light...



... until the orb of the Sun sank below the distant rocks of Iona and the gathering darkness of night wrapped around us.

20/07/2007

Wind turbines on Windy Standard

The weather has not been particularly conducive to sea paddling this weekend so Tony and I decided to go for a little bike run in Galloway instead. We planned to cycle over Windy Standard, a 698m hill in the Carsphairn Forest.


The clear sky of the morning gave way to mist and sleety rain. As we climbed through the clouds we heard a "whoosh whoosh whoosh" long before we saw the wind farm. It was quite surreal cycling along at above 600m in height with 36 turbines all round us. Windy Standard currently generates up to 21.6 megawatts but another 30 turbines are planned. My legs could have done with some of that power.


We got up to 685m which was above the snowline. Bob the dog had never seen snow before.


We needed to stop for a breather, below the cloud line, after a white knuckle descent.


We did 31km and ascended a total of 940m in just under 4 hours. I was quite pleased with that!

Reclining nude figure of Uisken

The reclining nude (and cross legged) figure of Uisken can be seen at low tide among the skerries.

20/07/07

Exsisto paratus on the Ross of Mull.

It was a long paddle back from Malcolm's Point to Uisken. We stopped at this deserted and unnamed white shell sand beach.


There was not a hostelry in sight. We had to wash our freshly caught mackerel down with what ever refreshment we had to hand. Exsisto paratus.


We did not want the day to stop so we took a little detour past Uisken, through the skerries, to Ardalanish Bay.


We turned back from Ardalanish as the sun began to sink in the west.



The skerries of Uisken are such a maze, it is unlikely you would ever retrace your wake.



20/07/2007

"I'm at the Arches"

Carsaig #1 from Carsaig #2


Carsaig #1 from the sea.


"I'm at the Arches."


Even the great Carsaig Arches are dwarfed by the scale of Malcolm's Point. mind you if this is the size of his point, what size was Malcolm?

20/07/2007

Carsaig Arches, Mull

Not far from the great slab of Leac nam Leum, there are even greater wonders of Mull's volcanic past.


The Carsaig Arches are now high above the sea but during the last Ice Age, when water levels were higher, Atlantic swells surged through the arches.


Hexagonal basalt columns teeter on top of layers of lava.


In turn the lava layers are interspersed with layers of volcanic ash. The ash is very soft and can be picked with a fingernail. As you can see, wave action is undercutting the basalt by wearing away the ash. One day, probably quite soon in geological terms, the whole lot will come toppling down.

Might I be presumptuous and recommend that you visit the Carsaig Arches sooner rather than later?

20/07/2007