From the end of July to the middle of August I was travelling. You might say holidaying (but some of it might be tax-deductable). Can you work out where I went from the clues below? Funnily enough I went to lots of nature reserves and a few historic monuments. It’s just for fun – maybe just for mine. But the blog didn’t miss a day, did it?
I have posted the first ten answers and more will come later today. Well done to Peter Rafferty for getting almost all of them – but many others have got a few right too.
Day 1: stopped by a Kugel stone and saw a tree sparrow Answer: Carsington Water, Derbyshire and this is what a Kugel stone is.
Day 2: went to a Scottish NNR (pp12-13 of Fighting for Birds) which has Nottingham Catchfly, Bloody Cranesbill but no little terns any more Answer: St Cyrus.
Day 3: red squirrel and crested tit, and those ospreys of course. This time, no pine marten. Answer: Abernethy Forest
Day 4: stopped to see some bottle-nosed dolphins at a reliable Point and there were lots of others watching them too. Answer: Chanonry Point
Day 5: revisited the scene of Chapter 2 in Fighting for Birds, stopped at the visitor centre in the station, walked the bog walk in the rain and saw a slightly late cuckoo. Answer: Forsinard
Day 6: spent much of the day without fear under the stone eye of the first one, up on the hill. Answer: the area around Golspie is dominated by the statue of the first Duke of Sutherland on Ben Bhraggie – the family motto is ‘sans peur‘.
Day 7: I wasn’t on Islay but in the words of the lights of Loch Indaal I passed the second islands named on my way to a much bigger archipelago, seeing puffins, Manxies, bonxies and harbour porpoise on the way. Answer: on Orkney after passing the Pentland Skerries.
Day 8: visited site of Kitchener’s doom and saw some kittiwakes, but not that pretty Scottish flower. Answer: Marwick Head where there is a monument to the sinking of the HMS Hampshire and the death of Lord Kitchener. I didn’t see Scottish primrose but there were kittiwakes on the cliffs and bonxies flying over them.
Day 9: went to the south to somewhere where there were loads of eagles – except I was rather late for them. Answer: Tomb of the Eagles is a fun place to go and the sun was shining! Thousands of years ago bodies were put out, sky-burial style, for excarnation by white-tailed eagles.
Day 10: saw a couple of great northern divers in the bay, by the bray. That’s a very old Bray. Answer: more history, at Skara Brae, but good views of great northern divers too.
Day 11: back to the top of Scotland again (you must have know that!) seeing a storm petrel on the crossing and then along the top, passing a loch with a pair of black-throats with their fluffy baby and on to the puddle by the sea that isn’t Una, it’s the other one. Answer: Ullapool (lovely place)
Day 12: back to the east cost via Scotch arguses and the leaping at the falls of the lower leg. Answer: the Falls of Shin – lots of leaping salmon
Day 13: stayed at that monstrous town but visited the site where the darling lost 700 men in about an hour. Answer: Culloden – very interesting and well designed visitor centre
Day 14: early start and on a boat to ordure, and back, seeing lots of Manx on the way. Answer: Muck
Day 15: another boat, and another small island, minke whales were brill (this island appears on pages 13-14 of Fighting for Birds). Answer: Rhum – the minke whales were great!
Day 16: another day, another island. My first visit to the adopted home of sex pot, didn’t see Dave but did see otter, golden eagle and that other eagle (as well as first redpoll of the trip). Answer: Mull – my first visit and I will be back! Lovely scenery.
Day 17: finished the day in England but called in to look at Scotland’s southernmost nature reserve (a new one for my list) Answer: Mull of Galloway
Day 18: past an RSPB nature reserve and then south through a National Park and so to Preston and my daughter.
Day 19: close to where Red Rum trained there was a pectoral sandpiper and an avocet logo Answer: Marshside
Day 20: if you travel by public transport you get in free (and get a discount in the cafe) and you might see a spoonbill – we did. Answer: Leighton moss
It was a great UK holiday with scenery, history, wildlife and some decent food.
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