Sunshine over Cambus

There is something special about the effect you get when the sun comes out just after some heavy rainfall. How all the trees and bushes sparkle like they are covered in little diamonds and the sky has dark brooding clouds with shafts of sunshine breaking through......I love it.
It is not surprising that in Scotland we get quite a few days like this with our changeable weather and a couple of weeks back I took a trip to the 'wee county' of Clackmannanshire on such a day.
Before crossing over the new(ish) Clackmannanshire Bridge I took a slight detour to one of my childhood haunts, the Pow Burn at Higgins Neuk (pronounced Poo Burn by the locals.......don't snigger!)


Bridge over Pow Burn

Not the most glamorous of places you may think but surprisingly enough quite a good little spot for bird-watching, although on this day all I saw was a Mute Swan, a couple of Meadow Pipits and an old tractor tyre. In my youth we had many good times fishing in the Pow Burn where we caught the occasional Flounder and very rarely a Trout (but mostly it was Eels).
After this brief trip down memory lane I could see the rain was approaching from the West so I made my way across the bridge to Clackmannanshire.

Rain Approaching from the West

Clackmannanshire Bridge

My aim was to visit a nature reserve at the small village of Cambus, which lies on the banks of the River Forth just to the west of Alloa.
By the time I reached Cambus the rain was chucking it down so I parked up, got my flask out and had a cup of coffee and some delicious home-made fruit bread (I love my wife!). After this the rain had eased off to a slight drizzle so I thought I would brave the elements.
I didn't go directly to the nature reserve at Cambus Pools but took a walk along a river-side path which skirts the River Forth just to the East of where the River Devon joins it.

Forth-side Path

In a flooded field at the edge of this path I saw an unusual sight which was a flock of Moorhen (about twenty) grazing in the open at the side of the flooded field, this was strange to me as I have only ever seen Moorhen in small numbers usually skulking in the reeds around ponds and rivers. I don't think you will make out the Moorhen in the following photo as they were at the far side of the flooded field:

Flooded Field

What you might make out is the group of Mute Swans on the grass at the edge of the flooded area, which brings me to my next observation.
The normally graceful swan which seems to glide effortlessly on our rivers and ponds is far from graceful when it is out of the water........in fact it looks decidedly cumbersome to say the least:

I rest my case m'Lud.
Moving along the path a little further I reached the banks of the River Forth. Here the river meanders relatively slowly across low lying ground and Cambus sits on the outside edge of one of the slow river bends, forming what can loosely be described as a 'beach' albeit a very muddy one.

Round the Bend in the Forth

 

It was on this muddy beach I observed an Oystercatcher which had adopted the tactics of another wader (a Turnstone) and was systematically turning over stones in search of tasty morsels such as worms or invertebrates which hide under them.

On the other side of the Forth lies the large warehouses of Bandeath, which was a munitions depot during WW1 and later became a Royal Naval Armaments Depot (RNAD) during WW2.

Warehouses at Bandeath

Weapons, munitions and supplies were brought into these large warehouses by rail and then transferred on to supply ships using the crane on Admiralty Pier. The shell of the crane still stands as a monument to Bandeath's military history, the site is now an Industrial Estate.

RNAD Crane on Admiralty Pier

Once again the rain started coming on so I hurried back to the car, getting there just in time before the heavens opened. Time for another cup of coffee and a cheesy sandwich, you've got to keep your strength up on these arduous trips.
After having my lunch the rain eventually passed over and some blue sky appeared, so I thought it was time to continue exploring. I headed towards Cambus Pools, a Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) nature reserve, although I knew roughly where it was the entrance to the reserve wasn't very well signposted. I knew I had to cross over the River Devon and found the only obvious bridge which was busy with lorries ferrying whisky barrels to and from the nearby bonded warehouses.
From this bridge I did however view the magnificent Cambus Iron Bridge which was built back in the early 1800s to provide a crossing point for pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages going to Cambus Distillery (which sadly no longer exists).

Iron Bridge over River Devon

Cambus Iron Bridge

I thought that I might be able to access the nature reserve from this bridge but sadly the access was blocked, and it did not look like I should chance it.

No Entry!

Then I noticed a couple of interpretation signs next to the old bridge, one about the bridge and one about the reserve. At least I think that is what they said as I could barely read them:

Nothing that a bit of soap and water wouldn't cure.......c'mon SWT get your act together!
Anyway I deciphered the fact that I had to cross the road bridge then turn left which I duly did.
This led me to a decidedly muddy path and I was starting to think that I should have put my wellies on

Muddy Path to Cambus Pools

 With a few Fred Astaire moves I managed to avoid the worst of the mud.
At this point the River Devon passes over a weir, which I understand also had something to do with the old distillery. With the river swollen with heavy rain and the sun now shining it looked quite dramatic:

Cambus Weir

After the weir the River Devon slowed down and went round a bend where it looked much calmer and peaceful.

River Devon

Here a few ducks, including Goldeneye, Teal and Mallard pottered about on the river:

As I continued along the woodland path the sun shone brightly and I was pleased to see that the trees were sparkling with jewelled raindrops, just as I eluded to at the start of this blog:

Sparkling Trees

I then came across a signpost which confirmed that I was indeed in the right place:


No Shooting!

I only hoped that shooting videos does not count.
I later found evidence that others had been ignoring the sign as well:

The pools themselves were a bit of a disappointment from a wildlife perspective, but it was still officially Winter and all the Spring migrants which come to these reed beds and pools to breed were sunning themselves in warmer climes.
The views over towards the Ochils and Wallace's Monument were however rewarding:

Cambus Pools & Ochil Hills



Wallace's Monument from Cambus pools

Well I had enjoyed some natural history, some military history, some industrial heritage, some wonderful views and even some sparkly trees, so I thought it was not a bad trip overall.................considering the weather!!

Take care

TeddyEdward