Lancashire Hotspot

In the middle of September we had a little trip down south in Vannie to Lancashire; the town of Southport to be specific. We chose Southport Caravan Park for several reasons:

• It was within walking distance of the town itself, being situated directly on the esplanade.
• It was also within walking distance to a main rail station, which would allow us to visit Moira's relations in Wigan.
• It wasn't in Blackpool, don't get me wrong I love Blackpool, but I wouldn't go there with the motorhome.

The trip down was memorable for all the wrong reasons. It was one of the wettest and windiest days of the year, and my window wipers decided to pack in, just an hour into our journey south. Luckily I always carry some tools with me and I managed to repair them at Abington Services (it was just a bit hairy driving the last couple of miles to Abington in the pouring rain with no wipers).

We got to Southport safely and even benefited from a break in the weather long enough to get the awning set up, then it rained again:

View from Vannie at Southport Caravan Park

It rained most of that night so we were confined to barracks until the morning.
We were up bright and early the next morning and luckily the weather had brightened up a bit. Our plan for the day was to meet up with Moira's cousins in Wigan, so after a quick shower and a bite of breakfast we headed off to Southport Railway Station. The trains to Wigan were fairly regular and it was only a half hour journey, passing mostly through farmland and small town stations.
We arrived in Wigan in plenty of time so we had a walk through the town centre followed by a leisurely stroll in Mesnes Park. We even had time for a trip down memory lane by visiting the house where Moira's Gran use to stay:

Wigan Town Centre

Moira's Gran's Old House

We then headed off to the Brocket Arms to meet up with Moira's cousins Christine and Sue (and her husband Ian) for a spot of lunch and a good blether.
After lunch and a few beers we headed back to the rail station for the return trip to Southport.
That evening I went out for a little walk myself along Marine Drive (which was just outside the caravan park) and enjoyed watching the sun going down:

Marine Drive, Southport

Southport Sunset

Being on the west coast Southport has much better sunsets than we get on the east coast of Scotland......... we have better sunrises though!............ that is when the sun does bother to rise?
The next morning we were up bright and early again, but this time we stayed local. First up was a pleasant walk along Marine Parade, a stroll on the beach then a visit to Southport Pier:

Moira windswept on Southport Pier

The tide was quite far out and there was very few people on the beach at this time of year; there were a couple of birds however, including a Black-headed Gull and an immature Herring Gull:

The pier was also the perfect place to provide a panoramic view of the Ribble Estuary coastline, including the distinctive outline of Blackpool Tower and The Pleasure Beach:

If you look closely at the last video you will see a murmuration (of what I presume to be Starlings) heading towards Blackpool.
After visiting the pier we went for a coffee, then a wander around Marine Lake, where the sailing club were out in force in their dingies (or yachts? I don't know the difference):

Sailing on Marine Lake

Plenty of Dingies/Yachts

I think they may be tacking?

We passed by The Lakeside Inn (which claims to be Britain's Smallest Pub) but we didn't go in as there were four people in there already and I hate crowded pubs.

Britain's Smallest Pub  (Rutherfords in Kelso might be smaller?)

We then reached the Promenade (which is basically the boardwalk leading to the Pier) where we posed for some photos:

Moira on Southport Promenade

Marine Lake viewed from the Promenade

Eddie and the Promenade Express

We completed our stroll along Marine Lake before heading back to the caravan Park:

Swans on Marine Lake

We swanned about the campsite for the rest of the day before enjoying a lovely BBQ cooked by my own fair hand. We then went for an evening stroll to enjoy the sunset:

Southport Sunset 1

Southport Sunset 2

Southport Sunset 3

I even tried to capture on video the point when the sun actually dipped below the horizon, but I got bored holding the camcorder. Here is a speeded up version of what I got:

No patience that's my problem! However by not waiting until the sun fully set and heading back to the campsite we were treated to another wonderful spectacle............... a flock of Pink-footed Geese flying right over our heads as they headed to their roosting site:

You will have heard the old saying 'red sky at night, shepherds delight' foretelling good weather:

Pink Sky over Southport Caravan Park

Vannie in the Sunset

Well the next day it poured from morning to night:

Soggy View from Vannie

The weather was so bad we just had to go clothes shopping in Soutport High Street (apparently). I did get a nice new shirt so I can't really complain.
We also went out at night to the nearby Chinese Restaurant for a meal and that was delicious, so not too a bad day after all.
Luckily the next morning was much brighter so we went on our travels again, this time catching the train to the nearby town of Formby. I loved the architecture of the old Formby station building:

Formby Station Frontage

A nice red brick building, typical of the area.
After a bite to eat in a quaint cafe we headed down to the beach and the National Trust site at Freshfields:

Formby Beach looking North

Formby Beach looking South

The walk along the beach was very relaxing and also revealed some interesting industrial archaeology:

Part of an old brick wall

Old drainage pipework

Apparently these are remains of the Harrington Barracks that once stood here during the Second World War; home to the Infantrymen of the King's Regiment.
The base was demolished after the war and most of the rubble used as substrate for the beach car park and the nearby caravan park. Unused rubble was simply buried in the dunes as subsequently tidal erosion has revealed this.
We pressed on along the beach, basking in the sunshine:

Eddie enjoying the sunshine on Formby Beach

We reached the sign directing us to what we were looking for; Red Squirrels and Toilets of course:

Formby Beach Sign

On our way to the Red Squirrel walk we passed a field with lots of Rabbits in it............  I mean LOTS of Rabbits.......... it was like they were growing them in the field!

We carried on to the toilets (which were most welcome) and then on to the part of the woods known to contain Red Squirrels. We walked around the 'Red Squirrel Loop' and saw absolutely no squirrels of any description, red, grey, pink or blue.
On the way out eagle-eyed Moira spotted this little Red Squirrel on the ground, I knew I wouldn't have long before it disappeared in to the tree-tops so I grabbed my trusty camcorder and started filming:

Phew! Glad I managed to get some footage.
The trip to Formby was very enjoyable and was our last outing in the Southport area before we headed home. Overall we had a really good time in Lancashire, visiting relatives, beach walking, promenading, chasing squirrels, shopping, etc. I sure we will return in the not-too-distant future.
I will leave you with one of my favourite road signs........... found on a little road in Freshfields, Formby:

Of Course They Do!

Take Care

Teddyedward

Grand Time in Grantown-on-Spey

In August we took Vannie for a little trip up North to visit the special place that is Speyside. We based ourselves at Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park in order to experience some of the wonderful scenery, wildlife and activities this area has to offer.
Our first afternoon was spent getting set up at the caravan park before heading out for an evening stroll through Grantown, ending up at the Grant Arms for a couple of drinks.
The next morning our adventure started in earnest with a white-knuckle ride on the 34 bus to Aviemore. Forget all the roller-coasters and scary rides at Blackpool Pleasure Beach; if you are a real thrill-seeker get on a 34 bus (which was running 10 minutes late) as it winds its way through narrow lanes bordered by great trees and deep lochs, dodging on-coming traffic in order to get to Aviemore on time.
Luckily we were heading to Aviemore for a much more sedate activity; a ride on the Strathspey Steam Railway. We even had time to have a relaxing coffee before going to the platform to watch the steam engine arrive:

Steam Engine arriving at Aviemore Station

The engine had to reverse and couple up to the carriages in order to form the train and I recorded this activity before we boarded the train:

I think the engine driver was 'well chuffed' with his very controlled reversing:

Excellent Reversing Technique

Well Chuffed!

Maybe that's where the saying originated from........... a steam engine driver pleased with the way he chuffed his engine in to place?
In case you are interested the engine was named after the engineer who oversaw its restoration:

Steam Engine 'E.V. Cooper Engineer'

After a successful engine-coupling it was all-aboard and we were off:

Moira on the Steam Train in Aviemore

And so we embarked on our steam-driven journey from Aviemore to Broomhill Station (or Glenbogle Station, if you are a fan of the TV show Monarch of the Glen) via Boat of Garten. Here are some of the views from our journey:

Old Diesels in Aviemore Yard

Clouds over The Cairngorms

Carriages at Boat of Garten (in need of restoration)

Boat of Garten Station (note old railway crane)

Speyside View

Weather was a bit showery but we were warm and dry and the clouds made the views more atmospheric!
When we returned to Aviemore we grabbed a bite of lunch and had a general root around the town before getting the bus back to Grantown (which was a bit less frantic than our morning bus ride). That night and most of the early hours of the next morning it rained really heavily. In the motorhome the rain always sounds worse than it is but it was really, really bad and rivers of water were running down the roads of the caravan park. We were lucky to be a couple of feet off the ground and also lucky the water running down the road flowed past our awning without getting in to it. We didn't get much sleep that night for the rain, thunder and lightning, but we survived.
The next morning we decided to stay local and after breakfast we took a walk down to Anagach Woods, which stretch along the South side of Grantown and are bordered by the River Spey. With all the rain the previous night the river was quite swollen:

Swollen River Spey

River Spey in Spate

Unusual to see it so deep and fast-flowing at this time of year, this short video should give you a better idea of the force of the water flowing past:

Anyway the worst of the storm was over and we only had some light drizzle to contend with so we carried on with our walk through the woods:

Path Through Anagach Woods

At this point we came across a group of small birds flitting about in the branches of a nearby tree. It was very hard to get a good view of them............ however by their size and movement I had a inkling that they were Goldcrest............. the UK's smallest breeding bird. They made a brief appearance in a gap between the branches and I managed to catch them on video:

A lovely little bird, and you can clearly see why they are called Goldcrest.
They are not incredibly rare but are hard to see as they are so small and spend most of their time high up in the branches; their cousin the Firecrest is a much rarer bird in the UK.
We pushed on through the woodland:

Moira in Anagach Woods

Our perseverance was rewarded with a good view of Roe Deer as it chomped its way through the leaves of Blaeberries growing in the woods:

It was certainly keeping a wary eye on us, but nor too bothered that we were there, as long as we kept our distance.
We were on the homeward stretch now, just a bit more long-and-winding path to negotiate:

Eddie on the Long and Winding Path 

It was a very enjoyable walk despite the damp conditions and we enjoyed a relaxing lunch in Maclean's Bakery afterwards. The rest of that day was spent relaxing at the caravan park before going out for a lovely evening meal at the Grant Arms Hotel; followed by a couple of nice whiskies in their well-stocked bar.
There was some more rain overnight, but not as bad as the previous evening, and we awoke to a cloudy but dry morning. We decided to stay local and explore the disused railway line at the back of the caravan park, which now forms part of a walking route called the Dava Way.
The Dava Way runs from Grantown-on-Spey to Forres and is about 22 miles long.................. though we only walked a couple of miles of the route.

Old Railway Bridge at start of Dava Way

After climbing the steps at the old railway bridge we were able to look back towards the caravan park and Grantown-on-Spey (we were even able to pick out our own motorhome):

Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park

Vannie at Grantown

We continued north along the old railway line, which cuts through woodlands and solid granite rocks before opening up to more level ground.

Dava Way passing through Woodland

Cutting through Granite on The Dava Way

In the cutting everything was still quite damp after all the rain we had in previous days:

Small Waterfall in Dava Way Cutting

Moss growing on vertical slab of Granite

Thistle growing in Dava Way Cutting

Despite the damp conditions there was still plenty of insects and butterflies flying around, including this pretty little Scotch Argus which stopped long enough to be filmed:

When we got through to the other side of the cutting the pathway 'opened up' and there was more light........... and more wildlife to enjoy:

The Dava Way

Moira on the Dava Way

View from the Dava Way

Here are a few pics of some lovely wildflowers we saw along this stretch of the track:

Harebell and Cat's-ear

Sheep's-bit Scabious

Rosebay Willowherb

Harebell

Eyebright

With all these wildflowers there was also plenty of nectar-seeking insects, bees and butterflies to be seen, including this Drone Fly (which can easily mistaken for a Honey-Bee):

There were also plenty of wild Raspberry plants bearing tasty fruit along the side of the track .............mmmm!!

Wild Raspberries

After a while we turned around and headed back along the track towards the Caravan Park:

Heading back along the Dava Way

As we passed back along the cutting through the granite rock we noticed a bit of movement in the grass at the side of the track. I turned out to be Mr Toad who was out for a little walk/hop:

Back at the motorhome we reflected on the fact that we had a good time and saw some great wildlife......... despite the wet weather. It only goes to show that if you get out there, no matter whether it is rain or shine, you will nearly always see something of interest.
On that philosophical note I will leave you.......

Take Care,

Teddyedward