Showing posts with label tide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tide. Show all posts

2012-09-09

120703 Skottland-Scotland , day 10 Tuesday, Islay

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Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo120703
120703 Tuesday, day 10 Islay
Bridgend
Woke up 6.15. Morning walk in a forest in Bridgend not far away.  Not much birds but we did see a treecreeper and a few others. And a cool tree to. We managed to see a treecreeper wich was a new species for the trip.  It was a quiet and relaxing morning walk.  :)

Breakfast at 8 and this time it worked a little better. We did order egg and other warm food even before the cereals and such on the buffe. The staff seemed a bit confused but it worked. Departure at 9 to a destillery. It is a rainy morning again.



Lagavulin
We went to Lagavulin for the first tour through a destillarey today. This destillary is more modern then what we seen before. And for some reason we were not allowed to take shots. Could not understand the reason for it. After the factory tour we went to a storage building. There we were met by Ian. He told us a lot about the destillary and its whisky. We were given 6 samples to try. One at a time of course. The first one was the youngest and was clear in color. Really strong, around 70% I think. Those who did not expect any surprises suddenly had to spit out. Because that smple was really strong. :) Then it got lower in strenght, more colorful and more tasty as we moved on to older malts.

Then we moved to the next destillary, Ardbeg,  At the last one, Laphroaig, we had our lunch. Now the weather had become a bit better.  I bought myself a bottle at the second destillary. The barrel on the image was the coolest thing we saw this day.

Done with the whisky we left and drove along birding along Loch Indaal. Stoped at an inlet looking for seals and birds. And talked to a biking swedish couple. Here we also spotted some seals again and three otters. They are quite fun to watch.

 We had planned to go to Oa, the south point, but the weather was still misty so we headed north again. We also visited an old church ruin that we were passing by.

Arrived at the hotel Harbour Inn in Bowmore at 15.45. Surprisingly early. I took a stroll around the city center to chck for some whisky syrup but did not fine any. Then I went back to the hotel, I took a cup of coffee and went to sleep for an h. Then worked a bit on the internet before going to dinner at 18.55 at a nearby hotel. This meal took only 2h. Much better. This restaurant was better still. It has an interesting view. As our dinner progressed we could see the tide going out and revealing the stone circle.

Then the birdlist at the other hotel lounge where Ola stays. Back to my room at 22.15. Fixed a blogpost for WBW and wrote this. It is past midnight and I am going to bed. There were a program about Simon (Garfunkel) about an album called Graceland. Quite interesting.

Tomorrow is sleeping morning. Breakfast at 8 before going to Jura at 9
120701-04 Harbour Inn, Bowmore Islay http://www.harbour-inn.com/





Mer om Skottland på NF Photo och Fågelarter
More about Scotland on NF Photo and Bird species
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Birding at Bridgend forest, then whisky day.
Lagavulin
Ardbeg
Laphroaig
sightseeing in Port Ellen
Bowmore destilleri mm
birding in Loch Indaal
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2012-07-23

120625 Skottland-Scotland , day 2 Monday

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Click to enlarge All photos NF Photo 120625
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120625 Monday, day 2 
Woke up at 5.30  a bit too early. But I went up nevertheless.  As I had some trouble getting connected last night I tried a different thing. The plugs I brought with me did not fit for the computer. But I realised I could connect the computer in the shaving plug in the bathroom.  Great, then I can upload my shots. Never mind sitting on bathroom floor. :)
   
Birding the coast before breakfast at Aberlady bay. We left at 6.05. It was a nice morning with sun but a bit shilly. It was the same location as last night but now we headed over the bridge and walked for a bit. It is a place with many environments. Bushes, medows and waters. We spotted some small birds and then we saw a Little Grebe (smådopping) with 2 chicks in a pond. So nice to see as I never really seen them before. Not this close.

Aberlady Bay at low tide
This was a great birding site with a variety of birds. I liked it.

Back to the hotel for breakfast we got a bad surprise. Last night when we were supposed to pay for the dinner the staff  told us it was included. But now they said they made a mistake and we had to pay for it anyway. Never mind. The breakfast was ok. Lots of food, actually too much. tee, coffee, juice, egg in various forms, and other fried stuff. I only had one egg and bread. Can´t eat that much.

Birds so far, sorry swedish names: storspov,gravand,tofsvipa,rödbena, skrattmås, sävsparv, bofink, gråhäger, svartmes u bild, sävsångare, smådopping, kentsk tärna, svartkråka, knölsvan,  Räv

A part of the model at Glenkinchie Distillery
Leaving Open Arms at 9.30 and headed south to Glenkinchie Distillery. It was cloudy when we arrived. We were allowed to see the museum and their great model of teh process of making whisky. It was very interesting. I asked the man in the shop about the model. He said it was actually working. It would be possible to make whisky in it. Fascinating! Some of us did a little shopping and then we left. But outside the guide heard a sound. A Firecrest (brandkronad kungsfågel) was heard in the trees. Sadly enough we could not see it. :(

I did catch a Dipper in mid-flight. Do you see it?
Now we headed east to the coast of Northern part of England. We took a road up in the Lammermuir Hills. There we saw some Curlew (storspov) and a few other species. But not  the Red legged partridge as we hoped for. It was a beautiful country. From the wild barren hills we came to a lowland with lots of small lakes. Geeze liked them as it seemed. Then we made a stop at a creek. Itwas nice and we saw svallows and a dipper.
Lindisfarne
We had a late lunch in a pub in a small town and then we proceeded to Lindisfarne at the coast. It was still low tide so we could drive all the way out. We walked in the village and the ruins of the monastary. It was actually a great biding site too. Walking out of the village we came to a hill at the waters edge. It was a beautiful view from that location over the beach now free from water. But the tide was changing and the water was about to rise. So we had to find our way back to the parking lot again. Now I was behind the others. They had left without me noticing it. But I guessed where they went. The place was not that big. We left and passed the low tide area and stoped at the other end to see the tide rise again. For people from areas without the tide this is quite a nice thing to see.
I was there too. Still low tide and possible to drive over.

Hotel Bamburgh Castle Inn, Seahouses. My room is located at the third floor with a really steep stairway. It is not fun. But the room is OK and have a beautiful view over the small harbour. Dinner again soo much food. But I found a smaller dish, childrens menue,  and ordered that one. :)

I had more trouble with the computer. In this hotel I had to sit in the restaurant to be able to connect. I wanted to do that so I could write some and also make a post in my blog. But then I could not charge the battery as they had no plug for shavers. Well, well. I make notes. Hoping for a solution tomorrow.  :)
The little harbour outside my window

Took a shower and went to bed. Tomorrow will be a great day.
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Mer om Skottland på NF Photo  Fågelarter
More about Scotland on NF Photo  Bird species
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