I've just entered Scottish Natural Heritage's poetry competition celebrating 50 years since the wonderful St Cyrus was granted protection as nature reserve. The winner will have their poem plus four suggested images carved onto a stone monolith placed outdoors on the reserve.
My mum has a static caravan in nearby Montrose and for the past year and a half we've been exploring the surrounding area. There's so much to inspire - sands, dunes, cliffs; woodlands, mudflats, gentle rolling farmland; red-earth landscapes and stunningly open skies. And the birds...! At the Montrose Basin (Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve) are thousands of eider ducks all year round. In winter 60,000+ pink-footed geese descent each evening on the mudflats to spend the night in safety. In summer common and arctic terns arrive to hatch their young. Arctic terns fly incredible distances - some have been tracked flying from the Antarctic winter to the Arctic summer, and back, each year.
I'll write more about Montrose another time.
Here's my poem:
St Cyrus
St Cyrus - sea, sand, sun sky, storm sky.
On the water - eiders, gulls, mergansers.
In reeds and grasses - stonechat, robin, wren.
And buzzards circle, falcons soar, from ancient seacliff.
St Cyrus - sea, sand, sun sky, storm sky.
On the water - eiders, gulls, mergansers.
In reeds and grasses - stonechat, robin, wren.
And buzzards circle, falcons soar, from ancient seacliff.
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| St Cyrus emblems, SNH Poetry Competition entry, October 2012 |
Montrose is easy to get to on the Edinburgh-Aberdeen rail line, trains are close to hourly.
St Cyrus is only a 7-8km cycle north of Montrose station, half on off-road cycle paths if following the Sustrans National Cycle Network. The other half is minor road.
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