Leo du Feu - Landscape, Art, Nature, Birds: wildlife

Wednesday, 19 July 2023

Scotland By Rail - Aviemore - Rothiemurchus forest

A Scotland By Rail trip to Aviemore.

This blog post doesn't explore the town itself but travels straight out to Rothiemurchus forest at Coylumbridge for wildlife, walking in prime Scottish native woodland, mountain views.

I live in Burntisland and the journey north from here to Aviemore is so good. (Even better from Edinburgh as you get to go over the Forth Rail Bridge) The gorgeous Fife coast, Lomond Hills, views across the River Tay, Perth, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, through/over the Drumochter Pass - the highest point on the UK mainline rail network at 1,484ft. Through Kingussie, past Ruthven Barracks, Loch Insh. Then arrive into Aviemore. If you're lucky a Strathspey Steam Railway steam locomotive will be there to meet you, sharing the lovely wooden chalet-style station with ScotRail and other operators.

Once you're in Aviemore you can easily get to our walk start spot - buses leave Aviemore hourly and the journey is only a few minutes. Get off in Coylumbridge and you're pretty much in the Rothiemurchus forest. We took the Glen Einich track which starts on the west side of a small woodland campsite. Or you could walk to here from Aviemore station, an approx 3km walk, not quite two miles, pavement all the way.

We spent the afternoon in the forest, just walking there and back along a main footpath.

Scots pine, ash, silver birch, rowan...

At a small lochan we watched a pair of common sandpipers and their full-size but still slightly fluffy youngster. We sat near to the lochan and watched them do their stuff. I took shaky videos including the young one among the grasses. At one point one of the adults perched in the branches of a Scots pine - listen to the sound on that video and you can hear the sandpiper's call.

listen to the call in this one

We watched a young bullfinch, a young robin, a young wren, young long-tailed tits. We heard and saw a great spotted woodpecker and a crossbill as they flew (separately) over our heads. Willow warblers sang loudly in quite a few places. We saw lots of moths and once there was the flicker of a lizard as it darted off a lichen covered rock.

We watched a wood ant slowly and jerkily pull along a metallic blue beetle, dead, many times the ant's own size and weight. A bit later we stopped at a wood ant nest, the whole large brown rounded mound alive with movement.

We looked at orchids and other flowers all alongside the track. We ate from the blaeberries which were growing in great numbers amongst the heather. Juniper lined our route a lot of the way.

An is-it-a-golden eagle quickly became a buzzard. For that first moment its wingtips had looked so long and spread, then it mewed and became the buzzard that it really was

One of our stops was looking over open land - pine and other native trees regenerating rapidly thanks to deer being fenced out. Imagine if we had wolves back here, doing it naturally.

I worked in soft pastel looking looking over the open land and past the pine tops to the exciting jagged sheer scree of the Lairig Ghru.

Many thanks to Maurizio De Vita Photography & Storytelling for the photo of me working.

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Aviemore station is easy to reach by rail from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Inverness...

Check before your journey at - www.scotrail.co.uk

Thank you for reading my Scotland By Rail blog.

Spread the word and let me know about your own favourite railway days out.

Leo du Feu

ScotRail Community Rail Champion

July 2023

#ScotlandByRail on facebook, instagram, twitter

Saturday, 11 March 2023

Scotland By Rail - Edinburgh Gateway, Edinburgh Park sculpture & nature, Union Canal to Wester Hailes & WHALE Arts Agency

goosander, Edinburgh Park, pastel, 24x30cm

Leo du Feu

Community Rail Champion

A walk from Edinburgh Gateway station, alongside the trams, past the Gyle, through Edinburgh Park business parky sculpture parky area, past Edinburgh Park station, along the Union Canal to WHALE Arts Agency in Wester Hailes.

As I've talked about before, wherever possible I try to work nature and walking into my day.

Because, well, nature, you know, it's great.

And because I'm not a gym person.

Though I can do about 8 push-ups. Maybe 10 on a good day.

Though that implies I do them every day.

Walking is my exercise.

So when I was asked to stand in running an art session at WHALE Arts Agency I knew that although I could get the train to Haymarket then change onto another one out to Wester Hailes station I would much rather get a bit of a walk in.

So I got off at Edinburgh Gateway and had a very happy time walking my route, looking at the sculptures and plantings and wildlife of Edinburgh Park (the area, not the station), coffee and twenty minutes reading my book near Edinburgh Park (the station, not the area), enjoying the canal and hoping hoping to see an otter there as I did last time. I didn't this time.

Then two hours of lovely chat while painting birds with palette knife and acrylic at WHALE.

Then the walk back to Edinburgh Gateway, getting a bit of shopping done along the way.

Here's the walk.

tramlines seen from Edinburgh Gateway station

concrete sculpture & poetry @ Edinburgh Gateway station.
the grassy areas around here are brilliant wildflower meadows in summer.

sculpture and tram stop, The Gyle

through Edinburgh Park area the trams run off-road across lush green turf

Edinburgh Park is a place of offices - and water, reedbeds, trees, public art. A really inspiring area. Everywhere be planned so thoughtfully, bringing people into such close contact with nature.

poets' walk. Norman MacCaig

poets' walk. Naomi Mitchison.
In this photo there are also five waterbirds from four different species

male goosander, pastel, 24x30cm

Also:

female goosander

mallard

moorhen

black-headed gull

I love these tall tactile ceramic sculptures

Paolozzi

Vulcan
Sir Eduardo Paolozzi
1999

trees, hedges, grasses, everywhere.
Everywhere should and could be like this

On the right, poles and metal cabling designed specifically to allow climbing plants to wind their way up and form a green screen.

Edinburgh Park future plans

spot the grey wagtail.
Hint, grey wagtails are bright yellow underneath

Under the railway by Edinburgh Park station (you can also go up and over the railway via steps and bridge in the station

five minute walk uphill then onto the Union Canal

This feels like childhood. I grew up by the canal so I always love being back on one.

nature-painted shipping containers by the canal
edartfestcommunityengagement.com/wester-hailes-canal-connections

At exactly this spot, a year or few ago, I saw an otter.

I spotted bubbles in the canal.
I walked fast to the edge and stood at the very front of what you see in this photo.
The bubbles came right up to me and at the same moment that something about the bubble trail and swirling of mud made me think "otter..?..!", an otter head popped out of the water a foot from my foot.
It got a very great shock and splashed straight back in.
Gone.

This time I saw no otter.

3 bullfinches in this photo - two rusty red males & one female the same colour as most of the photo.

And a hanging poo bag, that obligatory decoration on shrubs and trees all across Scotland.