Menorca 2017 - Random selection

Turtle Dove

It was lovely to see this little fella very close to our hotel amongst the bushes.The Turtle Dove is a dainty thing, smaller and darker than the collared dove and slightly larger than a blackbird. Its upperparts are distinctively mottled with chestnut and black nd its black tail has a white edge. They havebecome increasingly rare following rapid and sustained population declines. One cause of the decline is thought to be lack of seed and grain as food during the breeding season, resulting in a much shorter breeding season. Not to mention being a target for hunters during migration.The species is now included on the Red List of conservation concern.

Menorcan horses

Taking a different route off the 'Cami de Cavalls' provided some intersting wildlife and scenery around Sant Tomas. The Menorcan horse is very impressive or Cavall Menorquí if you prefer.

A couple of Marina , notice my homemade seating arrangement on the beach ! 

 


This beautiful yacht was crusing along the coast as I made my way to Son Bou.

Menorca 2017

Back again to San Thomas on the south coast of Menorca for some sunshine and relaxation. At least that was the plan. Had to travel with the back-end  of a heavy cold that was not enhanced by the air pressure in the plane cabin. In fact I arrived at the airport in a state of semi deafness....

This time we had a better view from our room which was on the first floor and looked over the swimming pool down the coast. We were on the best side of the hotel meaning that we had sun on the balcony until it went down which was always spectacular. 

Good to see our friends from last year again who were out for 2 weeks. Weather was very mixed with some heavy rain , thunder and lightning all thrown in. I would say that we had about 3 very good sunny days and a couple of overcast ones. Thankfully much of the rain was overnight.
 It was on one of the overcast days that we decided to hire a car and visit the previously unexplored northern side of the island. Once we had sorted the workings of the handbrake we set off to Fornells , our first port of call. I say port , it is actually a harbour in the traditional fishing style.



Fornells was closely linked to the need to fortify and defend its bay which was constantly attacked by pirate ships. In the 16th century. The existing watchtower was found to be inadequate so in 1625 King Phillip IV of Spain ordered a castle to be added. This project was not successful due to lack of funds. In 1637 the building project was recommenced as the castle of Sant Antoni. in 1782. King Charles III of Spain then ordered the partial destruction of the castle and all that is left of the military past of Fornells is the watch tower on the headland, outside the village.

 

Lots of nice restaurants and bars , I was struck by just how clean Fornells was. After experiencing the stunning views from the Watchtower it was time for a swift pint before moving on.



After a few false twists and turns not to mention 'raised voices' we arrived in Cala Pregonda, considered to be one of the best beaches on the north coast. Cala Pregonda is beautifully located inside a bay, well protected by the two small islands Illot and Esculls de Pregonda. The sand is golden, the water is crystal clear and the view from the beach is stunning.

 
 
Next to the northernmost point of Menorca! Cap De Cavalleria the object of worship and respect due to it's position for sunrise and sunsets. We had another false start ... Leaving the car in a official car park and walking , wondering why so many cars were going past us? After about half an hour and still no sign of our destination we decided to return to the car. It transpired we were in the wrong car park. Making up for lost time we drove the few miles to the lighthouse that crowns a calcareous cliff  some 90 metres high.

 

The lighthouse came into existence in March 1857 with a beam of light reaching 70km into the distance. A good place for bird lovers like my self with Ospreys to be seen in the conservation area on the north coast. Thankfully the journey back to Sant Tomas was relatively uneventful.

Belvoir Castle - Leicestershire

A sunny afternoon to take a trip up the A1 to Belvoir Castle (pronounced Beaver)'Beautiful View', (French I believe but all a bit too much for the locals to pronounce) in Leicestershire although it does seem to have a Nottingham post code? Furthermore the nearest town appears to be Grantham which is in Lincolnshire ...somewhat confusing so best to place ones trust in the satnav .... Regardless the Duke and Duchess of Rutland warmly welcomed us to share their gardens , at least that was what it said on the brochure. So armed with a packed lunch and a bottle of pop we made our intrepid way uphill to the 'Dukes walk'. Allegedly a 3 hour walk that takes in Capability Brown's excellent work and panoramic vistas. The gardens have undergone several changes over the centuries, the latest being a 2 year restoration programme that saw the lost plans of Capability Brown brought to fruition. This saw the creation of new walks into the woodland through a Japanese, Duchesse's and Hermit's gardens.

Wyatts Summer House

Lots of interesting and quirky sights to see on the walk which made it all very interesting. Possibly my favourite area was 'Frog Hollow' a series of large lakes by a lovely pavillion - an ideal spot for a pic-nic!
It was a good thing we had a pic-nic because the only outlet for food and drink was at the entrance down a very steep hill and there was no way we were going all the way back there in this heat. I think I nodded off for a short while after too many mini scotch eggs and dips, is this too much detail? Revigorated we set off again and promptly went off piste. Not a deliberate on I might add, my map reading skills went south , although it could quite easily have been North , West or East .. We did a large loop to arrive back where we started from..

We set off again in what was thought to be the right direction. It was only when we happened upon a game of cricket that I realised we had actually gone off the map and were heading towards Lincolnshire. Another about turn , just what my wife wanted in this heat and I was left to use distraction methods to stop her flagging. These included 'isn't that a Red Kite up there' and 'I shall buy you a lovely cup of tea at the end and some cake'. This seemed to improve moral until we discovered for the third time we were back at Frog Hollow again. As much as I liked the place it was getting slightly annoying, particularly as a large frog on a tree trunk seemed to be looking down and laughing at us.

The Laughing Frog

 

  Eventually we did find the right path more by luck than judgement I should say. Making our way through the Hermit's Garden and through the stumpery before getting completely lost again.. I was amazed at the lack of people about ?The car park was rammed , where were they all hiding? Must be in the Castle , not daft enough to venture out into the wilds of wherever we are. By now the clock was ticking and wouldn't be totally honest if I didn't admit to a small degree of panic creeping in. This probably wasn't helped by my wife who kept saying on repeat 'thats it we're in for the night' .. So it was with great relief that I spotted the castle in the distance , actually getting to it was another matter completely. Eventually we did make it back to the Rose Garden just as the gates were beginning to close.


There was just enough time to go up to the Castle and grab a couple of photos that really didn't do justice to the view. That cup of tea and slice of cake went down really well I must say!
 

Last day .....Back to Inverness

It was with extremely heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Mull to make the journey in reverse back to Inverness. On the way back to Craignure I couldn't resist stopping off at a place that had caught my eye driving past previously.

The face tells the story , sad to leave 

Goodbye Mull , hope to see you again one day

I had noticed a sign saying 'Lookout Tower' this did indeed need further investigation. From this specially-built lookout there are great views over the tree tops to Tobermory and down to the plunging Aros River waterfall. It’s spectacular after heavy rain, as the peaty water thunders towards the sea. Everything went according to plan and we made it back to Inverness in good time. Different hotel this time right by the river but the room felt tiny compared to the luxury of Glengorm Castle. Time for one last hurrah before we would catch the flight from Inverness Airport to Birmingham in the morning. It was lovely to watch the sun set over the River Ness just as it did on our memorable trip north of the border.

Isle of Iona

My goodness it was a long and winding drive down from Glengorm to the port of Fionnphort! It was from here that we needed to take the short ferry journey across to the 'Cradle of Christianity' as Iona is sometimes known. Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides. It is only 1.5 miles wide by 3 miles long, with a population of around 120 permanent residents. Our original plane was to catch a boat from Iona up to Staffa to see the Puffins and Fingals Cave. However the weather had other ideas, it was so rough all boats were cancelled. There was even some doubt as to how long the ferry would keep going as the forecast was set to deteriorate throughout the day.

This Scarecrow summed up the weather !

  Our first port of call on Iona was the famed Abbey founded by St Columba in 563. The Abbey was a focal point for the spread of Christianity throughout Scotland and remains a popular site of Christian pilgrimage today. Several high crosses are found on the Isle of Iona. St Martin's Cross (dated to the 8th century) still stands by the roadside. A replica of St John's Cross is found by the doorway of the Abbey.
  Another interesting place is the Augustinian Nunnery founded at the same time as the Benedictine Abbey and is one of the best-preserved medieval nunneries in Britain. The first prioress was Beathag (in English Beatrice), sister of Reginald who founded both the abbey and nunnery.

Sheena-Na-Gig

 

 As we walked through the ruins of the old nunnery it was a little shocking to find out that buildings such as the Nunnery often had a carving of a naked woman with her legs apart, called a Sheena-Na-Gig, to drive off evil spirits . Fortunately this carving was well worn so it does leave a little to the imagination .... By now we were both very wet and getting colder by the minute, nothing for it but to disappear into the heritage centre and a warming bowl of soup. The worry was that if the ferry was cancelled we would be left high and not so dry on Iona. We decided for safety to catch the next ferry back. As they are frequent it wasn't a long wait thankfully.
 

 Sadly we didn't get to see the highly acclaimed beaches , all accessible by foot, and all them enjoy the endless changes of colour in the landscape and the sea. On warm summer days the sunshine, sand, and crystal clear waters are said to make Iona appear positively Mediterranean. We were just thankful to get back to the sanctuary of the car. Driving back we did make a slight detour to the Ardalanish Weaving Mill and farm. It was an interesting place but the finished articles were not cheap. It was more inclined to walk through the nearby fields to look at the beach. Behind the beach was Machair grassland, which is a protected habitat and gives the beach a sheltered feel thanks to the grassland and dunes.

 

There were some large flocks of Oystercatchers on the beach which took great pleasure in avoiding me just as I tried to take the photograph. To say the beach was bracing would be an understatement so I made my way back to the warmth and noise of the mill.

The long road back to Glengorm