Saturday 28 May 2011

Roslin Glen (1)

We had a lovely walk today round Roslin Glen, to the south of Edinburgh. The weather was very changeable, raining one minute, beautiful sunshine the next. We saw lots of swallows and house martins. One field was full of swallows swooping low over the buttercups. There were swifts too, unexpectedly far from their usual city centre habitat, but we guessed they must have been nesting in the old mill buildings (there are plenty of those in Roslin Glen, including ruins of a gunpowder mill).




There were loads of interesting insects around, most of which we couldn't identify, but we enjoyed admiring their colours and patterns. It was nice to see several of these insect houses had been attached to trees around the glen, as well as several bat boxes and bird boxes.

Then there were these amazing fungi.



Roslin Glen is near the now famous Rosslyn Chapel and the surrounding ruins. I know nothing about the Da Vinci Code, but enjoyed the photographic potential of some of the buildings and ruins.




to be continued tomorrow!




18 comments:

none said...

Beautiful photos!
Sometimes it's fun not knowing the names of certain things and just admiring and observing them with childlike wonder. :)

Carver said...

What a wonderful place to walk. I love the stone, green, and fungi. There's such a great mix for the senses.

Cassie said...

Never would have guessed that was an insect house. I thought it was a work of art!! Happy SSS.

Ralph said...

The gunpowder mill seems to be returning to his rocky roots, each stone burrowing into the land...

The fungi are beautiful as sun and shadow falls over the tree. I like the insect house, this side view shows each (flat??) as a scroll rolled up with all the rest of the 'scrolls'. An artistic place, the ruins so unique, impressive in their day as now - the weathering has not made the massive structures fall down yet...

Sylvia K said...

Lovely captures and what a beautiful place to walk! I agree with Carver, such a great mix for the senses! Hope your weekend is going well!

Sylvia

Magical Mystical Teacher said...

Roslin Glen looks like a magical place--especially for a photographer!


I ALMOST LOST MY SHADOW

I almost lost my shadow,
I left it in the park;
I heard my mommy calling,
For it was getting dark;

She has no use for shadows,
She thinks they are quite grim,
And when she saw my shadow,
She thought it was a “him.”

I had to educate her
And tell her it was “she”—
And now my faithful shadow
Is welcome as can be!


© 2011 by Magical Mystical Teacher

Shadows in the Barrio

Anonymous said...

Really enjoyed these photos and description (I so want to go to Scotland).

Gemma Wiseman said...

Love the old stonework framed with Nature's greens! Beautiful photos!

TexWisGirl said...

that rock formation is amazing! what pretty greenery too!

Draffin Bears said...

What wonderful photographs you have shown and much be lovely to be one with nature, in this gorgeous part of the world. I love your shadow poem.

Happy weekend
Hugs
Carolyn

Lew said...

Great shots of the old ruins! Interesting history in these old ruins,

Martin said...

Looking forward to part 2. Here's hoping the weather stays fine for you.

Sandy's witterings said...

Some lovely photos from Roslin - I've only once been there and that was just to pop into the chapel on the way past (rascles don't allow photographs and it's so spectacular) and didn't see any of the surrounding area.

Gattina said...

Looks like a very beautiful place ! Especially when the sun is shining that's always the problem in our countries ! In Belgium it rains a lot too, except this year, we already have summer !

Captain Shagrat said...

Interesting post so atmospheric with nature claiming back the ruins, just my cup of tea

Anonymous said...

Beautiful area!

Unknown said...

Lovely pitures. what amazing place!
(via SSS)

Light Trigger

CatCat said...

That fungi's color is so adorable. Great photos, eh.

Thanks for sharing,
Cathy@blood pressure gauge