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Find special offers and hot tips for activities in Edinburgh here. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 20 November 2008 Royal Lyceum28 November to 3 January0131 248 4848Isle of May 20 November 2008 Out at the mouth of the Firth of Forth an hour’s boat ride from Anstruther harbour on the Fife shore and accessible only at certain states of weather and tide, the Isle of May is not the easiest of places to reach. Some visitors breeze straight out there, first time lucky; others become used to turning up at Anstruther harbour, only to be told, “Sorry – the sailing’s cancelled” So it is generally with mixed feelings of surprise and delight that you find yourself stepping from the deck of May Princess on to the jetty of the May. Not that one’s reception is ecstatic when the Arctic terns of the island are hatching their chicks. They are inclined to show their displeasure at the intruder by trying to peck his brains out. The island is run by Scottish Natural Heritage because of its staggering number of seabirds. Best of wild places, Christopher Somerville Wemyss Caves 20 November 2008
Wemyss caves, Fife
The stretch of low cliffs east of Kirkcaldy is riddled with shallow caves formed after the end of the last Ice Age when the land, relieved of the crushing weight of ice a mile thick, rose several scores of feet and exposed this friable rock to waves and weathering. People on the lookout for safe places to shelter soon began to inhabit the caves, and it must have been shortly after they took up residence that they began to cut pictures into the walls…. The earliest decipherable today could date back 5,000 years .. most were probably made in the time of the Picts
Best wild places, Christopher Somerville Incholm 20 November 2008 Travel – Ferry from Hawes Pier, South Queensferry Incholm is the odd man out among the islands of the Firth of Forth, for although there are plenty of wartime ruins that echo those on Cramond Island, it is not grim hulks of concrete that shape its character. The slim waisted island lies a mile out of Dalgety Bay near the north shore of the firth, close enough for an easy crossing in calm weather, even in a rowing boat. But in storm conditions the passage can turn treacherous. In 1123 a gale caught King Alexander 1 of Scotland out in the estuary, and proved so ferocious that the monarch was obliged to shelter for three days with the hermit of Incholm. One speculates with fascination on the nature of the food and accommodation, and on what passed between all-powerful king and ascetic solitary. In any event Alexander was so grateful that he founded a monastery and it is the magnificent and remarkably complete ruin of the buildings that dominates the island today.
Extract from Best Wild Places, Christopher Somerville Bass Rock 20 November 2008 The first class Scottish Seabird Centre in North Berwick runs boat trips out to the Bass Rock, a plug of basalt rising 350 feet out of the Firth of Forth. The extraordinary sight of a dense cloud of gannets streaming to leeward off the Bass never fails to draw gasps from boat-borne visitors… Once ashore and trudging up the zigzag path to the summit, a rhythmical sound like the surging of a giant kettle on the boil begins to make itself heard. By the time you reach the viewing place near the summit it has swelled to a roar. The smell of the colony hits you next, a stench that makes you gag. Then the spectacle claims your attention. Gannets are big – 3 feet long, with a wingspan nearly twice that – and they are beautiful, with china-white body and inner wings, long pointed black wingtips, and a buff-coloured head from which protrudes that sharp grey beak. The eyes are a remarkable cold blue.
Extract from Best Wild Places, Christopher Somerville Cramond 20 November 2008 There are no boats to Cramond Island you have to walk there from the south shore of the Firth of Forth along a tidal causeway that crosses gleaming mud and ribbed sandbanks, a crunchy carpet of mussels and winkles underfoot. The island is thickly coated with soft grass and wild flowers and possessed of magnificent views across the firth…… Once you have passed through the island’s grove of willows and sycamores, traversed the rocky knoll of the summit and dropped down to the north shore, you discover just how thoroughly these islets of the Forth were fortified during the world wars of the twentieth century. Here are concrete pillboxes, observation bunkers. Gun emplacements and searchlight bases. A couple of miles up the firth the great red dinosaur humps of the Forth Railway Bridge rise over the trees, with the naval dockyard of Rosyth in their shadow – prime targets for the German bombers. Extract from Best Wild Places by Christopher Somerville Portobello 20 November 2008 It’s easy to forget, among the high stone town houses of New Town or the department stores of Princess Street, that Edinburgh is a seaside city.Take the no.26 bus from the city centre and you’ll end up in Portobello, Edinburgh’s own seaside neighbourhood.The sandy beach is a mile long, and the pub beer gardens on the promenade look out to sea. Just along the coast is Leith, a bustling area of waterside bars and restaurants and still an active portGolf in Edinburgh 20 November 2008 Craigentinny Golf courseViews of Arthur's Seat and the historic Calton Hill monuments characterise this 18 hole par 67 course. |
News Headlines Royal Observatory EdinburghCycling in Edinburgh Grassmarket CeilidhsEdinburgh LecturesMary Poppins, Edinburgh PlayhouseEdinburgh FilmhouseArthur's Seat. 1pm WednesdaysGolf in EdinburghThe Lion, the Witch and the WardrobePortobelloCramondBass RockIncholmWemyss CavesIsle of MayEngine Shed Cafe |
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