Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

If you are going away somewhere and don't mind meeting up with other Bongo owners or if you've been somewhere & want to tell us about it & stick up your photos, put the details here.

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Muzorewa
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Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Muzorewa » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:23 am

Welcome to this year’s Scotland Tour which is a continuation from where we left off last year (details HERE for anyone who missed it) and we have done the Borders / Ayrshire / Dumfries & Galloway places we ran out of time for last year plus a few more places besides.

Only one week this time but we still covered plenty of ground, 2,500km in a typically reliable fashion. Our total cost for accommodation during the week – Nil. :wink:

Our route....

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As last year, we took plenty of photos :lol:

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First stop, the Bridge House at Ambleside. Any excuse to divert off the M6 on a bank-holiday weekend

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Bassenthwaite Lake, the only ‘lake’ in the lake district :wink:

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Ouse Bridge at the top of Bassenthwaite Lake

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I’m slowly exhausting border crossing points to photograph :oops:

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To Dumfries and Palmerston Park, home of the only league club in the UK to get a mention in the Bible.... :roll:
Matthew chapter 12 verse 42: “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”
Luke chapter 11 verse 31: “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.”

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Dumfries centre, and a house – but not any old house, the house of Robert Burns, “Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!” and all that malarkey :roll:

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In the Burns mausoleum

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Ae, Dumfries & Galloway, the shortest place name in the UK

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8)

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Drumlanrig castle, Dumfries & Galloway

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Wanlockhead....

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....home of the highest pub in Scotland at 1531 feet (compare with Tan Hill Inn in England at 1732 feet). For future reference, there are some great wild-camping spots by the side of Mennock Water on the B797 on the way up to Wanlockhead from the A76 :idea:

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Stop for lunch at Drum Bay to the south of Dumfries

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Carsethorn from Drum Bay

Then on to see John Paul Jones cottage. Sadly, it wasn’t the John Paul Jones I was thinking of, no electric bass guitars hanging on the walls :oops:

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Time to set up camp near Glen Trool in the Galloway Forest Park....

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....or rather time for the Jrs to disappear and leave us to set up camp....

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....amidst typically Scottish weather.

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The faint rainbow was a potentially good sign although this site scored 90 on the Midge-o-Meter....

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....by morning we had typically un-Scottish weather which was to remain with us the rest of the Tour :D

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....which merely prompted the Jrs to disappear again while we broke camp :roll:

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Culzean Castle – what a place!....

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....unfortunately they weren’t allowing photos inside, but the display of flintlock pistols is awesome :wink:

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Electric Brae....

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....our heavily-laden Bongo struggled to demonstrate this phenomenon :roll:

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Dunure castle

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Overlooking the Firth of Clyde with the Isle of Arran in the distance

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Robert Burns birthplace, Burns cottage in Alloway near Ayr

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First ferry of the Tour, Caledonian MacBrayne’s MV Loch Shira from Largs to the Isle of Great Cumbrae

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This isn’t one of their most profitable routes :roll:

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The Firth of Clyde, looking north from the Isle of Great Cumbrae

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Cathedral of the Isles – the smallest cathedral in the UK....

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....which seats only 80 people....

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....but does have a Bösendorfer concert grand piano amongst other impressive pianos & harpsichords 8)

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Millport, Isle of Great Cumbrae

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Largs on the mainland from the Isle of Great Cumbrae

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A pair of Jrs on the viewpoint at the top of Great Cumbrae....

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....waiting for the sunset over the Isle of Bute....

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....and for the animals that only come out to play at night 8)

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Millport, Isle of Great Cumbrae, with the Isle of Bute in the background

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Millport, Isle of Great Cumbrae

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Torr Mòr, Isle of Bute

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The Lion, Isle of Great Cumbrae

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MV Loch Shira from the Isle of Great Cumbrae to Largs

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Western Ferries MV Sound of Shuna from McInroy’s Point to Hunter’s Quay....

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....altogether a more businesslike route :wink:

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The Firth of Clyde looking north towards Gourock

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Inveraray castle from across Loch Fyne

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MV Corran from Nether Lochaber to Ardgour

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So tell me, why would you pay to go on a proper campsite when you can camp here for free?....

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....with breathtaking views of Ben Nevis across Loch Linnhe....

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....where the Jrs can disappear again on their bikes....

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....on desolate roads....

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....while we prepare a sumptuous feast :wink:

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Scotland. Given the right weather, you can’t beat it :wink:

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Loch Linnhe was busier than the road we were on :lol:

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MV Corran from Ardgour to Nether Lochaber

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Loch Garry between Invergarry and the Skye bridge

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Come on guys, give us a chance, all our maps are in English :?

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Eilean Donan castle

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Loch Broom from Ullapool

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Overnight camp almost overlooking Loch Glencoul, Sutherland

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Next step was to go to Cape Wrath, across the Kyle of Durness....

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....on Fiona, the Cape Wrath ferry :shock: ....

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Cape Wrath is the only place in the northern hemisphere where NATO combine air, land & sea training....

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....one of the sentry posts....

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....due to the obvious dangers.

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The Cape Wrath cliffs are the highest sea-cliffs on the British mainland

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The Ozone Cafe is open 24/7....

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....so it’s your duty to try it out while you’re there :lol:

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Kearvaig beach and ‘the Cathedral’ 8)

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The Bailey bridge over the Kearvaig river – excuse the quality of this, it was taken through the back window of the minibus at speed :roll:

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We were going to take the Bongo over until we saw the vehicle ferry arrangements.... :shock:

For anyone in any doubt as to how inaccessible this place is, see HERE :shock:

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Back from the Cape and wending our way across the top of Scotland, to Smoo Cave....

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....where Muzette was the only volunteer for this ferry :roll:

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Tràigh Allt Chàilgeag which possibly means something in English :roll:

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The Jrs in charge of catering....

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....which wasn’t looking promising :roll:

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You see, this is the problem with northern Scottish beaches, absolutely rammed with tourists :lol:

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Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the mainland

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John O’Groats, just as uninspiring as all the previous times we’ve been :roll:

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Duncansby Stacks and Thirle Door. Check out the seals basking on the rock in the bottom lefthand corner....

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....awwwww :wink:

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Geo of Sclaites (that’s what it says on the map) :?

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The female is the one on the right :twisted:

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Keiss castle, Caithness

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Next camp was in a forest to the south of Wick....

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....which scored 99 on the Midge-o-Meter....

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....drastic action to protect valuable supplies :lol:

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Seems we weren’t the only ones determined to exterminate all the midges :wink:

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On to the Camster cairns....

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....like some kind of ancient amusement park....

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....for the smaller ones to explore....

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....so we are reliant on the photography skills of Muzette for these interior pics :D

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Dunrobin castle, Sutherland

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Dornoch Firth

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Culloden, an impressive visitor centre for those who haven’t been....

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Leanach cottage at Culloden

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Then on to Fort George, one of the three forts along the great glen. Most famous are Fort William and Fort Augustus....

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....but Fort George is still a functioning army garrison.

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Blair castle, Blair Atholl, Perthshire

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Bannockburn, scene of Scotland’s finest performance. Kenny Dalglish & Graeme Souness were playing that day :wink:

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....plenty to occupy the Jrs....

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....oooooh, get some tomatoes quick!....

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....and some watermelons! :lol:

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Robert the Bruce

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Squirrel, the Nutkin :D

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Our final task was to climb Arthur’s Seat, the main peak of the group of hills forming Holyrood Park. It was misty to start....

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....but cleared up later....

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....to give almost clear views of Holyrood Palace....

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....and Edinburgh castle a mile away....

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....must go back on a better day! :wink:

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Och aye the noo Jimmy! :lol:
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maxheadroom
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by maxheadroom » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:35 am

Looks like you had a great time. I'm :mrgreen:

great pics too Muz 8)
Keep the Faith

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DE-OGZ

Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by DE-OGZ » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:56 am

Looks like you all had a gr8 time!! Some really inspirational fotos too.And I'm definitely liking the accomodation budget :lol: :lol:
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by dandywarhol » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:36 am

Great to see some of my old haunts as a kid - Smoo Cave was one which stands out!

Great pics, thanks :D
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by hatris » Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:09 am

Hi Muz, just had a first quick look through. Will look again more slowly later with Harry. Fabulous pics and it looks a really interesting holiday. Very green. We love scotland, just hate midges. Thanks for taking the trouble to post them, great. Trish
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Alison01326 » Sat Sep 04, 2010 11:13 am

Truly inspirational photographs once again. What a wonderful holiday you all appear to have had. I still can't work out how you cover so many miles yet still find the time to stop in all the interesting places and enjoy yourselves. Are you on the road early each morning, or are you just leisurely and supremely organised?

Thanks for sharing the pics.
Alison

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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by seventiesboy » Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:17 pm

These photos are awesome and explain better than any words why people should visit Scotland.
I am now feeling VERY homesick...................where's that bottle of malt.

Well done Sir, and thank you. =D>
Why?...........Because somebody might wave back.
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Muzorewa » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:00 pm

seventiesboy wrote:These photos are awesome and explain better than any words why people should visit Scotland.
I am now feeling VERY homesick...................where's that bottle of malt.

Well done Sir, and thank you. =D>
We got lucky with the weather, my Uncle was in Edinburgh the previous week for the Tattoo and said he had never seen rain like it. I thought "Hmmm, we have, last time we were in Scotland" :lol:
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Muzorewa » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:05 pm

Alison01326 wrote:I still can't work out how you cover so many miles yet still find the time to stop in all the interesting places and enjoy yourselves. Are you on the road early each morning, or are you just leisurely and supremely organised?
We'd be on the road earlier if it were only up to me, although we were on the road for 6am on the last day as I didn't want to fight through rush-hour Edinburgh traffic. Come to think of it, the first day was an early start as well :wink:

We travel light (although not as light as you it seems :wink: ) and are pretty well rehearsed at pitching & breaking camp. We also have a very good idea of where we are going and where we should be up to by a particular day or time. But not as regimented as last year, this year none of the ferries were pre-booked so we did have a bit of flexibility.

Plan ahead as much as you can, it never quite works out and there are places you'll miss and places you'll see as you go along, but just have a rough schedule in mind and the will to carry it through :wink:
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by MountainGoat » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:49 pm

Nice to visit some of my old haunts again by just looking at your pictures Muz. Not too much changed over the years but a few new things. No cafee/teashop at Cape Wrath when I was there, just a walk with the local ranger was on offer. Likewise no footbridge over the outflow from Smoo Cave and no visitors center at Culloden.

Trish if you want to see some of the west coast Highlands when few midges are about then come and join us at Glencoe later this month. They should not be too bad around then if not gone into hibernation for the winter.

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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by seventiesboy » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:53 pm

Muzorewa wrote:
seventiesboy wrote:These photos are awesome and explain better than any words why people should visit Scotland.
I am now feeling VERY homesick...................where's that bottle of malt.

Well done Sir, and thank you. =D>
We got lucky with the weather, my Uncle was in Edinburgh the previous week for the Tattoo and said he had never seen rain like it. I thought "Hmmm, we have, last time we were in Scotland" :lol:
Agree the weather helps but the country is still beautiful in any weather.
We spent a copule of weeks in the far North West this summer in 2 small back packing tents. Camping at Gruinard Bay and also at Durness. The weather was "mixed" including the windiest night EVER on the cliff top at Sango Sands, Durness. I was very pleased that we were in a four-season mountain tent but on saying that, the 2 Bongos on the site that night didn't seem to suffer and kept rheir AFTs up.
It was the "mixed" nature of the weather that prompted us to think seriously about having a Bongo as amember of our family.

Definition of mixed......................both wet AND windy :roll:

We did get some sun too and had a great time. 8)
Why?...........Because somebody might wave back.
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Bongoplod » Sat Sep 04, 2010 6:56 pm

Brill Muz,i enjoyed that.

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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by daveblueozzie » Sat Sep 04, 2010 7:52 pm

Stunning pics Muz, enjoyed looking at them and remembering some of the places i have visited over the years. =D> =D> =D>
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by friendeedebs » Sat Sep 04, 2010 9:16 pm

fantastic pics as always Muz :) really enjoyed looking at them, Scotland's a place I've not been yet, I should go, got a mad relative up in the highlands somewhere :)
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Re: Team Muz Scotland tour 2010

Post by Northern Bongolow » Sat Sep 04, 2010 10:51 pm

dont be fooled everyone, [-X .
the muzz clan have only been camping at sterling,they took all those pics from the top of the tower thing there(dont know what its called).
the benifits of having a good long lense eh paul. :lol: :lol:.
thanks for sharing. =D>
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