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Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:12 am
by Muzorewa
Ok, this year’s Scotland adventure, which only took us as far north as Argyll but mainly Dumfries & Galloway and South Ayrshire, but we still clocked up over 2,000km including the Kielder Forest Drive on our way back though Northumberland, if you haven’t done that I heartily recommend it, only one emergency stop to avoid a red squirrel!!

As usual, plenty of pictures....

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Jr is getting into the cycling lark in a big way, so what better place to stop on the way up but one of the 7stanes centres in the Ae forest....

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....one of eight such centres in the south of Scotland.

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Well-equipped, with a shop, repair centre, showers & cafe etc....

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....ideal to try out various grades of trail.

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....and with a power washer as well....

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....the bike hasn’t been this clean since it was new :lol:

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Onward & upward through the Galloway Forest Park 8)

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....past the ruin of Dalquharran castle in South Ayrshire....

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....to stock up on local produce for the week. Haggis pizza :?

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Our base for the week – it’s small but so is a Bongo :wink:

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Day two and off to the Galloway Forest....

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....to the Glentrool centre. We’ll pick him up later :idea:

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Water of Minnoch – there’s been a spot of rain lately

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Wild goats in the forest 8)

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The dam at Clatteringshaws Loch

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Salmon ladder at Allangibbon Bridge, at the foot of Earlstoun Loch, Dumfries & Galloway

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Brockloch Tower Dumfries & Galloway

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According to the blurb, Loch Doon castle was built in the early 14th century....

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....on an island in the loch.

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In 1935, when the water level was to be raised for a hydro-electric scheme....

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....the castle was dismantled and re-erected on the side of the loch.

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Wall cores and later buildings were left on the partly submerged island.

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Still drifting around the Galloway Forest 8)

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Blairquhan castle, South Ayrshire

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Oh yes, nearly forgot, better pick Jr up :oops: 58km later on the Glentrool Big Country trail

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:lol:

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On his way round, there was the Giant’s axe-head stane (stone)....

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....with runic text, making as much sense as Gaelic to us :?

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Is there a better way to relax than watching France lose the rugby World Cup final :twisted:

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Wouldn’t be a Muz Tour without ferries....

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....first of which is the Caledonian MacBrayne MV Argyle....

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....from Wemyss Bay to the Isle of Bute 8)

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Rothesay castle, Isle of Bute

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Rothesay castle

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Rothesay castle

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Back to the mainland on the CalMac MV Bute

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Poetry in motion – Argyle & Bute 8)

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Day four began at half-past-midnight to catch the 3.30am Stena Caledonia from Stranraer :shock:

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Kids surprisingly alert considering the time :lol:

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Needless to say, it was dark when we got to Belfast :?

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Several hours later, the City Hall looked like this :roll:

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But – where to get breakfast at 7am? – Isibèals in downtown Belfast :?

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....for a proper Ulster Fry – basically a full English with fried soda bread and potato bread :D

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Off on the tour bus to do the proper sightseeing thing, none of us have been to Northern Ireland before.

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Harland & Wolff, a lot of Titanic history here :wink:

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Parliament Buildings, Stormont

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Parliament Buildings, Stormont

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Parliament Buildings, Stormont

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On to one of the ‘peace walls’ built to keep the catholics & protestants apart, or was it the loyalists & republicans....

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....and to prevent them hurling abuse, rocks & petrol bombs at each other :?

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Shankhill Road, some of the wall murals with dignity like this WW1 memorial....

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....others less so :?

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....and some remembering innocent victims of ‘the troubles’ :(

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The international wall on the Falls Road

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Maze hunger-strikers mural, Falls Road :?

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Bobby Sands mural

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:?

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Queen’s University

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A muppet :lol:

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A supplier of tin whistles, vital for all those delinquents begging in Manchester city centre :wink:

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Albert Memorial clock, apparently leaning about a metre off vertical at the top

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Grand Staircase, Belfast City Hall

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Rotunda, Belfast City Hall

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Belfast City Hall

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Council Chamber, Belfast City Hall

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Council Chamber, Belfast City Hall

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Where else would they allow you to take photos inside a place like this....

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....and even sit in the Lord Mayor’s chair? :D

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Tesco, Belfast :?

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St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

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The largest Celtic cross in the land, the WW1 memorial

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St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

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St. Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast

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You can’t leave without having some of these can you :lol:

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Back home and guess what – it’s dark again – a proper 24-hour tour :lol:

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Maybole castle, South Ayrshire

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Cloncaird castle, South Ayrshire

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More trails, just to the south of Dumfries

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Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries & Galloway

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Ah, trails in Dalbeattie :roll:

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The Heart Cleft stane cut from a large piece of granite

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Some of the trail sections, like ‘the slab’ which were tricky in the wet.... :lol:

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....’log on, log off’....

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....a boardwalk section to stop you getting wet :?

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Cardoness castle, Dumfries & Galloway

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Yet more trails at Kirroughtree to the south of Newton Stewart

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Home through the Galloway Forest 8)

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Not sure whether this was on low-level practice, approaching a secret landing site that Google Maps has cloned out, or about to crash :?

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When we went to Culzean castle last year they wouldn’t allow photography inside :(

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They wouldn’t this year either :twisted:

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....but an armoury display like this needs to be shown off :lol:

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Culzean castle

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Culzean castle

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A Bongo is an ideal support bus for last minute adjustments in the rain 8)

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....at the Newcastleton bike trails in the Borders,

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Cycling home :?

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Drifting across the border 8)

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Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:13 am
by daveblueozzie
Fantastic =D> =D> =D> =D> =D>
Stunning pics as usual. :D

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:24 pm
by nigelgibson
Beautiful pictures, makes you realise what Billy Connolly meant when he said ' there's no such thing as bad weather - you're just wearing the wrong clothes ! '

Team Muz clearly agree and show us all how to get out there and enjoy. :D

Thanks for sharing your pics [ and making us want to get off the sofa , get the bikes out, put on a coat and enjoy what's on our doorstep as winter approaches ]. =D>

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 1:55 pm
by Northern Bongolow
thanks for sharing with us guys.
brings back some good memories for my family when we did a slightly smaller tour around ayr, a few years ago.
=D> =D> =D>

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:33 pm
by bigdaddycain
Brilliant thread! =D> =D> =D> That trail looks great :D Wheresmebike? 8)

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 3:57 pm
by umbongocat
[-o< [-o< [-o< Fab pics as usual. Looks like you had a great time :)

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:20 pm
by mikexgough
Great pics as usual and super trip..... did I see a third bicycle in one of the pictures... :?: :wink: :-"

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:38 pm
by mikeonb4c
Brilliant phototravelogue (as usual) Muz. Remind me ot tell you of my youthful misbehavings in Dumfries & Galloway when I were a young hippie (as opposed to an old Bongo owning one). I used to stay in a crofters cottage nr. Boreland, nr. Lockerbie. And my mum nearly bought a property up in Galloway c1972. She couldn't decided whether just to buy a cottage with a view right down to the coast for the princely sum of £500, or to go the whole hog and buy a Victorian school, with the main building and two cottage annexes, for the extortionate sum of £1500. In the end she did neither but.....a beautiful part of the world. 8)

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:33 pm
by violetbongojo
Fabulous pics as always. Thanks.

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:34 pm
by violetbongojo
Fabulous pics as always. Thanks.

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 5:29 am
by Muzorewa
mikexgough wrote:.....did I see a third bicycle in one of the pictures... :?: :wink: :-"
Indeed. Luckily (for me) Jr has a road bike as well as a mountain bike. :lol:

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:39 am
by The_Gordons
Excellent pics as usual. Am jealous of Jr as I haven't made it along any of the 2 Stanes trails other than Glentress.

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:36 am
by Muzorewa
The_Gordons wrote:Excellent pics as usual. Am jealous of Jr as I haven't made it along any of the 2 Stanes trails other than Glentress.
Glentress and Innerleithen are the two he has left, guess where our next vacant weekend will be :roll:

The Glentress black trail looks to be pretty severe, about 30km so might wreck one of their hire bikes instead of his own :lol:

He ran out of brakes at Dalbeattie but fortunately there's a shop at the Kirroughtree centre so he could make running repairs and carry on.

Altogether a very well put together set of facilities which I'm sure we'll be going back to :wink:

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:34 pm
by mikexgough
Muzorewa wrote:
mikexgough wrote:.....did I see a third bicycle in one of the pictures... :?: :wink: :-"
Indeed. Luckily (for me) Jr has a road bike as well as a mountain bike. :lol:
And I thought you had joined in with the cycling activities.......

Re: Team Muz in Scotland 2011

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2011 10:15 pm
by gill+berniebann
what brilliant pics and looks like all of u hada great time =D> =D> =D>