Scottish Trip - Perth

My base for the trip was Perth and what a curious place it turned out to be.
On my first and only full day to explore the city i found it was really two cities in one. The outskirts and Tay side of the city was nice, keeping much of it's character and had a certain beat like most cities do. However once i headed into the city itself, everything seemed to change. The place felt dead and dull, and i'm not simply talking about the empty shops and boarded up houses. The whole area seemed...gone  like a ghost town, even the people seemed dull and withdrawn and given it's a large city the center was unnervingly quiet with few people about.  In short i didn't like it and kept to the outskirts on morning and evening walks.

Anyway i did take a few shots of the more interesting building such as Churches and the old graveyards, i always seem to find more time for the dead than the living!

It was in the older graveyard that i saw one of the most beautiful and interesting graves. It was dedicated to Rev. Samuel George Kennedy a local minister of the west church. 

As i said the Tay side of the city was very much a intriguing place to wander about and with it's old buildings was the highlight of the city for me.

Across the Tay was a beautiful heather garden that was all in bloom. Well maintained and a great area to chill out and enjoy the weather - and occasional bite to eat!

Cool huh? 

Well that is pretty much all i did at Perth but most mornings and evenings i took a stroll around the nearby park and watched the Swan family that lived there.  One morning i decided to take a few shots.

Scottish trip - Moffat

The first stop on my brief but very enjoyable trip to Scotland was a town called Moffat. It had been a long drive by coach up to this point and i was looking forward to stretching my legs and enjoying the sunshine.

After a brief stop at the old mill shop for a bite to eat i headed into town and soon came across my first pair of local lads!!  And with great Scottish humor (something i noticed and loved during my travels up there) they just had to have their picture taken :D

After meeting the wild Scots of Moffat, i started to take shots of the Church.
Saint Andrews Church, an almost fairy tale building in design with various little details to be found. Of-course the downside of a coach trip is limited time at stops so i only managed a handful of images.

After the Church i came across the old graveyard where a much older church once stood and found several interesting gravestones.

The town itself was curious in that it felt and even had the look of a coastal or seaside town with colored buildings and winding streets.  

Shame i didn't have more time to explore it's streets but i enjoyed myself and hope to return in the future. Looks like such an intriguing place to wander :) 

Nine Ladies of Stone and a Tunnel

After being busy with work it was nice to have a weekend for photography and so i headed up to the nine ladies stone circle at Stanton Moor near where i live. This would also be a test for a Map App i have installed on my phone.

It lead me to the circle without trouble and proved to be very accurate and even had some other stones and such listed that i could find. Sadly when i got to the circle i realized i didn't have my tripod adapter! Typical, i actually remember to bring the tripod and the adapter is on another camera - oh well i could adapt it.

The circle is well known but not overly impressive from a photo front, might try in winter when there's a good sunrise.

The Duke of York Stone, where i dropped my lens cap down a sheer quarry face - wasn't a good day for equipment!

The inscribed Stones and a few shots from the old quarry called Lees Cross

The watchtower and Cats Stone, not sure why it's called the cats stone perhaps it had whiskers at some point. The Cat stone also had climbing holes on the back, so i thought it best to show off my inner hand modal!

 Despite some set backs i really enjoyed this walk and given it's only an hours walk from my house, i will be exploring more of this moor.  On a side note i spotted some Hares up there, been a long time since i've seen any of those critters.

TUNNEL TIME!
The day after the Stanton Moor walk i headed along the Monsal trail to finally take some shots of the Head stone Tunnel. Wanted to check it out and take some pics for ages so here we go.

It was alot of fun taking these images and i really liked being in the tunnel, very calm feel to the place abit like walking around graveyards.

Before i headed back to town i decided to challenge myself, you see i have a big fear of exposed heights my mind and imagination run riot and i see the worst that could happen. I knew the "managed" path to the Monsal Head viewpoint was a sheer drop on one side and covered with loose scree. Now tree roots and unsteady rocks i can deal with but pretty little scree i always skid on. I'll be honest i chickened out first try, i needed to calm myself down and clear my head - not an easy thing for me as my mind is well complicated!
But the second try i managed it!

One of the most famous views in Derbyshire and no wonder!!  The viaduct you see is connected to the tunnel i passed through.
With that i headed back, i made it through the path though i skidded twice! Lets just say my walk back was very focused!!
Hope you enjoyed the pics  :)