|
|
|
|
|
Sort By:
|
|
|
Walk of Interest
22/02/2011 -
Spring is on its way and with it comes the return of Discover Bute LPS and Bute Connections popular Walks of Interest. To start the season we get into the mood by looking for the first signs of new life in the hedgerows and in the ponds with Jessica Herriot as our guide, one of our local experts on all there is to see in the Bute landscape.
Whether it be primroses or violets pushing their way through, or frog spawn floating in ponds of water, come and find out for yourself what the Isle of Bute has to offer with the changing of the season. It’s a chance to reconnect with the landscape at the leisurely pace of spring, during a short stroll on the moors to the waterworks at Kingarth.
You can make the most of Jessica’s detailed knowledge of the landscape on this walk. Did you know, for example, that the average female frogs can lay up to 4,000 eggs in one go; and that the jelly around the eggs swells up over time to bring them to the surface of the water where they can be kept warm in the sunlight.
Most frogs leave the ponds after spawning, coming back to the ponds later in the summer to cool off. But in the winter they hibernate under stones. However, some might hibernate at the bottom of a pond in the mud in an attempt to be the first to attract a female in the spring.
The walk is free and open to everyone. So join us for a Spring Awakening on Tuesday 22 February. We will be leaving Guildford Square at 10.45 am to catch the bus to the monument at Kingarth where we will begin our stroll into spring.
|
| |
|
|
Walk of Interest
29/03/2011 -
Eight Thousand Years in Scalpsie
After the most enjoyable Spring Awakening walk last month, we are very much looking forward to the second walk in the Discover Bute LPS and Bute Connections Walks of Interest series for the year. On Tuesday 29 March Paul Duffy, professional archaeologist and Depute Manager for Discover Bute LPS, will be taking us from the Lower Scalpsie car park and following the path to the beach. But in this short distance of 400 metres he can show us 8,000 years of history.
Scalpsie is a landscape of world heritage class in terms of what it has to offer geologically and archaeologically. The area shows signs of human occupation dating from 8000 BC to the present day. On the walk we are able to see evidence of a Neolithic chambered cairn, a Bronze Age barrow, an Iron Age fortified settlement or Dun, and a church site and mill sites from the early Medieval period. When you come on this walk you will appreciate the richness and diversity of the Scalpsie area and get an idea of the impact of human occupation.
The 2nd world war and the cold war history can also be related to things you will see in the landscape of Scalpsie. But if you want to find out more, if you have questions such as, “What was found at a Bronze Age barrow?”, then come along and join Paul in this fascinating walk back through time. In Scalpsie you will see representations of the entire history of Bute that will change your perceptions of the landscape and the place in which you live.
Meet us on Tuesday 29th March at Guildford Square at 11.00 a.m. for car sharing. The walk will last approximately 60 minutes. Then we will return to Guildford Square with the car share, all the richer and wiser for our experience.
|
| |
|
|
Walk of Interest - Straad
26/04/2011 -
The Discover Bute LPS and Bute Connections Walk of Interest for April, is another fantastic opportunity to learn more about our special island. This month we go to Straad with Jim Mitchell, a conservation engineer who works on a range of engineering restoration projects around the UK and overseas.
Straad is originally from the Norse for ‘street’, which may seem strange with the few houses there now. However, it was once much more with its own fleet of herring skiffs, a curing station, an inn, a shop and post office.
In the days of the herring boom this was a busy place, with access to the best fishing grounds and overland route to Rothesay. At low tide traces of several ‘ports’ can be seen.
St Ninian’s Point was a religious centre and recent excavations on Inchmarnock reveal a significant network of settlements in the area. The ‘holy wells’ are an interesting feature and may date back to that time.
A gentle walk along the shore or out to the Point will allow us to see and talk about the interesting past of St Ninian’s bay. So come along on Tuesday 26 April for this interesting journey. We will be meeting at Guildford Square at 11 am for a car share to Straad. The walk will last approximately 60 minutes and is free to everyone.
|
| |
|
|
Walk of Interest
31/05/2011 -
Creative writing walk
The Discover Bute LPS and Bute Connections Walk of Interest for May takes a different direction. This month, instead of listening to some of the interesting facts our locals can tell us about the island, there is a chance to create your own stories and impressions of the landscape. In a walk at Ettrick Bay, with artist Judy Parrott, we look at the landscape and record in short poetic prose our responses to what we can see and hear around us.
Judy works as an artist focusing on the topics of community, cultural identity and connection to place using photography, sound and poetic prose as her tools. During this walk she shares some of the ways in which she is inspired to write about what she finds in the immediate environment. You will also learn how to make a small booklet from just one sheet of paper on which to write down your inspirations.
So join us on Bute’s longest sandy beach with its views across to the hills of Arran, and let the sweep of the bay inspire you. You might be surprised by how poetic you can be.
This will be a slow and meditative ramble, stopping to look and listen closely to what is in the bay. So come along on Tuesday 31 May for this walk with a difference. Bring a pen or a pencil with you. We will be meeting at Guildford Square at 10.35 am to catch the 10.45 bus to Ettrick Bay. Or if it is easier for you to meet us outside the Ettrick Bay cafe we will meet you there on our arrival. The walk will last just over an hour, catching the 12 noon return bus, and is free to everyone.
|
| |
|
|
Tale Spinners Walk of Interest
28/06/2011 -
The Discover Bute LPS and Bute Connections Walk of Interest for June is keeping with the literary theme we enjoyed in May. This month, however, no need to get your own creative ideas flowing – the work is going to be done for you. In a walk in the Skipper Woods, we will join company with the Tale Spinners for a walk sprinkled with poems, short sketches and stories, helping us lose ourselves in the ambience of the woods
Tale Spinners have an active role on the island, having recently performed at the re-opening of the library in May, and soon to be performing at the family midsummer celebration at Scalpsie. They will also be catching the ferry and making the journey to Glasgow in June, to perform as part of Active Aging Week. With their combination of inspired writing and creative productions, Tale Spinners are guaranteed to surprise and entertain you.
Join us then for this flight into our imaginations as we follow the tales of the Tale Spinners through the woods. Come along on Tuesday 28 June, meeting at 11 am at Guildford Square to walk to the woods together. The walk will last just over an hour and is free to everyone.
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|