The travelling begins

So, where to start with the travel stories. As it is summer, let’s go to somewhere hot. One of my great interests, and my main study area at the moment, is geology and this will be reflected in my travel stories as much of my travelling is through taking part in geology field trips. Through my interest in volcanoes I discovered an International environmental charity called Earthwatch which engages people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding and action necessary for a sustainable environment (www.earthwatch.org), and so I found myself standing on an active volcano in Nicaragua. To learn more about the work of the scientists on Masaya volcano in Nicaragua, have a look at my story ‘In Search of the Scientists’ to be found at the Nicaragua link. I became so interested in the work on Masaya that I can home and wrote my own research paper looking at the effect of the volcano on the health of the children. A second visit followed where I visited children in their homes and at their schools looking at how the volcano was affecting them. Following my second visit, I stayed to explore some of the lush forest environment leading to some more adventures, but they have yet to be turned into stories . . . Watch this space.

River Ling

One of the joys of living in a new location is the chance to explore a new environment and to discover who your fellow residents are. Coming from such a different environment it is difficult to know what is common to the new area and what is rare. One of the first exciting discoveries I made was on a walk along the bank of the River Ling. I have recorded it in my short story, Bee Encounter which you will find under Glen snippets. Enjoy.

Welcome to my blog.

The main purpose of this blog is to share some of the amazing places I have been fortunate enough to visit and to do this through story writing. Having said that, I live in one of these amazing places and invite you to share my experiences of the glen and to slowly become acquainted with its many and varied inhabitants, both flora and fauna. 

To set the scene, I live at the head of a long narrow sealoch. The photo on the home page is the view taken from the house early one morning just as night was slowly giving way to day. As you drive up the west coast of Scotland on your way towards the Isle of Skye, twisting and turning your way along the side of a loch, you are suddenly rewarded with the sight of a small sturdy castle standing sentinel at the point where three lochs meet, Loch Duich, Loch Long and Loch Alsh. Welcome to Eilean Donan Castle, well worth a stop and a visit; stunning views, a welcoming and interesting homely castle with a very good gift shop and café. A short distance beyond the castle a small road bends away to the right and disappears through thick trees, the only way into our almost secret glen. 

When returning home from my many adventures, my first glimpse of Eilean Donan Castle (often at night looking like a fairytale castle beautifully lit against the dark night sky) tells me I am home. Turning into the glen I have such a feeling of being safe, as if the glen is waiting with open arms to enfold me with its surrounding mountains. The journey up the glen is on a single track road which wanders its way up and down and around, along the side of the loch passing moorland hills, areas of rocky cliff face, through small wooded areas and passing a number of homes dotted along the glenside with the loch constantly in attendance on the right. After about three miles, the road runs out of houses but I continue for another mile and there I find home, in the centre of a cluster of three houses.