Return to the Lighthouse... And the serpents head...

 

Another cold day and amazing east coast light in the high pressure winter sunshine...

Rock crawling at Skateraw...

 

Back out cycling on the coast and a cycle east from town along to Skateraw,

Childhood memories of visiting Catcleuch with my Dad when it was home to Countryside Ranger Victor Loch, Vic was some guy!, a real local character!....

Lighthouse always stands around here...

Time for some beach and rock crawling...

Then onto the rock slabs exposed at low tide, I love riding across here....

Skateraw Lime Kiln...

Wee film again, Song is `Reach For The Dead` by Boards Of Canada

More soon...

Winter Solstice Cycle; a cycle to the Serpents Head, Barnes Ness...

 

Tuesday 21st December, The Winter solstice, the shortest daylight hours of the winter - so to speak - from now on the days will grow longer in daylight, minutes a day but slowly at first, take until mid January before you start to really notice it. It is a more important time for myself than the Summer solstice - that marks the start of the busiest month of the year being a Greenkeeper and The Scottish Open Championship, a month of longer hours and early mornings, rewarded after with some Overtime that pays to keep the van on the road so worth it...

Back to today and sunrise is 08.40,  sunset is 15.36, however the weather was as forecasted overcast and cold and so this year we did our cycle on Sunday as I was also working Tuesday… here is how dark it can be at this time of year with low cloud and no sun…

This was Tuesday 9am…

12pm midday, and be nearly dark by 3.30pm…

Back to Sunday and It was nearly 10am before the sun was up casting a long shadow on the melting frost lifting off the cars and we headed out on out Surly Pugsley bikes for a cycle east of the town...

Stunning winter day so out a wee pedal and we cycled east out of town to Barnes Ness...

No one was at the Dunbear so we stopped for some pics...

Past the battle memorial and along the cycle track...

Down in this wee glen is a suprise if you go looking...

The Serpents Head...

Sadly the artist that carved this has passed away but hopefully this will be here for many years, unknown to most visitors to the coast...

Starfish...

Along to the Lighthouse....

Home and a lovely winter day...

Sun was setting by 3pm as we sat outside wrapped up having a cuppa and biccies...

Wee film, Song is `Montana` by Tycho

More soon...

Into December...

Into December...

Only A couple of weeks to the 21st and the Winter Solstice, and the daylight hours will soon start growing longer day by day...

This morning we cycled to Barnes Ness and onto Torness, 

We both looked at the Lighthouse and grinned at each other as we peddled along nearer as the evening before we watched a very atmospheric film; The Lighthouse, shot in 9/16 black and white it is a great film with an inevitable ending...

Here is the trailer...

Being a grey day I (once home) swapped all film and pics to black and white as I too was a dark day...

The North Sea is stopped in it's tracks here by the concrete defences of Torness, big waves were rolling in today...

The Lighthouse would be needed tonight after sunset,  though they are unmanned now...

A black and white film, music is on move and un named,

More soon...