Differentia - Words and Pictures

Small stones - January 31

2012-01-31T05:01:00.001-08:00

Moon Glow

A halo of cold
Surrounds the

Undercurve
The Chin of the moon

SMall stones - January 30

2012-01-31T04:58:00.001-08:00

Golden Buttercup

A golden sun
Shining alone

Among grass
Long gone green

A solar explosion
Of butter

Small stones - January 29

2012-01-29T06:56:00.001-08:00

No home for a house mouse

A frozen and slow mouse
Limping across frosted flakes on leaves
No looking back now
So far from its home
Babies await safe delivery
No longer beneath the sofa
A margarine carton provided safe passage
To a world outside
No home for a house mouse

Small stones - January 28

2012-01-28T05:54:00.000-08:00

Morning Cereal

Frosted flakes
Underfoot

Making a sugar crunch
Every step

Morning before
Breakfast

Maidendale Map sketch

2012-01-26T08:13:00.001-08:00

Here is the first sketch for a large aerial illustration I am doing for a client. I will be posting a progress as I put paint on and more detail ..... lots to do yet!!

Small Stones - January 26

2012-01-26T07:59:00.000-08:00

Horses (to Patti Smith)

Leather sides rippling under the touch
Coiled spring waiting to act
Deep as a well
Deep as hell
Touching, touching, touching
Rippling, rippling, rippling
Stillness expressed through strength

Small stones - January 25

2012-01-25T04:36:00.001-08:00

View through a window

Still Life
White
A blank canvas
The world awaits
contact

Small stones - January 24

2012-01-24T03:50:00.000-08:00

Still Life

It has rained
And droplets await
Hanging limp from
From boughs that break
Under the weight of
A world of problems
We make

Small Stones - January 23

2012-01-23T13:16:00.000-08:00

Bare Trees

Bare trees
Soaking up sunlight

Warming the rough bark
Fulfilling the
soul

Small Stones - January 22

2012-01-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Heron's Flight

Heron's Flight
Ghosting over
Water
Black and still

A river sleeps
At low tide
Waiting for the
on rush
of a full and
Glowing moon

Small Stones - January 21

2012-01-22T06:53:00.001-08:00

Lapwings on Blue

Lapwings flight
Wings collecting sunlight
On wings that flap
Black and white
a mono world
Against a screen
Of blue

Writing Our Way Home blog: The River: Seeking to see things more clearly by D...

2012-01-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Writing Our Way Home blog: The River: Seeking to see things more clearly by D...: This post is part of the River of Stones guest post series , our mindful writing challenge. Properly notice one thing each day, and wr...

Small Stones - January 20

2012-01-21T07:45:00.000-08:00

Washed up

Washed up jewel
of the sea

A Jelly once

Reflecting a low shining sun

Sinking below the sea

Small Stones - January 19

2012-01-20T14:55:00.001-08:00

Ferry from Mull

A ferry journey in the dark
Has it left yet?

Small stones - January 18

2012-01-20T14:54:00.001-08:00

An old man told me ...

Cairns cover fallen heroes
A made up story to stop a road
The heroes won this time

Small Stones - January 17

2012-01-20T14:52:00.001-08:00

An ancient walk

The Knee Well
The Eye Well
Invite me to
Climb the hill
Old age protectionism

Small stones - January 16

2012-01-20T14:51:00.001-08:00

Switching off

Houses huddled
And dark
People frozen in
A power cut
Waiting for the switch
A spark of life

Small stones - January 15

2012-01-20T14:50:00.001-08:00

Thoughts of Granite

A seat of stone
Carved in granite
Should I sit on
Something so old?

Small Stones - January 14

2012-01-20T14:48:00.001-08:00

Bending with the blows

Trees that live
Through storms
Know when to
Bow

Small Stones - January 13

2012-01-20T14:47:00.001-08:00

Tropical Cold

A tropical place
Of great cold and ancient stories
White caps chasing wind
The sun can wait

Small Stones - January 12

2012-01-20T14:41:00.001-08:00

Sea Kingdoms

Castle Stalker
Sits on sea
Going nowhere
Seen everything

Small Stones - January 11

2012-01-20T14:39:00.001-08:00

Peat and Turf

A Blackhouse sinks
Into grass
Turf that once burned
Within

Small Stones - January 10

2012-01-20T14:38:00.001-08:00

Double Glazed Living

Three windows
In a blackhouse

Double glazed
Incongrous

Small Stones - January 9

2012-01-20T14:36:00.001-08:00

Tin roof blues

An ancient Blackhouse
With a tin roof
A place to play the blues

Small stones - January 8

2012-01-20T14:34:00.001-08:00

Skiing for the senses

Grass slides down to a bed of rocks
Ski slope for the senses

Small Stones - January 7

2012-01-20T14:32:00.001-08:00

Diffused

Cloud of bronze touches
GentlyKissing the sea with a tobacco
Caress

Small Stones - January 6

2012-01-20T14:28:00.001-08:00

Hidden Horizon

Coll stretches along a wide horizon
Rock and light shining and calling
People shopping and living
Invisible to my thoughts

Small stones - January 5

2012-01-20T14:23:00.001-08:00

Sheep Fank

A foreshortened forest
Above a turf top
Narrowed depth of field
Creates a space to think

Small Stones - January 4

2012-01-20T14:15:00.000-08:00

A place to sit

A place to sit
Hard granite and slate
A canvas to rest my soul

Small Stones - January 3

2012-01-20T14:13:00.000-08:00

Pointing

Scorched but wet
Dead but living
Reaching out
Pointing
A branch tells its
Own story

Small Stones - January 2

2012-01-20T14:11:00.000-08:00

Church Door

Carved leaves form the corners

An old door waits

The lock a new invention

A Chubb

Spirits locked in

Life locked out

Small Stones – January 1

2012-01-20T14:07:00.000-08:00

Droplets and Jewels

Droplets like Jewels await under branches
I stand and marvel at their patience
Rain waits above the canopy
Trees collect my thoughts and they hang
Like leaves waiting for action

Monty Hall's Hebridean Adventure

2010-04-22T00:52:00.000-07:00

If you didn't catch this excellent programme watch it on iplayer. There is loads of Island stuff including Monty meeting with a local group to discuss interpretation and guided walks. This is so similar to the start of the Isle of Luing Interpretation Project I was involved in - although there were more cakes on Luing!!

Read a short BBC review:

After a year of city living, marine biologist and professional diver Monty Halls returns to live the good life in the Highlands and islands of Scotland. This time, he and his canine companion Reuben are sharing a restored crofter's cottage on the Hebridean island of North Uist. And he has a job to do, as a volunteer wildlife ranger.

Monty throws himself into island life: Highland Games, fishing for salmon and trout, and exploring the wildlife and remote reaches of his new domain. But winter is just around the corner, and he also needs to dig peat for fuel and fatten up pigs and turkeys for Christmas.
Here is the link for the programme:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s635z

Boulmer Sands

2010-04-21T07:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite places in Northumberland - Boulmer Sands. The light the sand and the sky all combine to create a lovely special place.

Ripples

2010-04-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

My current project is to do with Ripples. Ripples in time, Ripples in Nature and how thoughts and ideas can flow between the spaces in life. Spaces can be created in your head - Zen Meditation and the Nothingness of Wuji create the space to think and be at one with nature. Then stuff happens.

Here my newts

2010-02-18T13:12:00.001-08:00

Did some great crested newts which are zinc etched and tactile.

Nico - I'm Not Sayin' (1965)

2009-11-30T01:41:00.001-08:00

Love this song by Nico - how cool is she? and the video of her sitting in water under a bridge - phew fantastic stuff.

Immortalised in Stone

2009-11-22T13:01:00.001-08:00

So at last we have the first project on the ground for the Caledonia Way. At Kentallen Norman Bissell's poem "A Mooring" has been carved into stone along the shoreline. David Campbell Stonemason worked all last week to get the stones all done before the really bad weather sets in.
The poem goes like this:
ON ROCK
Air clach
LICHEN CIRCLES
Cearcall Crotal
THRIFT QUIVERS
Neòinean-cladaich air chrith
BIRCH GROWS
Beithe a' fàs
WATERS RUSH
Uisge a' ruith
A MOORING
air acair

And here is the proof:

2009-09-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

A pile of stuff has been happening lately. Workwise and otherwise. Tonight I have just finished a tender document - basically three days work in order to jump through the hoops of official speak - at least my tender document was a fraction of the length of the procurement document terms and conditions. These things are supposed to make things easier and yet they simply reward the companies who are able to read through the clutter of all this nonsense.

Been working hard on the west coast of Scotland projects. The Oban panels are done but they are still not installed - over a month and they are still sitting in a box in Oban somewhere. These panels are the first major pieces of work I have produced using the Stoneware Enamel process and they look georgeous. Here are some images of the artworks that make up the panels.

The images to the left are graphics based on each of the themes. Other stuff going on includes working with my group of Adults with Learning Disabilities on branding their project - Holder House Community Allotment. Tomorrow we visit Sunderland Winter Gardens to see what they are all about. More about this another time.

My guitar stuff is still on the go - got a new guitar - Yamaha Semi Acoustic.

Andy James visit is approaching and we are all getting ready for that.

Got to go now - more later.

Oban Interpretation Panels

2009-07-28T02:48:00.000-07:00

The Oban Shorefront interpetation is nearing completion - a three year involvement for me. Here is a pic of one of them being manufactured. There are seven in total and are all produced on Enamel Stoneware. ONe of them even has Audio - with Gaelic songs and poems. Watch this space for more pics of them in situ.

Sketchbook

2009-07-28T02:39:00.000-07:00

Here is a sketch from Souter Lighthouse in South Shields.

This inspired a poem:

Sentinal

Skylark sentinals
On high

Swallows swooping
Skimming the grass

Daisies dotting the
Smooth baize of green

on cue
Lighthouse, silent

A ton of steel on silver mercury
Waiting to turn

Victorian perfection
Hot scones await

Names and words

2009-03-22T12:30:00.000-07:00

This is great and it came from a super site called http://www.wordle.net/

Meanwhile the naming of the path moves on and is looking like the Caledonia Way. Not sure yet but watch this space.

Branding the Way

2009-02-26T02:06:00.000-08:00

The Brand

This is the start of the branding of the path. The official title of the route between Oban and Fort William is - suprisingly - Oban to Fort William! Add to this the name we came up with and it becomes "Oban to Fort William - The Birlinn Way". We like it and the name has so far provided an inspiring platform for artists to engage with. There are some alternatives still being considered and we are happy to take on board these. However, the brand is looking good and the imagery of the brand is pretty well established. Of course the words can be changed but we don't really want to change the imagery as it is already being looked at as a starting point for creative pieces. The logo looks like (with variations) - I am still working on the graphical elements and some of the curves need some work but its getting there.

So here we go the Path is really starting to take off. The first of the artworks is being designed by Oban glass artist Karen Liversedge and the wood sculpture/seating by Ross Angell. Once these designs are finalised I will post them. The seating is being funded by Argyll charity ABCD Trust this first artwork is being installed on the Ganavan to Dunbeg stretch of the path. The design of the sculpture is based on the Highland Galley shape (loosely!) and has glass windows from which you can view the scene and also captures the scene. A camera that uses the mind and imagination as film!

Here is a first sketch ..

And next we have the access controls - i.e. the gates and chicanes. Once again I have used the Birlinn shape as an inspiration and have incroporated into the "gates" some childrens poetry from the school workshop that Norman Bissell did. These are the first stage designs and I am now working up the rest of the designs following a similar theme.

Rathad nan Bhirlinn

2009-02-11T06:20:00.000-08:00

An email came in the other day and it went like this .... "Regarding the Birlinn Way. It's a good name (ties up the ancient form of transport along the western seaboard with the idea of birlin' wheels --a Scots word for turning. If we have it in Gaelic (something like Rathad nan Bhirlinn ---accent on the first syllable), there should be no confusion over Berlin!".

There is a fantastic book available "The Sea Kingdoms - The History of Celtic Britain & Ireland", by Alistair Moffat. There is some stuff about the Birlinn as well as a beautifully written, and tragic, account of the Clan Groups waiting across the battlefield for the battle to commence at Culloden.

This is a must have book for anyone interested in the history of Britain as told from the Sea Kingdoms.

2009-01-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

So what is happening with the Oban to Fort William Cycle Path? firs tthe name, not sure what is going on with that yet. First indications are that we are going to use, "Oban to Fort William - The Birlinn Way". A bit long winded but my hope is that it will be know as simply the Birlinn Way. The Birlinn is a great symbol for the west coast of Scotland encompassing as it does, culture, history, coastal exploration and just a bit of mystique! Of course saying the word may sound like "Berlin" but hey if people think they are in Germany then maybe they need a better map! This is not a done deal yet - still waiting for the powers that be to come up with a yeh or nay! Have a look at and read some stuff about Birlnns here:
http://www.birlinn.org
http://macinnes.org/crests/NewArmsDescription.html
http://www.galleyaileach.co.uk/

What else ....

the first of the projects is about to make a start. This will be an artwork and seating design at the stretch of path between Ganavan Sands and Dunbeg. The plan at this stage is for a design using glass in a wooden totem of some kind. The seating will be a separate piece but have a synergy with the artwork. The two pieces are inspired by a stand of birch trees sitting opposite the location. Norman Bissell has written a poem that will inform the design of the two pieces:

silver bark
winter blaze
birch grove
opens a world.

The other items for consideration over the next 3 - 8 months are:

Poetry rocks at Kentallen
Slate carving and shelter at Ballachulish

More about these later.

Also on the go are some designs for access controls, i.e. gates and waymarkers, signage and interpretation.

We are kinda waiting for the name to be approved or if not an alternative name to be supplied. As to the Path progress itself - check with Sustrans about this one - I am just doing the artwork bit!

Another trip to Oban

2008-10-26T07:52:00.000-07:00

In August I once again made a trip to Oban - this time it went like this:
Train from Wylam to Kilmarnock and then cycle to Ardrossan. Ferry to Brodick on Arran. A quick run over the top to Lochranza and then a ferry to Kintyre. Then a 68 mile ride to Oban. I got to the Youth Hostel at 10 pm! Altogether 110 miles - a great ride though but I must admit to being a bit tired at the end of it!!

The trip was mainly to look at my new project in Oabn and theat is to look at interpetation panels along the shorefront. I will be posting more stuff about this over the next few weeks.
But I wrote a poem when I was there, I was waiting for an otter to appear - along the harbour near to the Youth Hostel. It didn't but I watched a Cal-Mac ferry arrive from Mull and a sunset behind Bienn More!

Here it is:

The clouds flow over Bienn More
Waves slap the bare backsides

Of rock, not new
Born, but ancient

I wait for otters stirring
Herring gull flaps by

Un-noticed
Not caring

The sun, sinks
And is swallowed

By mountain
And the cold is felt

The clouds now
Settled

As mountain
Mergesintosea

My
Thoughts
Of
Otters

Renewed

Ideas for Interpretation and Gates

2008-09-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

Some more ideas possible Access Controls, Gates, Posts and Interpretation Panels.

Below - these gate type structures are based on the sides of a ship with oars dipping into the ground. They can be used as a chicane for slowing traffic (cycles) as the Path approaches the road.

Below the posts are used to carry a disc showing route name. The penant allows for the adding of route information.

Above - Story fish are added to the gate from the children's poetry.
Below - a close up of the post showing the Path logo and penant with mileage engraved onto it. Next to it you can see a sketch showing a version in stone with a penant shape carved into for continuity.

Above - you can see stone versions of the curved steel posts with disc attached showing logo of Path and carved penant shape into the stone showing distances.
Below - detail of post with penant and disc attached.

Below - round interpetation panel supported betwen slate posts. The Panel could be carved wood with zinc etched discs attached.

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path ideas

2008-07-16T07:00:00.001-07:00

Here are some sketches from Carol for the Oban to Fort William Cycle Path. More to follow.

Seating based on the Birlinn shape theme.

Chicane based on the Birlinn shape theme.

Fencing based on the Birlinn shape theme.

Seating based on the Birlinn shape theme.

Seating using a sheep shelter design at its base.

Poetry rock.

Welcome to 'Flick of Paint', the creative and inspiring den of Felicity Nightingale

2008-07-16T06:57:00.000-07:00

One of the artists enroute!
Welcome to 'Flick of Paint', the creative and inspiring den of Felicity Nightingale

Fired Art, Pottery Painting Cafe, Arts and crafts Gallery, picture framing, Fort William, Scotland

2008-07-16T06:55:00.000-07:00

A community arts project enroute ... we will be talking to these guys for more ideas and input for the Oban to Fort william cycle path.

Fired Art, Pottery Painting Cafe, Arts and crafts Gallery, picture framing, Fort William, Scotland

Names and Gaelic options for Cycle Way

2008-07-10T03:34:00.000-07:00

The Birlinn Way
....takes its name from the West Highland galley which sailed in these waters for 800 years and is also a play on the Scots word birl meaning to spin or revolve like the wheels of a bike. Castle Stalker was once exchanged for a birlinn and there is a drawing of a birlinn on an Appin rockface.

The Longshore Path or Longshore Trail
....depicts a route found along or moving along the shore and a long path or trail along the shore.
The Shoreline Trail depicts a route along the line of the shore.

The West Coast Trail
....describes what it is, like the West Highland Way

The Atlantic Way or Atlantic Trail
.....depicts a wider geographical connection with Scotland’s west coast and is an evocative name.

The Lorn(e) to Linnhe Trail
.....describes more specifically its route from the Firth of Lorn(e) to Loch Linnhe.

The Coastal Trail or Coastline Trail
.....describes the fact that the route goes along the coast.

Thanks again Norrie for this.

... And more from Norrie:

"I've been thinking about some text for the starting gates at both ends and come up with:

From the sands of Lorn
to the Nevis range
the journey begins!

(for the Ganavan or Oban end)

From the Nevis range
to the sands of Lorn
the journey begins!

(for the Fort William end)

If it was felt that something else was needed to take us as far as Ballachulish until the Fort William end came on stream later it could be:

From the sands of Lorn
to the mighty Beinns
the journey begins!

(Oban end)

and

From the mighty Beinns
to the sands of Lorn
the journey begins!

(Ballachulish end)" Thanks Norrie.

Comments from Sustrans:

The Dalriada Trail or the entire text in Gaelic - Rathad Dalriada/Rathad Dal Riata (at a guess the Dalriada Road)
The entire area and the lower part of Route 78 as far as Greenock was once part of Dalriada with Dunnad near Kilmartin the seat of power. I am sure you know this as well. This name also gives the option of extending the route name in a way to Northern Ireland as a part of Dalriada and enclosing the lower part of route 78.

GREAT IDEA - In effect you could have a new pocket mountain guide like we have already for NCN1/NCN7 for the Dalriada Trails of Ireland and Scotland.

Dal Riata is the birthplace of the Gaelic Language so it is fitting thata Gaelic name is used
Atlantic Trail - Rathad Mara (I don't know exactly how this should set out)

Cenel Loairne
This is the region of Dalriada that the trail runs through

Lorn - Linnhe - in gaeilicised version

Fionn mac Cumhaill Rathad (?) (Finn McCool Trail )

Staffa - the stone thrown by Fin McCool from Lough Neagh in Ireland sits within Dalriada

The route links to Oban and the ferry point to Mull and Staffa

The Giants Trail way of the giants

Columbas Trail/Way of the Saints in Gaelic Rathad Columcille (?)St.Columbas home on Iona falls within this region

The Appin Trail After the Appin Murder
Robert Louise Stevenson Trail Appin Murder, flight from Mull across the region etc
Kidnapped Trail etc

The poets way /The Bards way/Rathad BardIain Crichton Smith/Sorley Maclean etc all spent time in the area aswriters/poets

MacAlpine Trail/Trail of the Kings/Rathad Righ
After the first unified King of the Scots - Kenneth MacAlpine

Rathad or road has to be used with care as it refers to roads. I guess there were not that many roads more like seaways historically in Dalriada.

... thanks Paul

More names for the Oban to Fort William Cycle Path

2008-07-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Red Fox Cycleway
(in reference to Colin Campbell and the Appin Murder)

The Sea Dog Cycleway
(in reference to the Gaelic for Otter)

Islands to Highlands Cycleway
(in reference to Oban to Fort William, Gateway to the Islands and Gateway to the Highlands)

Lorn to Linhe Cycleway
(geographical reference)

The Longshore Path
(description of the path)

Scoping trip to Oban - 25th June to 28th June 2008

2008-07-02T08:17:00.000-07:00

Another taxi to Oban - £140 this time paid for by Virgin Trains! Not their fault though as the connecting train was stuck behind a freight train and therefore delayed. So when I go to Glasgow Central I had 5 minutes to get across town to Glasgow Queen Street. This clearly was tight so I was put into a taxi with another guy (another Geordie as it happens who know loads of people I know!) and my bike and taken to Oban. Kind of not the way I wanted to arrive!

Once in Oban I cycled the 18 miles to Luing where I was staying. On Thursday, Carol and I cycled parts of the path we could to just short of Port Appin. Most of the path is still under negotiation but some of it is open and is already looking like a promising new route to add to the stable of Sustrans NCN paths.

We saw places along the way that were suitable and even perfect for interpretation, including seating and artworks.

On Friday Norrie and I visited the other sites including Port Appin and beyond to Ballachulish.
Here are some comments from Norrie:

"What a creative day Friday was and the ideas keep coming! Further possible titles I've thought of for the zones within the main title are from Ballachulish Bridge south: The Rail Way/Railway Line (or Glenachulish Way), The Shoreline Way (from Kentallen north), the Birlinn Way around Port Appin if it's not used for the general title, and the Woodland Way where the path cuts away from the road into woods at Benderloch.

At the clearing near the Ballachulish station platform the following poem or some such could be on inscribed on the sides of big slates approaching the clearing and in a big slate circle on the ground.

wind blows
burn flows
wind whispers
larch shivers
wind calls
leaf falls

At the Kentallen coastal stretch an alternative ending instead of 'the mooring' could be:

on rock
lichen circles
birch grows
thrift quivers
wave rushes
we sit (alternative a mooring)

The next stage is to start writing the management plan. We now have a wealth of information to put in it including the possible locations and types of interpretationn/artworks. Our aim is to create a sort of wish list of interpretation so that local artists/contractors can be employed in the creation of the works based on an agreed plan and format.

We have met enough people for us to be encouraged that the Path can take on a life of its own and that there will be interest and ideas flowing once the path is starting to be completed. Already the Dunbeg bit is popular with walkers and cyclists alike.

But the name is still under discussion but so far the following are popular:

The Longshore Path
The Shoreline Way
Shore to Sky
Sea to Sky
Sea to Slate

Other names are welcome - please see my website to access the contact form.

2008-06-18T02:15:00.000-07:00

Pupil Stories

Abandoned Platform
With Oban 34 miles away you find an abandoned platform,
first thing you do is,
listen closely and you hear the wind,
whistling through the trees.

You start to wander round and notice that there are plants that have been uprooted and roots scattered about.

The presence of the people from the past lingers, yet you can still hear the cars driving up and down.

The further you go, the closer the trees get but then …they start to part and end up standing all alone with only the small things to keep them company.

QC Age 12

In the Bunker
In the bunker the water so deep
But be careful the witch will leap
As the trees weep
The tadpoles don’t make a peep
Before you know you’ll be down deep.

JM Age 10

Listen to the Wind
Listen to the wind
Blowing through the trees
Look at the insects
Crawling on the leaves
Watch the birds flying fast,
Hear the train going past
Use you imagination!

EM Age 10

Night of the Living Leaves
One day a vampire was walking along the abandoned platform and bit an oak tree.
From that day on every Saturday afternoon the leaves of that oak tree fall off and come to life then they suck your blood but after 5:00p.m. they cannot see the sun set.
So be careful you could be next.
I know of lots of people who went there at that time.

Down in the wood where the old station lies
where the wind and the rain makes the dead leaves fly.

AB Age 10

Rustling Through The Trees
Listen to the wind,
rustling through the trees
Look at the old station, covered with leaves
Can you see the witches house
Through the windows of the train
Or hear the sound of rain drops
Falling on the pane.

AH Age 12

The Scottish Express
Can you imagine the Scottish express coming up to the platform getting ready to rest.
The ground starts to rumble, the trees whistle away.
In the middle of the day the train decides to stay.

The Busy Platform at Night
It’s the middle of the night the sky is dark, but the platform is bright.
All the animals gather round to show things that they have found.
The badgers, hedgehogs and birds show there.

BM Age 11

The Bunker
Up from the platform past the birch trees
There lies a bunker as deep as can be,
Up the uneven craggy tree that leads to the bunker
There lies a dead witch inside dark and under.
Don’t get too close or you might not realise,
You were not meant to be there.

AM Age 12

The Railway Station
The Hustle and Bustle
The moving of people
The puffing of trains
The sunshine and rain
Why did it go away
So sudden so quickly
Now all that lies there is a rectory
Nature takes its hold many stories are untold.
BH Age 10

School Workshop by Norman Bissell (Ballachulish Primary School)

2008-06-18T02:10:00.000-07:00

Leaving Luing last Monday to travel to Ballachulish for our workshop in the woods, the wild grasses on top of dry stane dykes lining the road had shrivelled up with the dearth of rain these last seven weeks and no doubt needed the steady drizzle.

I met Carol in Oban and we agreed that our needs were rather different that day and hoped that it would clear up by the time we got there. On the way we stopped at shops and cafés to ask their owners to display posters inviting local people to take part in the cycle path project, which in one instance involved us trying to press A4 sheets on to a brick-hard, cluttered chipboard with the wind howling around us. The general response was very welcoming, although we were told that some landowners weren't keen on the path going through their land.

However, by the time we met Sam Clark and his P5, 6 and 7 pupils by the road that leads to Ballachulish Bridge, the rain had stopped and so we happily walked to the path and gathered together near the former station platform. I asked them what they could see, hear, smell, touch, taste and imagine all around them and to write down or draw some of those things, then we broke up into two groups, with Carol working with those who were drawing, while I helped those writing. At first it took them a little while to start writing poems and prose, but they soon got the hang of it and I read their work and suggested one or two ways they could improve what they had written. The sound of the wind in the trees and what it must have been like getting off the steam train at the station fired their young minds, and one of the pupils told us that his Gran used to collect tickets at Ballachulish station.

Sam discovered some traces of the station amongst the trees, pointed out how curved the platform was and explained that passengers would disembark there to go to the hotel and take the ferry across the narrows. Carol's group walked further along the path towards a cutting which went between rocks and came back with drawings of leaves, plants and the headless horseman who was supposed to have ridden the track that led to Ballachulish House. Halfway through we changed over groups and this time I took my group through the trees to explore a concrete block with a hole, pipes and some water in it that must have had something to do with the station.

It quickly became known as the witch's well and more poems and prose followed. In no time at all the minibus returned to collect them, so Carol and I went back to the school to tell the other pupils what we had done and to work for another half hour on their writing and drawings. Sam downloaded the photos he had taken on to his classroom computer to show everyone where we had been, and said he would work further with them on what they had done and perhaps take some to a coastal part of the cycle path near Kentallen.

That part of the path has magnificent open views of Morvern and some of the boulders along it might be suitable for carving short poems on before reaching a possible stopping place where cyclists could sit on a large rock-shelf on the shore and enjoy the seascape. Here are a few more lines about the path:

Winding through woods
on the trail
of the ghost train.

Wind blows
whin grows
wind whispers
birch shivers
wind calls
leaf falls.

My favourite UK Television Adverts, Download & watch them here FREE. Find out the music they have used in them.

2008-06-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Just caught this website - I am helping with Wylam First School on a session on advertising so this is a great resource.

My favourite UK Television Adverts, Download & watch them here FREE. Find out the music they have used in them.

So What Ever Happened to that Hole in the Ozone Layer? - Environment

2008-06-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

I was wondering the other day whatever happended to the hole in the ozone layer - it seems that climate change is a more pressing issue. I guess I am not the only one with this thought ...

So What Ever Happened to that Hole in the Ozone Layer? - Environment

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path Pictures

2008-06-06T08:17:00.000-07:00

View through the trees near Ballacuilish

A smooth drop to the loch

Natural Seating!

Here we are looking at a newly completed stretch.

The loch again

South Ballacuilish just round the corner

Just down from the Holly Tree Hotel

My Job

2008-06-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

I have just returned to my office (the one at home in Wylam) from a meeting in Gibside. A round trip of 24 miles through stunning countryside. Heard cuckoo along the way and had tea and scones in the cafe there. My job is so tough sometimes!

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path Ideas from Website

2008-06-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Show where cyclists may use toilet facilities and put in the odd cycle pole, just slightly off the cycle path, so that we may chain our cycle in safety, while we picnic or take in the view. Glenachullish to Kentallen, absolutely stunning so far.

Seats along the way which might include a shelter and interpretation.

Artworks that are functional.

Maybe business could be paid a small fee to allow path users to use the toilets on their premises - I believe that this is being trialled eslewhere.

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path School Workshop

2008-06-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

School Workshop at Ballachulish Primary School (from Norman Bissell)
It went very well, on Monday, Birgit and I stopped at the Castle Stalker Cafe and at Glenachulish on the way to the school and had a good 45 minute session with Sam Clark and a full class of P5, 6 and 7 pupils who seemed keen and soon got the idea. I've arranged to meet Sam and 12 pupils in total (drawn from each age group) on Monday at 1.30 pm on the path near the entrance to the Ballachulish Bridge.

Near or at the platform would be one possibility for seating, signage etc., although the traffic going on to the Bridge is quite noisy there. Further back along the path by the small bridge over the river would be better sound-wise but would probably be too close for access to the houses by the golf course. If we can get a look on Monday at the path further back by the lochside towards the Holly Tree, perhaps that would be a place cyclists and walkers would rather stop with more open views? I'll email Sam and see if it would also be possible for us to go along there after writing and drawing at the platform area.

Another possible title for the route I came up with is The Birlinn Way which would relate both to the Highland galleys which used to go up that coast and to the Scots word birl for going round, like the wheels of a bike. Let's go for a birl on the Birlinn Way! It would also fit in well with the idea of upright paddles for signage. Sam and the kids seemed to like the suggestion of possibly naming parts of the route within the overall name, which would give travellers a sense of the changing areas they're passing through. What do you think?

Anyway, here are some short poems I wrote about that part of the path which I'll also send to Sam to give him and the pupils further food for thought.

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path Poem

2008-06-06T07:44:00.000-07:00

In Glenachulish

Deep in the woods
a long, black path
that leads to the narrows.

Following the coast
between granite cuttings
echoes of a railway line.

A deserted platform
amongst birch and hawthorn
last stop Ballachulish.

Norman Bissell

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path Brand names

2008-06-06T07:42:00.000-07:00

Possible Titles

The Birlinn Way
The West Coast Trail
The Atlantic Way
The Lorne to Linnhe Trail
The Coastal Trail
The Atlantic Trail
The Coastline Trail
The Longshore Path
The Shoreline Trail
Tracing the Coast

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path Introduction

2008-06-06T07:37:00.000-07:00

Introduction
This handbook is not an exhaustive study on tourism/visitor trends, populations and socio-economic trends of the area. Our intention is to provide a resource of ideas, methods and possibilities to the development of the Oban to Fort William Cycleway.

We will exploring local communities along the way, examining ideas and landscapes and providing a map of artists and expertise, concepts and designs that will illustrate the “Big Idea” behind the Path.

First Steps
The first scoping trip took place in a stormy February 2008. This trip was made on a bike and using trains fro Newcastle to Fort William and returning From Oban to Newcastle.

Part of the purpose behind the visit was to meet with Scottish Natural Heritage in Fort William to discuss another project I was working on in Glen Roy. During the discussions it became evident that the recently designated Geo Park status given to Glen Roy was an important new element alongside the existing National Nature Reserve.

It was important for a number of reasons:

It brought Geology to the forefront
Geology shapes the landscape
Geology affects communities
Geology creates communities
Geology can provide a link

The Fort William area with the nearby super volcano of Glen Coe Provides a rich mix of different landscapes and economies from coal to aluminium. There are small pockets of individual distinctiveness along the short distance including deposits of Garnets. This theme of geology is one of those happy coincidences as even as early as the tender stage I felt that Geology could provide a “signature brand” for the naming of the path.

During that same visit I also met with a local artist and proprietor of the Lime Tree Gallery and restaurant, Dave Wilson. He and I had a long discussion about the artistic possibilities that the path could provide and geology was once again a strong theme.

Dave had worked with a local school, where they had constructed the two pillars wither side of the steps to the entrance to the gallery and restaurant.

These pillars used layers of different stone, including sandstone, quartz, glass and aluminium ingots made in the Fort William Smelter. In the middle of the layers, the children had placed images, drawings, shells etc. In a way they had created a vertical timeline. He, along with the SNH-Fort William people are also keen cyclists and so the notion of a Geo-Path was cemented in my mind.

The Brand - Option 1
In first considering the management plan I felt it was important to look for the “big idea”. This has developed into an interconnected theme of “geology – journeys – stories”. I have felt from the beginning that there was an opportunity to tell a story through poetry.

The brand “Geo-Path – Journeys through time and place” is proposed to tell the tale of landscape – people – history. The idea stems from the designation of the Geo Park in Fort William. This has been extended to bring to life the landscape and how it has shaped the commerce, history and wildlife over the years. So from early history we have the story of the Birlinn or Highland Galley and its role in combating the Vikings. The Birlinn due it having a fixed rudder was able to manoeuvre through the inlets and lochs of the west coast. They basically fought a skirmish war with hidden caches of weapons and food on islands, so they could quickly make base, pick up supplies and then be off again.

So the Geo-Path allows us to create a journey along the coast between Oban and Fort William using the Access Controls and interpretation/seating as mechanisms for this idea.

The access control post (gift posts) is in the shape of the prow of the Galley with slots/holes in to allow visitors to put items of interest into them (cache). Should you like something you find in the gift posts then you can take it as long as you replace it with something you have found yourself. This is coupled with a story gate. This gate is a canvas for telling stories. The idea is to take a workshop to schools and work with the children on creating “story fish”. These fish can then be taken and made into metal plaques for attaching to the gates.

Oban to Fort William Cycle Path

2008-06-06T07:27:00.000-07:00

1st June 2008-05

Community Consultation
Posters and ideas box to be placed in libraries, community centres, shops, etc. These will allow people to get a feel for the project and contribute ideas.

At this stage we are looking for the following to come from it:

Ask for the public to come up with a name (or choose from a selection of names)
Create a database of artists and craftspeople who might want to help with structures
Ask for opinions on the types of structures they would like to see:
Artworks
Seating
Interpretation panels
Signage
Shelters
Contact community councils
Contact local interest groups such as:
History societieso Wildlife societies
Bike and commuter groups
School groups
Disability groups
Geology groups
Local commerce and businesses
We intend to create some posters and flyers along with a form and a box so that people can tick boxes and voice opinions and place them in a box for us to collect
We will be putting some information Differentia.co.uk for people to read and comment on via a guestbook.
We would like to put together a bank of sample interpretation panels/artworks/seating/shelters for people to see and comment on.
We need a simple map showing the timetable of completion for the path itself.
We need a more detailed map showing the locations of possible signage/access controls/interpretation/seating etc.
We will be compiling a list of everyone who will be contributing to the interpretation
We will be suggesting some ideas for events including the run/kayak/cycle event mentioned at the meeting
We will look at the possibility of producing interpretation panels at key locations that can be produced and updated easily by local groups.
We would like to create some poetry and words for use on the signage (Jeremy’s paddles) so if we can some drawings of the signage from Jeremy to show the school what we are intending that would be very helpful.