Herb Riddle's photos

Welcome to Machrihanish on the Mull of Kintyre. A charming village that afforded us a lovely walk with lots of sea life. As you can still Springtime here with these daffodils . Enjoy the week. Herb

One from the achieves. Enjoy

We see here – ‘Grip’ a human scale naked sculpture by artist Antony Gormley. Commissioned by the Landmark Trust for its 50th anniversary in 2015. Originally meant to be only here for one year, now he has a permanent place. He is looking over the Kilbrannan Sound to Arran from the rocks below Saddell castle. I have seen a full collection of his metal figures on Crosby Beach in Lancashire too, somewhat closer to my home . See Pip or last photo for close up view. Enjoy full screen.

- a human scale naked sculpture by artist Antony Gormley. Seen here at Saddell on Kintyre. See next photo for full description

Actually the gates from a mausoleum but don’t tell anybody. Seen at Saddell Abbey. Enjoy the weekend.

A view from this beach to the north east and the Isle of Arran. The castle is behind me here some 200 or so metres. This is actually the beach that Paul McCartney used in his ‘Mull of Kintyre’ song with his group ‘Wings’. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrbuDWit1Co Unfortunately, even though we walked as far as the little cottage featured in the video, just off the beach a little further to my left, there was a party of visitors there, and not knowing the significance of that cottage, left my camera unused. What's more I never realised too, how nice the view from the little point back to the castle might have been. - I always have a decision before such a trip of doing more research and spoiling some of the surprises that come with visiting a new place. In todays case, to my regret. (We did know however that this was the beach used in the filming back then for the song but I never watched the video.) Enjoy full screen.

A look at this old castle at Saddell on the Mull of Kintyre. This is in fact the back of the castle which on this day was better lit than the front. Nowadays it is rented out by the Landmark Trust but this has a really significant history. The original castle was built in the 12th century but the current castle was built in the 1508 with further major restoration and repairs c 1774. The castle served as a bastion for the MacDonald family and several MacDonald lords resided here. The PiP shows the small bridge only a hundred or so metres from this spot. Have a good day

We are here near Saddell castle and the sea shore. For just a few moments the sun shines and there is some blue sky for us as we continue over the bridge to the sand and shingle. The castle and other interest are to the right. Enjoy full screen.

A seat with a view here on this working harbour. Some mosses on the back of the seat mixed with the old paintwork. Real working fishing boats come and go from this harbour.. Enjoy full size and enjoy your week in safety.

A very pleasant avenue here leading to Saddell Castle and the sea. Enjoy full screen.

A first look at this village harbour over on the east coast of the Mull of Kintyre. We are looking south east across to the Isle of Arran some 3.5miles (5.6km) away. This was the weather we were to see a lot of during the week of our stay here in a cottage only a very short distance away with the same views. Enjoy full screen.

A fenced view down and onto the wooden pier here. This is the home of ‘Cruise Loch Lomond’ and a very busy spot it is in summer. No fences on the lower parts so people have to be very careful near the edges. It has been extensively repaired and renewed over the past few years. Enjoy the weekend.

The A83 is quite a beautiful road going all the way from Talbet to Campbeltown for almost 100miles. It is accompanied by lochs, mountains and sea but it also has quite an infamous section that could be described as 'challenging'. I am stood on the ‘resting place’ of ‘The Rest and be Thankful’ pass, looking down the big glen towards Arrochar. We can see the road we had just come up with the traffic on the left. The traffic is actually moving in ‘convoys’ past very dangerous new workings trying to repair two giant landslides that brought thousands of tons of mountain slide down through the fragile road. The road has been closed for long periods recently with no other suitable alternative nearby so creating a very long detour of 59 miles. Fortunately for us, it was open again for our journey. See PiP for close-up of road. More info: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53922077 Enjoy full screen.

On the very northern tip of Loch Long, Arrochar has always been a popular stop-off-point both for road traffic and sail. One of the first sets of sailors were in fact Viking invaders sailing up the length of Loch Long (20miles) from the sea, then transporting their long-boats the small distance overland to Tarbet on Loch Lomond towards Glasgow plundering the lakeside villages. Later it was also a very popular place for steam ship tours that plied the Clyde and Loch Long as part of the’ Three Lochs’ tour. It was that traffic that brought about this pier built in 1850 to service those steamers as part of what was also called the Arrachar Route. Steamers would come here from such places as Rothersay (Bute), Dunoon and Gourock. In 1968 traffic was down to three times a week mainly serviced by ‘Waverley’. Today it is all a distant memory with only the odd pleasure craft seen up here with the roar of road traffic across the water, heading for 'The Rest and be Thankful’ pass. We see across the loch, part of the ‘Arrochar Alps’ towards Crianlarich. The distinctive toothed peak is known as ‘The Cobbler’. More info: www.arrocharheritage.com/HistoryOfArrocharPier.htm Enjoy full screen.

Another look at Loch Lomond, as we can never get enough of this magnificent stretch of water. Looking south in the direction of Glasgow from about two thirds of the loch length of 39km (24miles) up. From here one can go further north or west. The western road takes us through the village of Arrochar and the mighty Loch Long on to Inveraray and the west coast - this is our direction. The northern route takes one to Crianlarich and Fort William via Glencoe. Enjoy full screen.

A couple take a morning coffee on the banks of Loch Lomond here at Tarbet. The start of a cruise for many but not us as we drive on to the Mull of Kintyre on this day. HBM -enjoy the week.

A trip to the SVR (Severn Valley Railway) gives us a chance to see the GWR 1450 at Bridgenorth. A Collett class 0-4-2T designed to work on small branch lines and first started service at Oxford in 1935. After 14,000 miles it has now been sent for its boiler overhaul. Besides this most charming engine we have the luxuriant fence and lamp which are all in keeping. Enjoy full size! HFF, enjoy the weekend.

Another view from my Dovestone Reservoir area. We see here the small brook just before it enters the reservoir, flanked by my Alderman’s Hill. Many of these trees have been planted as personal memorials to past loved ones, with plaques aside of them. Enjoy full screen.