Views from South Drive

We walked from Rockcliffe to Castle Point along the Solway coast and were rewarded with some spectacular seascapes and sunset over the Solway.  Welcome to Rockcliffe This post has seen its share of stormy seas The wind takes its toll on the trees close to the beach A Cockle shell tree The walk and beach is maintained by the National Trust for Scotland Heavy recent rainfall meant even the small streams were overflowing In the distance across the estuary you can see the mountains of the Lake District Looking north - west over the Galloway coast Balcary Point Stormy rain clouds heading our way It was getting dark as we returned to our car On top of the cliff is a trig point with information on distances to viewpoints Left on the ground on the cliff top A new slipway made of concrete Lots of broken masonry, rocks and sea weed Enjoying their own photography moments

An artists lives on the beach road in Kippford. He/She uses driftwood, plastic containers, fishing nets, lobster pots and a multitude of other materials. The local granite also features in lots of the art as you can see.  Take a walk along Rough Firth towards the Rockcliffe - you can't miss this fantastic artist's work.

Those of you who have never heard of Kippford - it's a small village on the Solway estuary in Southern Scotland. Therefore this blog is not exactly 'views from South Drive' but hopefully you will enjoy some good photos and observations during our Christmas holiday in Scotland. Kippford shore front - this is the concrete jetty at high tide Kippford Beach at high tide Tourism and agriculture are the main employers now although fishing was once a mainstay of  the local community The beach is made up entirely of cockle shells between large rocks Looking out to Rough Island which at low tide you can walk too Looking out to the Solway http://www.visitscotland.com/info/towns-villages/kippford-beach-p314461

Sweet Chestnut shells are beginning to soften and degrade Bikers, walkers and dogs use the wooden boarding to avoid the boggiest part of Hartswood This time of the year the bracken reveals just how many Silver Birch dominate the woods The lack of rain this summer and autumn has led to a very shallow pond and lots of duck weed. The bracken dominates the woods in the summer, however, this time of year it has the appearance of a brown carpet

A walk to the Labrador pond so that the Lennon could have a swim. The southern wind from the Canaries means the temperature is up to 15c for the middle of December. No daffodils where we walked but mild enough to wear just a fleece. Hartswood in December Beautiful sunlight over Thorndon south park The Labrador Pond - so called because there is always Labradors swimming in this former clay pit

Many trees get blown down - not because of really strong winds but because of saturated soil Damp conditions provide an excellent habitat for fungi Little rain this year but Essex clay means ground gets saturated very quickly A little bit of information on Clay soils from RHS website... Clays swell and shrink as they wet and dry, effectively cultivating themselves Clay soils take longer to warm up in spring Wet clay soils are easily damaged when dug or walked on Drought is much less damaging on clay soils than others soil types Clay soils contain more than 30 percent fine clay particles

Here is a fella who doesn't let a bit of Essex clay get in his way! http://www.brentwood.gov.uk/index.php?cid=1267

I have had more than enough time to wander around the woods next to our road in the past few days. Even though the weather has been relatively mild and not that wet - the Essex clay which dominates these woods is gaining the upper hand in transforming the ground into a wet, muddy quagmire. This time of year if we get a windy day, quite often you will find a Silver Birch uprooted as the ground becomes too soft to keep the tree upright. Lying around the floor are a multitude of debris, leaves, small branches, large branches, fungi and the inevitable mud.