The West Highland Line....Off To Mallaig...Hogwarts And All...

Last friday I pondered whether to get a change of scenery from Ayrshire over the weekend and decided to go on the train north further up the west coast of Scotland...Undecided on whether to go on the West Highlands line or the Kyle Of Lochalsh line I finally made up my mind to experience the former as the train left later in the morning from Ayr to Glasgow allowing precious extra sleep time in bed...

As an immigrant from England I'm noticing more benefits living this side of the border during my time here...the soon to be abolished £3 prescription charges being one and as an ageing baby boomer Scotrail's current over 55 ticket offer which entitles you to return travel anywhere in Scotland and to Carlisle for some reason for an amazing £18...this can be upgraded to first class where applicable for an additional fiver...plus the return journey is valid for up to a month from the outward travel date...

Anyway enough advertising for Scotrail...after a short stroll between Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street station and a caffiene fix from Costas I  boarded the rear 2 of 4 coaches bound for Mallaig as the front  2 were bound for Oban which were to go their separate way at Crianlarich...

Various characters including walkers,cyclists and daytrippers like myself boarded the train armed with rucksacks containing different contents...Marks and Spencers had obviously done well the previous day as their food products appeared for consumption by passengers on the tabled seating within our carriage...

Just after 8.20a.m.the diesel engines on the train roared into life and we pulled out of the station on a murky morning bound for the western highlands...Passing through Glasgow's suburbs we were soon parallel with the main A82 road to Fort William and beyond..the Erskine Bridge spanning the River Clyde disappeared quickly from view...a few stops after Dumbarton and Helensburgh the track became a single line...

The tone of engines changed as we climbed inclines...up to Garelochhead past the Faslane submarine base and onward...After Arrochar and Tarbet the train ran along side Loch Lomond as we made our way to Crianlarich for a 10 minute stop while the coaches to Oban were unattached and then departed...

Before I continue I must apologise for the quality of the images shown as photography from a moving train with reflections,marked windows,confused autofocus system and human error has its limitations...saying that I'm pleased to have some useable reference material for future paintings...

Approaching the horseshoe curve before Upper Tyndrum

I like some of you I'm sure have experienced the road journey along the A82 which touches the edge of Rannoch Moor but the train goes deep into this wild wilderness favoured by photographers artists alike...Dark brown peat bogs contrasted by silver grey rocks...burns with their fast flowing ice cold water...Due to the peat bogs on the moor the single track line is built on a foundation of tree roots,brushwood and alot of compacted ash and earth...

 Rannoch Moor


To Be Continued

Next stop after Rannoch is Corrour some 1350 feet above sea level...The adjacent station building is a scottish youth hostel but the price of staying here and associated costs from what I can gather online doesn't reflect my memories and experience of the youth hostelling movement albeit those were many moons ago...this is a very isolated place and was used in the making of the film Trainspotting I'm informed...

Corrour Station and Hostel

As the train pulled out of Corrour it was noticeable that the surrounding landscape was slowly changing...an increase in height was confirmed by the presence of the white stuff  lying on top of hills as we got deeper into the western highlands...

Loch Treig

By now we were high up above Loch Treig running parallel below on the left..orange flashes broke the awesome view...these flashes from rail engineers jackets maintaining the track...this made me think about the logistics of the maintenance in such an isolated area...the murky smirred weather was being challenged ocassionally by hints of blue sky between the darkened clouds...

The never ending Loch Treig and surrounding landscape was imaginary like viewing a model railway scene except here was I part of it...eventually we came to the end of the loch and later rounded the bend arriving at Tulloch station...

The railway track had come close to the A86 road and ran parallel...Some days later after this journey I looked on Google maps to see exactly where this west highland line had taken me..I was amazed to find how indirect it actually was and where I had been...

So on leaving Tulloch we headed down towards Fort William past Roy Bridge and Spean Bridge where I remembered the commando monument stands close to the A86 road from a road journey to the Applecross Peninsula several years ago...

Then suddenly glimpses of the cloud covered Ben Nevis mountain range came into view between the tree lined track..

Small at first then with more miles passing Ben Nevis stood majestic in size and ruggedness as we neared Fort William...

Click here  to continue

Greetings once again...Wow alot has happened since my last post back in August 2010...I vacated the mild south coast of England in November 2010 and headed north 500 miles with all my worldly goods in a self drive van across the border to south west Scotland...

Now residing in South Ayrshire on the coast I have experienced my first scottish winter which apparently according to the locals was the harshest its been for some time...but it did make for some amazing scenery...

The locals are very friendly folk and the pace of life seems slower than down south unless your driving along the M8 into and out of Glasgow...

My only continuous gripe I guess is the condition of the roads..With numerous potholes before the bad weather and subsequently more after...steering between them one wonders how long it will be before the police pull me over on the suspicion of drink driving...

There's an amazing amount inspiration for art here...That combined with art based resources in the form of many art groups and networks in the area something that I found was lacking down south...

Talking of art groups I have joined and been welcomed by Ayr Art Circle and entered paintings in their group exhibition at Maclaurin Galleries Rozelle Park Ayr which opens to the general public on 27th February and runs until 27th March...

Anyway apologies for the lack of post here recently but hopefully now I'm settling in slowly in Scotland that will change...aye right

Do Ya Fancy Some Texture

Do ya like a bit of touchy feely artwork...get ya paws on this...me latest arty bits are now available here for your viewing pleasure...I can feel summer slipping away

Getting On With A Virgin

A recent quickly organised trip to Scotland found me unable to book cheap flights through my usual mode of transportation "sit down hang on and shut up" airline Ryanair....so on the spur of the moment like 2 a.m. the morning the day I was considering travelling I thought of train travel to north of the border...

This had been on my mind for a while as when driving back down the M74 to England in the past the motorway and the mainline north and south come close together..So much so that my son and I witnessed the Virgin Trains Pendolino speeding southbound leaving us and other motorway transport in its wake...

So with tickets booked and collected at my local departure station I headed to London Euston for my trip north to Glasgow...the experience was not as planned as we had to be diverted through the West Midlands due to a body being found adjacent to the line near Lichfield...

Weirdly my son was on his way to Bristol via rail the same day and someone had decided earlier to end their life using a train..This caused delays obviously and alot of disruption but he finally got to his destination albeit later in the day...

Anyway my journey took an extra hour to Glasgow Central but the experience of a tilting high speed train was something new and I found it extremely stress free and relaxing in comparison to flying and those pre flight procedures at an airport even though the train was busy...

On my return journey we accelerated out of Glasgow Central at 11.40 a.m and arrived in London Euston at 16.03...the Virgin Train made only 3 stops Carlisle Penrith North Lakes and Preston in those 4 hours and 23 minutes..with plenty of seating and not too busy the air conditioned journey was awesomely fast and enjoyable and relaxing..then when in London using the underground and Southern Trains naturally reality kicked in again...

If you ever get the chance to experience high speed train travel give it a go as maybe as the advert says "it beats flying"...

video courtesy of trainfreak101...many thanks...

After That Game.....For Bobby........

Well as I said in my last post I would pass comment after friday nights World Cup game..so as an ageing baby boomer(I'm as old as dirt) who was a mere 10 years old back in that glorious summer of 1966 I cant help wondering where all that pride and do or die spirit has gone with our national football team called England...I remember back then in 66 we drew against Uruguay in our opening game but in the next game showed the character and skills needed to progress...Going back to friday evening you like myself were probably sitting or watching somewhere with expectatation...Expectation disappeared in the first half and hope was all I had to cling onto for the second but deep down you like me knew the outcome as the full time whistle got ever closer...The post match reaction of the players and manager didnt bring much comfort or belief that we can beat Slovenia on wednesday...I hope Joe Cole plays but this manager Fabio Capello doesnt seem to read the game or make reactive decisions like Jose does...love him or hate him..So lets hope normal service will be resumed on wednesday afternoon and maybe all those involved in the England F.C. camp should watch the current Carling lager advert on TV a few times and find a sense of purpose...We shall see..For Bobby....Come On England...


Anyway heres a pic of a recent abstract painting Ive completed recently

NOW SOLD



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Poppers At A Party Abstract Painting

An additional abstract painting this time "Poppers At A Party " is a colourful abstract painting...self explanatory....So the football or soccer if you come from across the pond is well under way in South Africa..I shall reserve my opinions until after the next game...

Umbro's Tailored by England Anthem

Not long now...

Abstract Paintings

A bit of sun and everyone seems happier or is it me?...anyway by way of a change from painting small landscapes...to relax a little more I have been painting small abstract paintings over the last week...I love doing these..the sense of freedom and not knowing whats going to transpire make them exciting to paint especially when painted with music playing...some have white canvas or coloured ground showing through,some are grooved with knives etc and others with raised paint...these like my small landscapes are either painted on canvas board or masonite board...due to their lightness in weight I'm able to offer FREE worldwide shipping...any questions let me know...for more info check out http://www.itsromanticpaintings.co.uk/4.html

South East Open Studios

South East Open Studios annual event started on the 4th of June and runs until the 20th...this event covers artists and crafts over the south east of England in Kent and East Sussex...For more information visit http://www.seo-arts.org/

No Smir This Bank Holiday Weekend

Another bank holiday weekend finds me north of the border ...expecting less than perfect weather how wrong was I...Looking across the Firth Of Clyde to the Isle Of Arran and beyond past the Mull Of Kintyre...Ailsa Craig stood like you could reach out and touch it...instead of the usual haze it was a change to be able to see and define landmarks with certainty...Anyway heres a pic across the Firth Of Clyde To the Isle Of Arran with the northern half of the island with its distinctive mountain range and Holy Island just off the coast in Lamlash Bay.