Tales of Home [6]

Gosh those are SOOOO lovely !!

It has been uncannily spectacular day after day

wow spectacular stuff

how was the Renfaire Bungs? got any photos?

We've been having the most beautiful full moons every night. I dont have a good enough camera to capture the moment sadly ! but the clouds over the moon look gothic & inspiring,

Mrs Figg wrote:how was the Renfaire Bungs? got any photos?

Not too many, a few clips from the joust. My brother has a few pics he was supposed to send me.

Well after the glorious sunrises -fog! Lots of sea fog- two days worth so far. I took my camera with me to work this morning so come on a walk to work through the fog with me!

This is pretty much right outside my flat at about 6.35 AM-



By the time I'd got downtown the sun was up, sort of, behind the fog (and yes that is a pub in the foreground   ) -



St.Johns Church in the centre of town-



This is the oldest part of the town, as you can tell form the buildings and street layout, the church i the distance is the oldest in town, and built on older- it has a fascinating graveyard including a Templar grave- its at this end of town you find Castle Hill, Castle House and of course the Church. This is the original town the rest spread out from-



The Promenade- my workplace is at the far end of it-



Looking out to sea, honest (I should have made a video too so you could hear the foghorns on the ships too, a more melancholy sound does not exist)-



The foggy bay-



Foggy crows, they were right posers too!-





If you live near the sea these wild flowers are great i the garden they love the salty air and rocky ground-



Swans in fog-



My work is about here, took a while to find it in the fog mind you  

A nursing home right on the water...I hope it has a nice front porch to sit and watch the sea for hours on end.

It has a nice garden and a large front lawn with tables and chairs, but sadly its not right on the sea front, but it is just a short 30 second wheelchair trip to get on the promenade.
And the views, in particular from the big high old fashioned bay windows on the second floor where the Main Lounge is located, are spectacular.

That's important. Nobody should end up in a place with no view, but unfortunately too many are just depressing.

If it wasnt for the road markings that 1st pic reminded me of "Sleepy Hollow"
Very wintery pics indeed. Id like to find out about the grave of that Templar, always been interested in that sort of thing.
I used to work in a sandwich factory & my shift was from 3AM to 7.30AM every morning & manys the morning I had to leave the house in freezing fog that was bladder loseningly creepy I got a lift from our local milkman once as the fog was so thick Im sure "Jack The Ripper" would have felt at home in

I swaer to God I never want to end up in a "Home", you gotta catch me 1st & you better be armed as I will be !!!

really like that last pic, with the silvery sea.

Good news- there's more- the walk home again in the afternoon! But still foggy

Whilst it was thinning a bit on the ground, and clearing on the high ground it was still a solid bank over the sea-





Castle Hill and Highland Mary peering through the fog-





The High Kirk (there was a picture of it in the morning ones from the other side)



Castle Hill, Castle House and the War memorial-



But by the time I was heading towards my barrel, further form the shore and up a hill it was a rather lovely blue sky and sunshine sort of a day-

Very atmospheric walk you had there, Petty.

We also had a stunning sunset tonight. I took some pictures too, I'll try posting them when i get home.

nice Petty, I like it when the sun turns up.

From what I've seen of your pics Petty, I'm going to put a Scotland visit on my bucket list.

You'd be very welcome Bungo

As Azriel expressed an interest in the graveyard at the High Kirk, and that's all the excuse I need, and I had a day off I went out to take some pictures of the church and graveyard.
But as is the way I got distracted along the way.
First I noticed that the clouds and sun were in just the right place to be making a lot of 'god-rays'. So I diverted my route to head towards the shore-front for some snaps.





Then I noticed a warship heading up the Clyde (NATO are having a big exercise so lots of stuff turning up right now) and it was sailing right under some god-rays, so I got snapping-







All that military might caught in natures light seemed such a weird juxtaposition to me.

Pictures of the Church and graveyard to follow Azriel, I did get there eventually with a few stops along the way

love a silvery sea. one day I would like a house overlooking the sea, its beautiful in all seasons.

The Church and cemetery.

This is the High Kirk, protestant, Church of Scotland. The oldest church in town its built on the remains of the original church which served the original Castle which stood on Castle Hill nearby (more on that later).





These carvings were saved from another location that was demolished-







The Templar/Masonic/Pirate section (yes I did say pirate- Billy the Kidd was from Greenock and the skull and bones pirate motif is associated with Masonry, as is the way in which pirates organised their crew- but thats another matter)-









A sealed crypt-



Some of the oldest graves-



This one dates to 1772, but its not the oldest, some of the stones are so worn and weathered they are ineligible-



This one dates to 1745- the year of the Jacobite uprising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie.



238 years ago this month they were laid to rest, at just 30 years old-



One sad fact that strikes you when looking round old cemeteries is how high infant mortality was, and how far we have come in preventing it-




Entrance to the Church from the street side-



Looking back at the Church from the cemetery entrance on the Castle Hill side-




And a a bonus, and as I was so near Castle Hill I thought Id go there too.

This is the town beacon- as you can see unlike PJ's its not on the hills or mountains behind the town where cloud cover means no one would see it, its here, on a small hillock where its high enough to be seen across the water all round, and low enough not to be obscured in the clouds and where lots of people can easily get to it to light it in an emergency. Its not even on top of the Castle Hill, its on a slightly lower arm of it on the approach.



A view out between two bits of wall, one of the few bits of the original castle remaining. But even from here, ground level for the castle the small hill provides a surprisingly good view, and with a castle there from its towers and ramparts you would have an uninterrupted 360 view of all possible approaches land and sea-



I couldn't decide which of these I preferred so here's both. Highland Mary, who stands on the lower slopes of Castle Hill, looking over the sea and the Gantocks Lighthouse (upon whose rocks there is a long established and thriving seal colony)-

I thoroughly enjoyed that ! I really did ! Thank you !!

This was my town, more or less fields of green, then, only 100 yrs later it lead to this.....







And its getter worse....



This is my side of town, then &........

This is the Beachy Head Lighthouse being built in 1899-1902....