Category Archives: Environment

Blowing the Inheritance

Posted on August 18, 2016 by

Edinburgh deserves its status as a World Heritage Site. Its New Town is—along with Bath—the shining example of magnificent Georgian architecture. Its regular streets of coherent facades are interspersed with circles, squares and gardens and gifted with wide views of … Continue reading →

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Trans-Arctic Convoys

Posted on April 2, 2016 by

Once upon a time, the British took the Phoenecian and Viking idea of building a maritime empire to its logical global conclusion. We spent the last two centuries congratulating ourselves on how clever we were to do so. Leave aside … Continue reading →

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Carlekemp: Architectural Gem

Posted on March 10, 2016 by

You can drive down Abbotsford Road in North Berwick and not even know it’s there. Carlekemp, a long, elegant pile of mellow Rattlebags stone, hides in its expansive four acres of grass and trees behind a high wall that retains … Continue reading →

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Rewilding Highland Ecology

Posted on October 14, 2015 by

As a Scot descended in part from Appin Stuarts, I get emotional crossing the Highland Line, feeling the huge flanks of the mountains close around me like a herd of giant cattle and suffusing me with subtle feelings between awe … Continue reading →

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Operation Puffin Update

Posted on January 14, 2015 by

I have reported on the terrific work that 100+ volunteers have done on the Forth Islands to protect the indigenous puffin population from being crowded out of house and home by an invasive plant. What follows is the latest report … Continue reading →

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Getting Your Feet Wet

Posted on December 17, 2014 by

Just recently, I was asked to give a presentation to a civic group so lively it refused to accept defeat after a decade of bureaucratic foot-dragging by the local council: the Friends of the CC Museum. Founded in a century-old … Continue reading →

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Our Maritime Neighbours

Posted on August 29, 2014 by

Apart from fishermen, yachties and the odd boat trip, few of us spend much time beyond our shoreline, let alone wonder what’s beneath. The superb food and drink we are becoming famous for includes excellent shellfish and a seasonal abundance … Continue reading →

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Nothing to Bash

Posted on April 20, 2014 by

After a mild spring, North Berwick has so far been blessed by two days of sky-splitting sunshine over the weekend and the place is going like a fair—boat trips out round the islands well loaded and not a pavement cafe … Continue reading →

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On Yer Bike

Posted on March 23, 2014 by

With crocuses pretty much done and daffodils coming on like a billion smiles, Spring is here, which means Walk to School Week can’t be far away. Although these pages have seen little on this topic, it is one on which … Continue reading →

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Carlekemp

Posted on March 3, 2014 by

Apologies This blog and its embedded photographs were removed at the request of residents as details on the interior of the building might have compromised resident security. December 2nd 2014

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