Photos Galore

These photos all from 2004/2005 from our year out road trip. Just reminiscing..........more to come.

Horse riding at Three Rivers, California. The horse in the middle carrying my weight is called Lulu. She was just lovely and, like me, she loved water. She did a sort of paddle dance in a pool half way up the mountains and we both were soaked.

The first time I saw a bank of Stag Horn Fern or Sumach. Can't remember the exact location but it was somewhere en route to Yellowstone National Park. Have also seen lots of this plant in New England where the autumn colour change is so marked.

These 2 are from Butchart Gardens in Canada.

Arriving at Jackson Hole. If only it had been ski season. I loved this place. Lots of yoga and natural earth shops - good beer - great outdoor activities - and close to the Grand Tetons - the most amazing  mountain range I have ever seen.

Zion National Park - I think?

The price of fuel in $ in 2004.

This guy was a character.

This is his local village shop and cafe! just like Dalkeith!

His neighbour was a George Bush fan.

Gerry doing what he is good at.

Back in California we hiked a trail or 2 to help keep fit.

Horse shoe-ing in California

Just an amazing view

Hiking again - this time in Bryce Canyon with snow on the ground. It was November.

Tree hugging!

How to make a walk way on a steep mountian.

Water Tower Appreciation Society

http://bwtas.blogspot.com/

British Water Tower Appreciation Society

The journal of the only British society dedicated to these structures.

Having just found this site I was amazed to read an extract from the Scotsman newspaper showing the article for the rental of the Dalkeith water tower. I have joined this blog site since there can't be that many people around who appreciate water towers.

Our water tower has a small problem of damage from a burst pipe. We will have a fair bit of work to do to get the tower back into shape. Its all internal though. Have spent a lot of my spare time moving yet more stuff out of the building. Thankfully the one room that I painted and decorated (as opposed to a professional painter) is largely unaffected by the burst. All plans for rental though are now on hold. Unless someone wants to come and live in what looks like a building site with fan heaters and dehumidifiers running all day, ceilings exposed and floor areas resembling the Alps. It is going to be a busy year ahead I fear. So much for the Spring holiday.

New Planning Application

Have just submitted a request for planning approval for a store come sitting out area (see picture above), some steps cut into the woodland slope, a path extension with screening and a replacement fence.

https://planning-applications.midlothian.gov.uk/OnlinePlanning/centralDistribution.do?action=dispatch&caseType=Application&caseNo=10/00694/DPP

Here is the support statement.

Householder Application for Planning Permission

Reference No ­­­­____________________________

Section 4 Description of Works

1.                   Storage Platform

History of Construction

The foundations of this structure were positioned in Nov 2008. The ground foundation pads are the same as the house build foundation pads and were deliberately placed for validation purposes. This test was a condition of planning. The pads are situated close to the stump of a large felled Ash tree which produces new growth. The ability to dig and construct in and around tree roots was tested by the placement of the pads.

The decking was added in Jan 2009 in readiness for use as a holding platform and dry storage area for materials for the associated house build. Alternative storage facilities at the Cemetery Gates outbuildings had been applied for but were not viable.

The structure is a replacement for a platform similar in shape and size to that which existed for over 10 years on the site and has since been demolished, along with an associated metal furnace, railway sleeper screen structure and 15m² of concrete paving. The previous structure became badly damaged during the house build.

Glazing was added to the structure in May 2010. The previous structure had a willow screen. Glazing was chosen to unify with the glazing on the main decking area of the house and the glazing minimizes visual impact.

Use of Structure

The structure is used as a storage area for essential woodland maintenance tools and the decked surface is used as an occasional outdoor sitting out area. The structure precludes the need for a garden shed and presents a more aesthetically acceptable structure than a typical garden shed.

Other Supporting Information        

The grade B listed water tower in the vicinity of this application has a sitting out area in the form of a metal balcony and has Historic Buildings and Planning approval. In floor area terms it is approximately 20 times the area of the platform. There are a number of other elevated sitting out areas that have been constructed in Eskbank, not necessarily having the benefit of planning approval.

2.       Front Boundary Fence

This stepped fence was constructed to replace an existing stepped wooden fence of the same overall dimensions and made from the same material. However, the width of the fence timbers is different and deliberate to be the same width as the timber cladding on the house. The wood on both the house and the fence is locally sourced Scots Pine.

3.       Path Broadening

This “structure” is no more than path widening carried out by triangulating between 2 existing tree stumps using seasoned timbers from the previous gazebo. The triangulated section was then screened using more seasoned wood cladding from the gazebo creating a ventilated and open structure with a vertical surface. A timber guard rail is in place. There are no engineering works in this structure. There is no back-fill.

The path widening is essential for the safe passage at a very narrow point.

This area was noted in the woodland management plan as being at risk due to erosion from water run-off and the lack of light preventing good undergrowth. The path was becoming ever narrowed at this point and we continue to try to resolve the root cause of the water erosion problem with the tennis club. Water run-off issues are not being used as a smoke screen for development, as suggested by some concerned members of the public.

4.       Steps

Steps have been constructed into the slope of the woodland bank for safe access to the area below the path broadening where the soil erosion is at its worst and where further planting is planned once the water management issue is resolved. The hand rail is due to be replaced with more attractive wood poles instead of straight cut timbers. More steps are required to complete these works and are indicated on the plan.

5.       General

It remains the case that the most visible non natural structure which has impact on the views of this woodland area is the 60m x 3m lime green netting screen for the tennis club. In our opinion, none of the structures to which this application refers have adverse impact on the views of this woodland area. None of the structures bring risk to the woodland and no mature trees were impacted by their construction.

It is not always easy to pre determine the requirements for outdoor structural and non structural elements at any time but particularly during the hectic phase of a new build. Some of the structures in this application would never have been anticipated as requiring planning approval and hence this application is both retrospective and late. In the case of the storage platform, the structure is a replacement for a previous structure which never elicited any objection or concern from either the public or the planning officials who visited the site, in more than 10 years. With regard to biodiversity, the previous structure became a home for a number of woodland creatures in its time and there is an expectation that the replacement will provide the same. The main users of the structure are the squirrels at present.

The human race are as much a part of biodiversity as the woodland creatures.

Susan Goldwyre

C Biol MI Biol retired

11 Nov 10

The previous sitting out area. It served us well even although my sister-in-law fell off it one night! there was no alcohol involved either. The fence at the back is the painted corrugated fencing belonging to the tennis club. We have since added a screen of wooden fencing which looks much better. Especially from the viaduct.

Ironmills Park in the 70's (?) before the buildings were converted into houses. Isn't it amazing how the tree planting has changed the face of this area. It looks so barren in this old photo.

The steps cut into the bank for access. The straight cut timber rails are due to be replaced with tree poles which will look more natural in the environment.

Replacement front fence. Not that different to what was there before and prior to that wooden fence the council had erected what might be best described as rather unattractive wire netting. I have a photo somewhere.

The area where the path was widened by triangulating between 2 tree stumps. Thanks Mick, you are a genius.




The new sitting out area and store in the winter. It looks especially lovely with the frost on the glazing when the temperature has been so low lately.

View from the viaduct. No magnification - just as it is seen with the naked eye.

The original gazebo. Doesn't the down pipe look silly! it was removed fairly soon after construction. I miss the old gazebo in some ways. A friend of mine from work days, now sadly passed away, Bob Wilson, was never one for going out with the crowd. He did love this gazebo though and he would join my Gin and Tonic club for food and chat even although he hated Gin and Tonic. It was the only non-golf function I ever remember him going to. Bob I do miss you.

The water tower before and after.



I am aware that planning applications that appear at xmas are treated with suspicion - as if someone is trying to put something through the system un-noticed. Recording on this blog site will help to make sure that is not the case. I am delighted if people want to comment on this application. The woodland is after all only owned by us at the moment. It will out live us both and I am keen that it is handed over in good shape to its next owner - whoever that might be.
If anyone reading this site is interested in joining me next year in a couple of ventures I would be pleased. I need to eradicate the Rhododendron ponticum on the bank. Access is very difficult so you would need to be fit and able. I have plans to work with Kevock Gardens to improve my knowledge base and get some experience in working with native species and the transitional species that are good between garden and woodland. I have a project with the tennis club to improve a small area on the streetscape of Cemetery Road. Also some general woodland management -  tree surveys to be done for example. Tidy up the area where we store our wood piles for the winter. Clearing up the mess left by the kids who use the area for bbq's and whatever else! planting more holly etc. etc.


Merry Xmas to all and my good wishes for 2011
Susan

Why Is The River Esk Red?

If you look at the river Esk in Ironmills Park you will observe a red colouration in the water. In fact it is the river bed that is red and most locals are aware that this is due to high levels of Iron in the river. One might think this is why the park is named Ironmills but I think the name Ironmills came from the Iron mill that used to operate in the park at one time.

So where does the Iron in the river Esk come from? Is it a good thing or might it be detrimental; and if it is detrimental what can be done about it?

Iron is present in coal seams and mud stones in the form of pyrite (ferrous sulphide). Midlothian had many mines that have now closed down leaving the coal seams stagnant. As the water table lowers in these disused mines, the air oxidizes the pyrite and along with bacteria in the seams, the acidity levels drop to pH 2 or 3. Acidic water can then discharge from these old mines with the iron in its oxidized state.  The oxidized iron can then precipitate on the river bed when the pH of the river water rises above 6. In these alkaline conditions the iron is converted to ferric hydroxide. The iron precipitate discolours the rivers leaving unsightly ochrous deposits and the oxidation process leads to the depletion of the oxygen in the river water.

So it comes from disused mines, certain conditions cause it to deposit and it’s a bad thing. I am aware that some disused mines have to have water levels managed by human intervention and there are controlled releases of water from these mines. So I guess there are times when the Iron deposits are particularly bad and other times when they might be insignificant. But I’m not sure.

The internet is a wonderful thing – I found these 2 articles and have extracted the most relevant info;

Ferruginous waters discharging from disused mines have been a problem for decades, but with the closure of so many coalmines, beginning in the 1950s and continuing into the 1990s, the problem has been accentuated. As mines closed, pumping stopped or was reduced and groundwater levels recovered. The rate of recovery depends very much on the rate of flow into the workings and their extent. In some cases complete recovery may take several decades. As well as contaminating rivers, rising acidic ferruginous groundwater may in the future contaminate aquifers overlying the Coal Measures such as the Permian Basal Sands, the Magnesian Limestone and the Permo-Triassic sandstones. The rise of water levels can also lead to subsidence as a result of the weakening and eventual collapse of strata left to support the roof in shallow workings. The corrosion of engineering structures that contain Portland Cement and the flooding of landfills are other problems. The quality of the discharge from disused mines improves gradually with time as the rising groundwater flushes the acidic oxidation products out of the Coal Measures, but the process can take many years. Increasingly widespread pollution by such acidic ferruginous waters seems to be inevitable unless expensive treatment methods are introduced or pumping from some mines is continued to control the discharges. The circulation of contaminated ferruginous waters through artificially constructed wetlands, which improves their quality, is being investigated as a relatively cheap solution to the problem. Responsibility for pollution by acid mine-waters is very unclear. Mine owners who permit pollution from abandoned mines are given indemnity under the Water Resources Act of 1991 and, in Scotland, the Control of Pollution Act of 1974. The Environment Act 1995 removed this defence but only for mines abandoned after 1999. This leaves the legal responsibility and the problem unresolved.

Abandoned mines are one of the most significant pollution threats in Britain. Our legacy of mining for coal, metal ores and other minerals dates back to the Bronze Age. Many thousands of mines have been abandoned and now discharge minewater containing heavy metals and other pollutants into our watercourses. Other more recently closed mines are still filling up with groundwater and will start discharging in the future.

Nine percent of rivers in England and Wales, and two percent in Scotland are at risk of failing to meet their Water Framework Directive targets of good chemical and ecological status because of abandoned mines. These rivers carry some of the biggest discharges of metals such as cadmium, iron, copper and zinc to the seas around Britain.

The legal position in the UK is such that no-one can be held liable for the pollution from the majority of mines. It is only since 1999 that the operator of a mine has had any obligation to deal with the consequences of abandonment. The Environment Agency, Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Coal Authority are leading efforts to deal with the problem.

Thirteenth century coal workings near Dalkeith in Scotland still discharge acidic, iron rich waters into the River Esk (Younger and Adams, 1999).

Looking through my old files I came across a newspaper article from Feb 1996 in the Edinburgh Evening News.

“Lothian Streams Run Red As Pollution Battle Rages” – “Who’ll Clean Up Our Rivers?”

So what do you think? Should there be more effort to clean up the Esk?

I also came across an angling association with an interest in the Esk.

http://www.fishingaround-scotland.com/riveresk.htm

The river Esk runs from the North Esk reservoir down the Pentland hills in to Penicuik then onto Dalkieth then flows to Musselburgh where it meets the Firth of Forth. The river was once full of trout and slamon the latter many years ago. Through the years the esk served the papermaking mills of Penicuik and surrounding area. The mills have long gone and it seems so have many of the fish. The river was fished for trout by man and boy for many years, it was then stocked with brown trout by the Eskvally Angling Association.
Many areas of the river have under gone redevelopment seeing housing built on the banks of the river where the mills used to employ many people as the area developed sadly the river banks did not, now many parts of the river are hidden by over grown trees and under growth. Even the foot bridge that lead you into the braes at Penicuik has long gone. Foot paths have been made along parts of the river but most of them follow the old Penicuik Railway line which used to link Penicuik to Roslin Rosewell Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith.
The river has been subject to pollution in the past years and a land slip a few years ago was the last time pollution entered this once fine river. Now that the pollution which we believe was lime that polluted the river has been washed out, by the several winter spates the river is once again starting to look clean and fresh. What it needs now is for some volunteers to make access to the areas to allow fishing to recommence on the river. Who knows possibly in years to come salmon ladders may be erected on the few weirs that prevent them from returning to the once happy spawning grounds. How ever getting access to the river and stocking it with trout would be a start and possibly bring anglers back to the banks of the river Esk. This would require the co opperation of land owners and the District Council.
Penicuik once known as the paper making town is no longer a paper making town  and river is left to do what it does, with a little help it could bring visitors to the area not only to fish, but use the walkways and local services breathing some new life into the town.An approach has been made to the local Penicuik District Coucil who are in favour of supporting this idea.With the assistance of the local tackle shop Fishers and some members of the local community this could be achieved along with the land owners permission to cut back some trees and under growth to make access to the river, enabling access to fish. A permit system could be introduced to facilitate the costs of stocking the river with fish, and over seen by some volunteers.  Some volunteers have already been identified and willing to give up some time to help achieve the goals set out. 
The intention would be to make access to the river from the Telfor bridge to Roslin glen at the top of the weir how ever Auchendinny would be a more realistic target to begin with. So willing to get involved or lend a hand contact tom@fishingaround-scotland.com to register an interest and  you will be kept up to date with where we are and what is happening.

I have joined the blog for the Eskvalley Angling Association and who knows where that might lead. Being a girl, fishing doesn’t feature in my activities but......my dad did take me fishing in Peebles when I was little and I did fish off the West Coast of Scotland. I remember catching a lot of Mackerel. Oh and I did go on one of these Jeep off road days which included a shot at fishing in a well stocked “pond”. That was easy and the instructor told me that girls often do well at fishing because of the pheromones! So ladies – if you are releasing pheromones and want to catch fish – go for it!

The Snow

Snow, snow and more snow.
Love it.

Midlothian Cuts and More Hamlet!

Unless you are particularly interested in our planning issues I suggest you don't need to read this blog entry today. It really is my way of getting something off my chest.....

What do Midlothian cuts have to do with woodland? Nothing direct I guess but I recently attended a meeting organised by Midlothian Council to review the extent of the local authority cuts. I am a worried person. How on earth are they going to save £25 million over the next four years? The meeting had a workshop session and I did suggest some possible routes to saving but really, I have no idea how they are going to achieve these cuts. Then again, I do have a view on saving money in general and maybe the principals are the same no matter the size of the budget.

I met with the head of a major business in Edinburgh this summer and I think he took a bit of shine to me. I explained my philosophy on finance and told him that I examine every single household expenditure and always make sure we spend within our means.  I think that "good housekeeping" for finances can be applied to big business in the same way as in the home. Save a little wherever, no matter how small, and instil culture change that drives individuals to want to do more. The head guy said to me that he always advised his own managers of the same approach. I felt chuffed to have him endorse my philosophy.

On the back of all this thinking about the cuts, Gerry said to me "how much do you think our house build and planning application cost the local authority in dealing with all the complaints?" Hard to put an exact figure on it but we have 8 lever arch files of paper work; 3 are for plans and the rest is correspondence. A lot more files than one might expect for a small build project. We have referenced these files continually this last year. More worryingly we referenced back to our 1994 files after yet another false accusation of building the extension onto the cottage without planning permission. There it was - in black and white - our planning application and it wasn't retrospective. I digress - apologies - suffice to say that evidence of "collusion" was noted by our planning official.
Getting back to the cost of our recent build to the council, I have a feel factor that 50% of the correspondence was in response to complaints and challenges and within those challenges were a fair number which were not valid. Some of course were valid and I would agree with our local councillor that the Head of Planning has used a great deal of circumspection in preparing responses. You would be amazed at how many people in the council had to contribute to these responses. And of course, I asked for a Freedom of Information request which also has a cost. I am led to understand a single A4 sheet has a "cost" of between £50 and £100 and from our files we estimate the total to be in the order of £250K. If half is generated because this is a necessity that leaves a potential cost to the tax payer as £125K. Of course this is my own "back of a fag packet" calculation and it might be wildly out. However, if there are lessons to be learnt and savings to be made, my own duty and responsibility as a community councillor makes me want to raise awareness if nothing else.

At community council on Monday 22nd I requested time to put forward my case from the public side of the meeting. It went like this.

"Having heard the passionate pleas from a very stressed Head of Midlothian for budget cuts, I want this community to be aware of the possible waste of money in dealing with petty issues regarding our house build this last year". I went on to explain the possible costs as above. I then cited a number of examples -

1. Checking the legality of a perceived Right of Way - twice in 1998 and again in 2009.  This had a cost.
Quite a bit of paperwork was generated on this issue - not to mention the character assassination that followed when we were accused of closing the public footpath down to Ironmills. 

2. Requesting that a woodland path extension be made subject of a planning application. This has a cost.
Confusion reigns on this one that this path has "engineering" works. I wonder how many other woodlands rectify path slippage using simple means and are then expected to register for planning approval. Hell I was building a bridge in Vogrie with volunteers last week! There is still some way to go on this one but the visit of a planning enforcement officer to look at this particular issue gave way to an error which could give us favour with another. I wouldn't abuse this error but it does taste sweet that complaints yielded an own goal. Hamlet again comes to mind "The lady doth protest too much". 

3. Requesting that simple steps cut into the steep slope of the woodland for access for tree planting and woodland management, be subject to a planning application. This has a cost.
To access this sloped area of the woodland we had cut some decent steps into the ground to stop me falling down into the River Esk. I have used this access to create wood piles for wildlife and to get ready for further planting.


4.Requesting a stop order on Bluebell planting despite no such thing happening. I read out the FOI statement that I found. (see previous post). This had a cost

 
5. Persisting with false accusations of illegal tree felling when the Scottish Power line was moved for very good reason* and taking up the cause with Scottish Power ad nausea - despite all tree felling being approved. This had a cost.
I blogged this earlier - *The power line was moved a few metres to the North edge (nearer to the public steps which carry on up to the left of the bridge in this photo) last year as part of a longer term approach to keeping the regular clearance under the power line closer to the public footpath and allowing the undergrowth to regenerate on the bank on the other side. Making the scar on the slope one single scar. I doubt I'll ever get this across to some individuals but I care not a jot now.
I must commend my previous employer here. I used to deal with the Medicines Inspectorate in my time and learned many valuable lessons in how to deal with "incidents" that might put patient lives at risk. I always researched well to determine root cause. I could do the same here and make a mountain out of this - if you pardon the pun. But life is too short to bother.

6. Missing A0 sized coloured plans that were copyright protected, one group stating that they had been copied at the local library when no such copy facility was possible, causing the council to investigate our loss. This had a cost.
The plans that went missing have a value of about £30 and they never turned up. We still don't know what happened to them. The cost of the plans per se is minor compared to the ensuing investigations.

Councillor Beattie responded to my request about costs at the meeting. Where there might be a breach of planning the council has a statutory obligation to investigate; that is understood and I agree the Head of Planning acted with personal judgement and circumspection. I applaud him for his responses thus far. 
The councillor offered the possibility of an Audit Enquiry but I took the hint that this would just add to the costs and I should judge whether or not this would be a "reasonable enquiry". After some round-the-room discussion Councillor Beattie then said that she had seen success with mediation services and this might be a good case for mediation. Gerry agreed and asked who to contact. He sent a letter out the next day. We will see what happens.

So can I save the council money - Maybe.

Have I cost the council money myself this last year- Probably.

Have petty ill informed complaints cost the council money this year - Most definitely

Has the tax payer benefited from the debacle of our planning issues this last year - No in my opinion they have not.

At least this week I contributed 2 days of voluntary time working with the Ranger service and the pathways volunteers and I put something back. I intend to do lots more and am applying for a grant for a stretch of open ground on Cemetery Road that could be improved for the benefit of the public. These positive actions far outweigh the negative. Oh and I visited a lovely lady called Stella at Kevock Gardens. What an inspiration. I see an additional woodland management plan with a planting schedule in the very near future. Then I'll be able to get back to blogging something of genuine interest to gardeners and owners of woodlands alike.

Call Kaye Radio Programme Monday 22nd Nov

From my facebook page;

Susan Goldwyre http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00w19h4

Gerry and I should be on this radio programme on Monday - talking about eco buildings and how to be energy efficient in our homes. Should be fun. I better start switching off our outdoor lights and practice what I preach.

BBC - BBC Radio Scotland Programmes - Call Kaye, 22/11/2010

www.bbc.co.uk

Call Kaye brings a human touch to the stories making the news.

Also - anyone out there interested in coming along to the Eskbank and Newbattle Community Council Meeting on Monday 22nd at 7pm in the Westfield Hall. It's your community - come and have your say.