Travel Blog

A woodland blog is all very well but changes to a woodland can be slow. 

Instead of pictures and stories of trees I have made the executive decision to write a travel blog entry for 2013. 

Well it's my blog and I'll change if I want to.

In May 2013 G and I took a road trip through Europe, heading to a wedding event in Italy. It all started with;

Proposal of Marriage. Eskbank May 2012

The occupants of the water tower came to us for dinner in May 2012. Jordan was intent on a proposal of marriage. Telling his girlfriend Agnieszka to prepare for a night out on the town at a top restaurant, he proceeded to get into his car and drove......5 metres. They parked and he told Agnieszka that they had arrived. We knew what had been planned and tried hard not to spill the beans. We served them dinner à deux on our terrace and waited. At last the proposal was made, she said yes and hence the reason for this travel blog. We were invited to the wedding a year later. 

But this was to be no ordinary wedding. They decided to have 4 events with the principle wedding in Italy, followed by events in Poland, in Canada and finally in Scotland.

An invite to Italy for me was special. I have never been to Italy but Gerry studied hill town architecture there as a student some 27 years ago. I suspect the hill town studies might have gone somewhat down hill judging by the stories regaled to me over the years. The student trip seemed to focus on skiing, beer, women and ways to make a quick buck to supplement funds. The latter being street side paintings available for sale to tourists. "Never misses a chance" Gerry sent me hand painted post cards promising to take me to Italy one day. it's been a long wait.

We could have done the simple thing and take a flight, go to a wedding and then fly home. Why make life simple, lets drive there and make it an adventure. And such an opportunity to buy a new car! "never misses a chance" Susan has her way despite protests from G. Buying a new car could be a story in its own right, especially when G turns up with the trade in car minus the Registration document, then goes home to find it, to return gleefully with said document....for another car that was sold 5 years previously. (People wonder what I contribute to our marriage. Its organisation of paper work but for some reason car files have never been under my control. They are now.)

We pack up the car and carefully place a precious item down the centre of the packing cases. Yep, the wedding dress. What a responsibility.

Sally Sat Nav

5 days prior to leaving Eskbank we purchased a Sat Nav. Who says we are slow to pick up new technology. Neither of us were particularly keen to use it but since G is navigator and I drive, it's over to him to work it out. "Did I know we were 30 metres above sea level". "The sat nav will give you an instruction in 2 minutes". "This thing is amazing". I heard it time and time again. I gently suggested it was useful to listen to the Sat Nav and we decided to call her, Sally Sat Nav.

We drove to Newcastle, enjoyed the ferry crossing and duly drove through Holland and onto Germany. Don't you just love the German style of driving. Decisive, fast and uncomplicated. We found our first night stop, nothing grand but adequate. Next day, Switzerland. Again the driving was good and the roads were easy. We set Sally for Wengen, I have always wanted to see Wengen, preferably to ski but not this time.

So Sally gets us into a valley and then seems to get quite cross. Turn right, keep left, make a U Turn, enter the roundabout. But we were in a field. We ask a camp site owner how to get to Wengen. Well its up the hill, by train of course. You can't drive there. Poor Sally. I feel we should be able to write new code for superlatives that best descibe what she really wants to say to us.

Wengen is stunning. Go there if you get the chance.

Wengen

                 
                                       Low cloud with the sun coming through at the mountain tops.

                                                                  
                                                                                 The most stunning waterfall

The valley

                                                        This photo shows a novel way to stake a newly planted tree.



On To Mondovi

We leave for Mondovi on a wet day. A long drive and the contrast in road management between Switzerland and Italy is marked. The Vignette system in Switzerland makes life easy, but there's no such simplicity in Italy. Getting out of the car to pay the road tolls is annoying, but it is very annoying with rain running down your neck.

But eventually we arrive in Mondovi, or thereabouts. By now it is dark and we were struggling with the narrow roads. By good fortune we spot Jordan running across the square and we decide he has clearly become Italian overnight. 

Park there, no there, no no wait you can't do that. Oh ..... the road rising bollards have just come up, you can't get in here. Oh F..k

Agnieskza arrives to help, G gets out the car to let her in and I then promptly reverse into a low level bollard. The noise of the car on the bollard did not sound good at all. It's a car I tell myself, it doesn't matter, its just a lump of metal with an engine. 
It will be the trim popping off said A, and she was right. I chose not to look! Parked the car, took in the essentials and joined the wedding party. Red wine and cheese. Who gives a .... about a car. 

In the morning the sun is shining. I get a lie in as G walks down the steep hill and brings up all our luggage. What a guy. Better than that, he tells me he has popped the trim back on the car and there's no damage. 
I get up, take a walk down for my sunglasses out of the car and meet a wrinkled old man walking uphill. He beams at me, speaks to me in Italian and I shrug not understanding a single word.I look up at the sky, point to the sun and tell him I am happy. He laughs and then gives me a hug. He must have been at least 90. I immediately decide I am moving to Italy.

Mondovi is beautiful. A typical, I guess, (since this is my first visit to Italy!) square with people parading with their family on a Sunday morning. Photos speak a thousand words so here they are.

The Wedding

On the day of the wedding the sun is still shining. The service is held in the most stunning place I have ever seen. I am not going to write about the wedding because I am hoping J and A might do that in due course and I can make a link to that. This blog post could be completely consumed with events around the wedding so maybe another day. 

Suffice to have a couple of our photos for now and to tell you that the event was awesome, exciting, eventful, organised to precision without the feeling of being overly managed, and I met some of the nicest people on this Earth. Thank you J and A.

Homeward Bound

The feeling of post wedding event blues hits and we spend a morning researching our route home but really thinking how nice it would be to stay on in Mondovi. Get moving, we have a ferry to catch in 6 days time. Travelling back through Germany we find some lovely places off the main Autobahn and book our overnight stops. Again another story, too much to tell, but the owner of one place has trained the chefs at the German cafe in Edinburgh and East Lothian and G suddenly has a whole new world to explore. I go shopping.

                                                              Waiting for the shops to open.




Amsterdam

The German stop over was so good that we stayed on for 3 nights, which meant that we had to sprint back to Amsterdam if we were going to any justice to the sights of Amsterdam. Well here was the first sight of the day!

                                                      Scottish folks on a hen party. Hmmmmm


The Amsterdam canals were wonderful. I am guessing lots of folks have been there, done that, so I'll leave it at that. The Red Light District? Not for me. How could these girls parade their flabby bits for all to see in a shop window? An old fashioned butchers shop is more appealing.

 
                                                        Boat trip on the canal.



We visited the sights, the museum and generally became very tired. Fortunately we had booked into a nice hotel (on the inside at least) in Zandvoort on Sea and our late evenings were quiet and relaxing. The beach was lovely and the protected dunes held many secrets not seen from the roadside. Worth a visit I promise you. 

                                                                The beach at Zandvoort.

So that's it for this post, I have run out of steam to write up more about Amsterdam and I have to get ready to go out this afternoon. This post has served a dual purpose in that it has allowed me to get used to an Apple Mac. Some interesting difficulties have appeared but you know the guy who got married? he is an expert and he lives across the road you know. 
Jordan......How do you ..........
                                             

Works to Trees 13/0042/WTT

A very quick blog post to register this coming Monday, July 22nd, is scheduled for tree works.
Under the approval reference 13/00427 with Midlothian Council, the following works will be carried out at water tower wood.

https://planning-applications.midlothian.gov.uk/OnlinePlanning/caseFile.do?category=application&caseNo=13/00427/WTT


- felling of 2 young semi mature Elm trees

This will allow the large amount of young under storey planting and natural regeneration room to fully develop

- pruning of a mature beech tree

This tree is growing lop sided over the valley, the lower limbs will be removed and remainder branches reduced by 50%. This will re balance the tree and allow the adjacent Beech tree lower down the slope room to develop. This one is going to be interesting to watch!

- felling of 2 young Ash trees

These are poor specimens, self seeded, growing close together and heavily lop sided. They are growing through a lovely Yew tree and the Yew will look much better with the Ash removed.


- pruning of a mature Horse Chestnut tree.

This tree is suffering from rot at the base and the tree is to be thinned by 25% to prolong its life.

No replacement planting was required because of the significant planting already carried out on the steep slope including Ash and Rowan and this planting is now starting to get established.


Anyone want some logs? Bring a chainsaw and an axe on Monday. You are welcome.
Call first 07972 011 293

Midlothian Council Ground Land Slip Photographs

 
This photo shows the extent of the land slip travelling away from the Ironmills park steps towards the bowling club to the East.

 
 This photo gives an indication of what is happening to the smaller trees downhill of the centre of the land slip. They are leaning into the hill as the land rotates underneath.

As the land slip gap travels West it finds the line of least resistance hard against the concrete base of the steps. Here the small trees are being forced with the direction of the slip, towards the river.









The land slip is described as a rotational slip. I am no expert but it is clear that a layer of sand left the steep bank and is now in the river. As that slip layer of sand has fallen the soil and gravel layers above appear to be tilting or rotating and there are 2 clear cracks in the land; one atop the cliff face and one further uphill. If you imagine an apple sitting on your desk. Tip the top of the apple away from you and the bottom comes towards you. That best mimics the movement of the soil layer on the bank.





This last photo may be useful to compare and contrast with the previous blog post. The hand rail has sunk further into the ground and the torque pressue has caused the rail to crack on the corner section. Must be some force to do that to cast iron.













All photos from April 18th 2013

Land Slippage at Ironmills Steps

There's not much to report from my woodland these days. The hens are fine, the trees are fine, we are fine. But the steps from Cemetery Road down to Ironmills Park below? They are not fine. There's a significant area of land slip that has resulted in closure of the steps.

It all started with a fairly insignificant bit of land slip, half way up/down the steps. There had been some activity prior to the slip, to repair a hand rail, and I guess the first thought was that some earth shaking machine might have caused damage. Apparently not the case.

Then there was a smell of gas around the gap areas opening up before our eyes. The slip was also starting to look much more significant. People using the steps were rightly very concerned. After much to-ing and fro-ing the gas board found a live gas pipe and a leak. There was also a dead gas pipe that served gas lamps but that was a red herring so to speak. It wasn't the cause of the odour. It did however establish where the old gas pipe was and the fact that the replacement electric supply was surface mounted. That will need to be sorted.

Gas issues dealt with, the steps were re opened. But not for long. The slip started to get much worse and a gaping hole was opening up on the councils' land on the opposite side of the steps from water tower wood. 

What has caused the land slip is anyones guess. The root cause may be water from a leak or from an underground spring, or it may be due to some man made feature that may have de stabilised the bank, for example the construction of the steps. Who knows. Water seems to be the most likely candidate because there has been land slip in other areas of Midlothian this year, as well as a major slip in Lugton last year. All probably caused by a very wet summer.

Here are some photos of the area of concern. I can still crawl through from my side of the woodland but frankly, I am staying well away!

..... that railing used to be straight!

The gap on the hill side opposite us.

The hens are not perturbed.

The ever increasing gaping hole in the land. The crack can be followed along the land, across the steps and then further across land beyond the steps. Its quite some length but this is probably the deepest section.


Interestingly, the old land slip area that is evident to the West of our house at water tower wood is very similar in appearance to what is happening now on Ironmills steps. This photo shows the area below the corner of the tennis courts, where efforts have been made to increase light levels to allow regeneration.

Land slip is not a new phenomenon in Midlothian. It happens. Yet again nature is the one in control and we should respect that at all times.

 

Dalkeith Bus Garage Site

Dalkeith Bus Station or Bus Garage

I have always been opinionated about the bus station site in Dalkeith. It was not a bus station in recent years, it was a bus garage. When I was a kid, my mum and I travelled to Dalkeith to get the Gala bus at stance 13. We got off at Heriot at the wee White House on the left, just off the main road, where my gran and Uncle George lived. The house is still there but in the field opposite where my gran had her hens? well that's now a development of swish houses.

So when did the station become a garage? And where's the change of use planning application? I can tell you there was never a change of use application because I enquired and a young lassie at the planning office tried to tell me it has always been a bus garage. Aye right.

Here is the site from its hey day

And how it looked before the bus station was built when the train station existed. Pre Beeching I suppose.

Site Vacated by First Bus

When I was writing a monthly walk article for The Advertiser with Ian Brown, I was was asked to contribute to the 20 questions column and I stated that the one thing that depressed me in Dalkeith was the ugly asbestos roofed bus garage. Well the following week, 3 buses parked on the site were set alight and I hoped no one thought I had anything to do with it!

It was with some pleasure therefore that I heard the bus garage was being closed down because First Bus were closing off some of its bus routes. I am sympathetic to those who worked there. I hope they moved on to better, or at least secure, jobs. At last though we have a vacant building site and therefore an opportunity. I have lived for the day to see what is now a rather ugly building removed from Dalkeith.

Dalkeith Town

Now Dalkeith is not the prettiest town around but it does have a vibrant and exciting history. A group called the Town Heritage Initiative led by Rod Lugg are managing investment into upgrading the old buildings and preparing a town centre heritage trail. It's all very positive. At the Dukes end of Dalkeith the Cross Keys Hotel and the Corn Exchange are being re developed and all in all, there's lots of positive stuff going on that will make Dalkeith a much more attractive place to visit.

Then there's the local shops. People complain about the number of charity shops but I don't mind them at all. I use them, regularly. I gather they receive cheaper rates so maybe the lack of contribution to local tax is an issue. But is it? There are many more shops but I gather there's nothing like the array and quality of shops compared to pre 1970's. I guess this is a fairly typical picture around Scotland.

Planning Application from Morrisons Supermarket

I heard at this weeks Midlothian Council planning meeting that the bus garage site was about to receive a planning application from Morrisons Supermarket. You might think I would be pleased. But I am not. I don't believe it's the best use of this key site and the addition of a restaurant and leisure facilities above the supermarket does not sweeten the news. It deserves to have a flagship development to anchor the town centre to the opposite end at the Dukes, and make a statement to all who come to Dalkeith. It's the gateway to Dalkeith. Only recently I wrote about my concern that a corner restaurant next to the bus garage site was granted permission on appeal for some ugly imitation slate cladding. The site including this restaurant are ear marked for inclusion in the Conservation Area and therefore they should be developed to the highest possible standard.

In my time on community council I am constantly reminded on the need for facilities for children in Dalkeith. There are few or maybe none? I am not a parent and therefore not best qualified to comment on this but I am aware that young adolescents have no facilities locally.

But....money is tight and who is going to be able to build an all singing and dancing facility to cover our needs? And what is the best use of this key site?

So where do we go from here. Just accept the introduction of Morrisons and say, well its better than the ugly bus garage? Accept the arguments that because Tesco left Dalkeith for an out of town site that we deserve a replacement supermarket? Do we really need a supermarket IN Dalkeith? Do people still do their supermarket shopping in small towns and villages or do they take a car or bus to an out of town facility, or order on line? And what about the traffic from the proposed parking for a supermarket site? (Now I am sounding like a typical community council person, but they do have a point). Finally, do people really go to a supermarket and then visit the other local shops in a small town or village? I doubt it.

So I am with councillor Baxter, I don't believe a supermarket is the correct choice for Dalkeith and I do think the small shops will continue to suffer rather than benefit.

What do you think?

Letter to Local Newspaper

I have written a letter to our local newspaper which will be published tomorrow. It relates to the building that used to be the post office in Dalkeith. I wasn't against a restaurant taking the building but I did request at the time of the application that the materials and design were appropriate to this area because it is located at the entrance to Dalkeith.

 The owners of the restaurant then went on to add the most horrible slate cladding in contravention of their planning permission and this was refused by the council planning department on submission of a retrospective application.

 The restaurant appealed to the local review board. If the retrospective application had initially been refused by a full planning committee then the appeal would have been to the Department of Planning and Environment Appeals.

The Review Board is a select group of elected representatives, or councillors, who could not be expected to have anything like the experience of the Reporters at the DPEA. The board over ruled the planning committee and granted approval for the slate cladding. I do not agree with the review board and hence this letter.



-------------------------------

I read with concern that The Local Review Board did not uphold the decision of the planning officers in refusing the use of slate cladding on a building in Dalkeith.

The review board has taken over from the old route of appeal to the DPEA for planning matters at this level. While this saves time and money it is imperative that the elected representatives on the board have as much knowledge in planning matters as possible, in order that they can make a balanced decision based on good design. 

I wonder if the elected representatives were aware that this building is in an area marked for inclusion as an extension of the Eskbank and Ironmills Conservation area? I don't think they can be, because the building is now even more at odds with potential conservation status.

What might our future generation say if the site of the bus station is developed to a high specification (oh please) to find it sits beside a utilitarian building clad with shiny grey slate tiles; lit by blue, red and green fluorescent lights.

The slate cladding should have been judged by the review board for its compliance with the local plan, the setting of the adjacent listed buildings and its impact on the gateway to Dalkeith.  

In my opinion it compromises all of these and perhaps more importantly, offends the good work and funding that is currently being applied to the core of Dalkeith to bring about improvements to Dalkeith town centre.

When is a Woodland a Forest

Have been clearing out old e mails and I found this one which might be of use. It was raised by a planning officer who was looking for guidance on planning matters in our woodland. Recently Kevin McLeod of Grand Designs has been building an off-grid hut in a piece of woodland in England. He put wheels on it to make it a moveable structure to get round the planning regulations.

In some cases the planning law is an ass. In other cases it protects the environment. It is always hard to put common sense into a legal document IMHO but maybe it is time for Scotland to reform its planning legislation for trees and woodland.

 

Here is the e mail correspondance which was dated late 2011.

 

Dear Sir/madam,

I am trying to resolve an issue which depends upon the difference between a woodland or a forest.

Under the Town And Country Planning (General Permitted Development Procedure)(Scotland) Order 1992, there are certain permitted development rights given to forestry buildings and operations. Unfortunately no definition of forestry is given. I need to know whether or not these rights also apply to woodland management. Therefore I need to know if there is a distinct difference between forestry and woodland management?

I hope that you can assist

regards

Kingsley

I refer to your query below. There are no formal definitions of "forestry" and "woodland" in use, but, for all intents and purposes, Forestry Commission Scotland does not distinguish between "forestry" and "woodland management". Both are eligible for grants under our funding systems and both are regulated through our grants and licences system.

I refer to the recent publication by FCS/Scottish Government "The Right Tree in the Right Place - Planning for Forestry and Woodlands" (http://www.forestry.gov.uk/pdf/fcfc129.pdf/$FILE/fcfc129.pdf), the introduction to which notes that: "This guidance therefore uses the term 'woodlands' throughout to refer to all areas of land, larger than 0.25 hectares, where trees are growing. ... The term 'forestry' is used to refer to the science, art and practice of managing 'woodlands' on a professional and sustainable basis to ensure that their economic, social and environmental benefits to society are optimised."

I hope that this is helpful. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance

Regards

Neil

Neil Langhorn

Land Use Planning Advisor

Forestry Commission Scotland

Silvan House

231 Corstorphine Road

Edinburgh

EH12 7AT

0131 314 6529

07879 232 669