Saturday 18/02/06

Brilliantly sunny day, not too cold. After lunch, mrs B and myself go for a walk in the Castle Grounds. Island Blogging wants to see spring pictures, so my mission is to take spring-related images. It starts at Somerfields, where a crocus and a lily poke through the rubbish by the roadside. It's pretty busy in the town. We walk up Kenneth Street, past the Free Church and the Masonic Lodge to Bayhead. Cross the bridge and go into the Woodlands Centre for a cup of soup and a roll. We arrive at 1.45pm, but service is so slow. It takes them 15 minutes to serve 4 people. Lots of wee kids about, a dad talking to his wife on the upper level asks: "Is she being awful? Is she being dreadful?" Resume the walk at 2.20pm and go up the path through the Shoeburn Glen. See a bluetit, lots of small purple flowers and white ones as well. Come out under Lews Castle and cut through to Lews Castle College. From there, a path leads on to Strawberry Hill. This path is very mddy, and just leads past the hill, not over it. Once at the far side, the main trails from Marybank lead us neatly back to Lady Matheson's Memorial above Cuddy Point. See a bunch of snowdrops, ferns, budding horse chestnuts. Return to town along Cromwell Street, to do some shopping. Notice that visibility is excellent, allowing plain views of the mainland hills. Sun sets at 5.40. Supper provided by mrs B, lottery wins us nothing.