Today’s guest picture comes from my sister Mary. She saw a proud parent in Golders Hill Park. It seems very early in the year to me to be seeing ducklings (or perhaps goslings, I am not sure).
The new railway timetables for travel to Edinburgh from Lockerbie have affected us considerably. Because we now have to catch a train which leaves two hours earlier than the one which we used to catch, we don’t really have time to do much in Langholm before we leave, but we do still have time to get bored not doing anything while we wait to go.
There were not even any birds to watch while we waited.
When we got to Lockerbie, I was pleased to see a freight train waiting in a siding.
This meant that we weren’t going to be held up behind it and indeed, we got to Edinburgh on time, in spite of leaving Lockerbie a few minutes late.
The new timetable gives us time to spare in Edinburgh before Matilda comes out of school so we enjoyed a delightful lunch of Eggs Benedict and then, as it was a beautiful day, we walked down to Matilda’s at a leisurely pace.
Leaving our lunchtime cafe, we could see Calton Hill rising above the roof of Waverley Station…
…and we walked down the Royal Mile towards Holyroodhouse.
I love this 1884 clock, with its little corridor back to the building behind it.
Our route took us round the back of the Scottish Parliament building. I quite enjoy the elaborate architectural features but Mrs Tootlepedal finds them a bit fussy.
On the concrete at the side of the building, sets of verse are inscribed. Gerard Manley Hopkins is one of my favourite poets and I couldn’t agree more with these words …
…though Mrs Tootlepedal still wishes that it would rain a little less frequently from a gardening point of view. (Read the words out loud to see one of the reasons why I like Hopkins so much.)
Round the front of the parliament building, a group of protesting carers were being interviewed….
…and media vans with big dishes were beaming out procedings from within to news channels.
We walked on into Holyrood Park, passing the big house which is the Queen’s official residence in Scotland. She must have a lot of friends to need so many rooms.
The park itself was looking very attractive in the sunshine and there were plenty of people making their way up Arthur’s Seat.
Mrs Tootlepedal remarked that there are many opportunities for people to fall off rocks in the park but fortunately, they mostly stick to the many paths provided for them.
We kept to the main road through the north side of the park and came to St Margaret’s Loch…
…which was almost covered at one end by swans and ducks hoping for food from visitors.
Leaving the park, behind, we walked down to Matilda’s, stopping to buy the necessaries which her father Alistair needed for our evening meal.
We got there shortly before Matilda returned from school, and had a good time being entertained by her to games of hide and seek, beggar my neighbour (guess who lost) and snap (guess who lost again).
We also did a jigsaw puzzle, watched some Highland dancing and worked with some useful counting blocks so we had a busy time. The evening meal was excellent as usual and, as it was still a pleasant day, we walked the one and half miles back to the station after we had eaten.
The train home was also on time and if the catering trolley had had any hot water or food on it, the journey would have been perfect. We were much entertained by a long suffering fellow passenger who had gone from Manchester to Perth and back for the day and had had to cope with a cancelled train in each direction. Now he had no hot drink or sandwiches to restore him. Under the circumstances, he was very philosophical.
The drive home from Lockerbie went without incident but we were pleased to be home.
The flying bird of the day is swimming in St Margaret’s Loch.
Tootlepedal's Blog 
I loved that poem. I like the fussy architecture (and it is fussy). Can hardly believed I walked up to Arthur’s Seat when I was twenty; I remember being somewhat scared.
I ran across a poem today that reminds me of you.
Sweet Chance, that led my steps abroad,
Beyond the town, where wild flowers grow —
A rainbow and a cuckoo, Lord,
How rich and great the times are now!
Know, all ye sheep
And cows, that keep
On staring that I stand so long
In grass that’s wet from heavy rain —
A rainbow and a cuckoo’s song
May never come together again;
May never come
This side the tomb.
by William Henry Davies
I have read some of his Super Tramp book.
That is a wonderful poem.
I like the Hopkins poem too. This is the first I’ve heard of it. He must have been a nature lover.
Nice that it was light enough for a walk before the return trip.
I don’t know why anyone would need such a big house, either the queen or the Vanderbilts. It seems like it would be like living in a museum. After a while I’d imagine that you might feel like one of the exhibits.
It is built to impress the subjects with their inferiority to the great and good. I imagine that there must be quite a lot of dusting going in there.
A beautiful day in Edinburgh, good food and a visit with family, and an uneventful ride home sounds like a definite plus entry in the Great Ledger of Life.
I agree, it seems a bit early for ducklings.
It turns out that they are goslings but it is still a bit early in my view.
That is a very unusual looking goose. Must be some kind of mixed breed.
I agree with you about the meter of Hopkins’ poetry and with Mrs. T’s opinion of the fussy architectural features. Also – I much enjoyed your way of introducing the flying bird of the day!
I have probably had more non flying than flying birds of the day recently.
That’s an Egyptian goose and goslings (name, not nationality).
I knew that really! I just couldn’t bring it to mind after a hard day being beggared.
Definitely an Egyptian Goose. I love the poetic expression about wet and wildness and weeds – the latter have their place.
Egyptian Geese do tend to breed very early in the year. I’ve seen them in early February in Kew Gardens in the past. They are becoming quite common in London.
Enjoyed the poem. So glad all went well trainwise.
Thanks for introducing me to that poem, glad about the trains and enjoyed all those photographs you took on your walk.
Good to see you shots of the city – and Mary’s sublime picture. I’m a fan of Hopkins, too.
Everyone should be. 🙂
It sounds like Matilda kept you busy😊
We were tired when we got home.
Finally managed to catch up the posts of two weeks that I spent in hospital where my broken hipbone was nailed together again. Beautiful Edinburgh – have spent a lovely time there. Thanks for showing.
I hope that the carpenters have made a good job of your hip. Are you mobile yet?
Not quite. As I have fractured my femur near the head it had to be screwed on. Now I am using crutches or the walking frame. Very frustrating.
That was bad luck. I hope that you are doing the exercises as prescribed and not getting too impatient.
Add me to this list of readers who liked the poem. And I did indeed read it aloud. Also, really, really liked the clock, but then I have always been fascinated by time. Or Time, as it is referred to in my books. Sounds as though you had a wonderful day with Matilda.
We had fun.
Goslings indeed. I read that Egyptian Geese are renowned for breeding early, which has in the past given their young a low survival rate. Despite having been here for 300 years or so, they were confined to a small population in Norfolk, but have spread quite rapidly in the last 10 years or so, presumably a result of warmer winters. They are certainly a common sight here in Surrey now.
In a similar vein I was showing my mother your pictures of the Holmhead snow-drops, which reminded me that I had taken some photos of them a few years ago. On digging them out I find they were taken on 13/03/2011, so over a month later in the year.
To be fair to your March snowdrops, the ones that I took weren’t fully out but they do seem to be early this year.
Great photos of the city- prefer the building where the Queen resides than the parliament building where the architect must sadly have had a bad night! At least the verse and poet are perfect for all to enjoy.
I quite like the parliament building. It seems cheerful and not designed to overpower the voters like some parliament buildings.
Gerard Manley-Hopkins is one of my favourite poets, too.
I do like your Gerard Manley Hopkins quote both aloud and silently in my head. Aloud does give it a bit of extra punch and rhythm. I do like the architecture, though I was wishing for a closer look at the clock.
I will try to do better next time that I pass it.