At the back end of May I took this photo of this year’s Beveridge Park cygnets (still six) – not to mention the parents and a duck.

About a week ago in the Beveridge Park I took these two photos of 6 cygnets and an army of goslings. You can see trailing from her mouth the weed the pen has pulled up from the bottom of the pond to feed the cygnets.

</center.

Two days ago we were in the Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy (without the camera) and for the first time this year saw the local swans’ new brood of cygnets. We counted 7 young ones – good going we thought: previously the pair have only ever managed two offspring!

The geese beat them to it. Last week we had seen about 12 goslings on the water.

Today – with camera – there were sadly only 6 cygnets. You can see them here:-

The cob was off in the background chasing the geese on the path which surrounds the pond.

Slightly earlier three of the cygnets were on their own a bit.

The other three had stuck close to mum.

While we were going round the path some more-newly hatched goslings crossed in front of us.

The cob had left the water to chase the other geese well away and was displaying fiercely.

We took a turn around the Beveridge Park today and there was one (almost completely white plumaged now) cygnet with its parents. They and some ducks were being fed bread by some idiots. A bit pointless; bread has no nutritional value for swans.

A few seconds later we spotted the sibling cygnet halfway round the pond. (Must be the awkward one.)

Obviously they haven’t been driven off yet. Where they were last time we were in the park I have no idea.

I’ve told you about the swans, how they live in the park.*

This was how they looked in January this year. Cygnets almost grown up.

The last time we were in the Beveridge Park, about a week ago, the cygnets weren’t in evidence. Perhaps they’ve been chased off by the adult cob in preparation for this year’s clutch.

*A line apparently contributed to the song Badge (which I have as no. 15 in my Friday on my Mind category) by the first supergroup, Cream, by one Ringo Starr.

For a good few years now a pair of swans has lived on the pond in Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy.

The cob is a vicious so-and-so, he often chases the geese and other birds which inhabit the pond even if they are not in anyway threatening him or in his space. We once saw him try to drown a goose, grabbing its neck and holding it under the water. After a struggle the goose escaped eventually. We have heard that the cob did manage to drown a dog once, though.

Despite his tendencies he and his pen have not produced many successful offspring. Up to this year only one of their cygnets has made it to adulthood.

This year they hatched two. This is them in late springtime.

Here they are against a wider background including leisure boats, some of which are swan shaped pedalos.

This was the family a couple of weeks ago with the cygnets much bigger.

Looks like the parents may be getting the hang of raising their young.

The day I was in Dysart this cormorant was perched on a rock by the seashore. The photo’s a bit hazy since I had to use the zoom.

A few weeks before I had caught this one – perhaps the same one – atop a pole in the sea off Ravenscraig Beach, Kirkcaldy.

In the background to the left of the ship you can see the prominent landmark of North Berwick Law on the south bank of the Forth estuary.

While our main purpose in travelling to Derbyshire was to go round Chatsworth House, it’s only a few miles from Bakewell and I couldn’t resist the urge to visit there.

It’s a lovely small town with a beautiful tree-lined river, the Wye, and made nicer for most of the buildings being constructed from stone rather than, as is mostly the case in England, brick.

This is a view from very close to the town centre. Plenty of geese as you can see, but there were also ducks and swans.

There was a second hand book shop at the edge of the town centre but it wasn’t up to much. The antiques centre off a square had prices which were off-putting.

However, you cannot go to Bakewell without being reminded of its contribution to the culinary world.

I present the Original Bakewell Pudding shop.

I had to cross the road to get the whole shop in.

On the left is a crop of the above photo to show the lettering.

The puddings themselves were displayed in the window on the left of the shop but that’s obscured by the blue car. It has to be said they looked a bit misshapen and amateurish.

That may be to enhance their “home-baked” charm.

But in Bakewell you are spoiled for choice. Trawling further round the town centre I came upon this.

That doesn’t claim to be the original pudding shop.

But just across the street from it is this:-

The first and only original Bakewell Pudding Shop.

Well! Someone’s telling porkies. (Which reminds me. Must get to Melton Mowbray sometime.)

The do all share a green colour scheme though, for some reason.

In the end we didn’t sample a pudding from any of those three.

The Bakewell deli features this placard in its window. Spot the huge meringues on the right of the photo.

Are you a pudding or a tart person?

We opted for a slice each of pudding from here.

Be warned. That stuff is calorific.

We took a walk to Kinghorn a few days ago and came back along the seashore.

Some seals were basking on one of the rocks near to the shore. It’s probably a favourite spot. It looks like the same rock where we spotted seals before; though they’re not always there. We pdo that walk quite frequently and it’s only the second time we’ve seen seals.

Since the weather was good (for once) we took a boat trip out on the Forth estuary last week. We’d been meaning to for years.

This is a seal on a navigation buoy. In the background you can see the Edinburgh skyline.

Does the structure in this next one look like a battleship?

Apparently to the Germans in World War 2 it did – especially from the air. They are said to have claimed several times to have sunk it.

It’s Inchmickery Island and was I believe deliberately made to look like a warship. From a distance it’s very convincing.

Our destination was Inchcolm Island.

This is the view on the approach.

This one shows some of the fortifications placed there during both World Wars.