The old Balbirnie Estate had some extensive grounds. About half of these were converted to a golf course. The rest makes up what is now Balbirnie Park.

The back burn runs from the upper part of the former estate – now sold off for housing – between the golf course’s 18^th fairway and green before wending through the wooded area of the Park.

There are some exposed tree roots on the burn’s banks in the upper estate:-

Part of the burn is very shaded:-

We often take a walk through the woods and beside the burn. There are three wooden bridges over the burn after it passes the golf course. This is one of them:-

Close-up. (The wooden superstructure on this has recently been replaced):-

The burn:-

An old joke has it that Perth is the smallest town in Scotland because it only has two inches. The North and South Inches are of course green spaces used for recreational purposes. They both border the River Tay.

We used to park regularly in the South Inch car park when we visited Perth. Nowadays we tend to use elsewhere.

As a result we one day strolled around the south part of the North Inch. A wall separates it from the river and on that wall is a plaque commemorating the men of Perth Co-operative Society who lost their lives in the two World Wars. It is inscribed, “1914 – 1919. To the lasting memory of the employees of the City of Perth Co-operative Society Ltd who fell in the Great War,” plus, “Also in grateful remembrance of those who sacrificed their lives in the Second World War 1939 – 1945,” and, “Their name liveth for evermore.”

From it there is this view of the river and Perth Bridge:-

Perth Bridge:-

On the same visit we popped into Perth Museum and Art Gallery. Among many other exhibits they have this old Pictish stone found at St Madoes/Inchyra in the Carse of Gowrie, Perth and Kinross.

Tweedmouth’s War Memorial stands at the southern end of Berwick Bridge almost in the shadow of the newer Royal Tweed Bridge.

From Berwick Bridge (Royal Tweed Bridge in background):-

The Memorial’s inscriptions are, “In ever grateful and proud remembrance of the brave men of Tweedmouth who fell in the Great World War 1914-1918 and of the men and women of Tweedmouth who lost their lives in the Second World War. They were a wall unto us both by night and day.” “Erected by the inhabitants of Tweedmouth and other friends.” There is also a dedication to 2nd engineering officer Paul A Henry GM, 8/6/1982, aboard RFA Sir Galahad, at Bluff Cove – Falkland Islands. Below are the dates “1914-1919” and “1939-1945” and “To the memory of the men and women of Tweedmouth who have fallen since 1945.”

Memorial from west:-

Reverse of memorial:-

Behind the Memorial on the wall bordering the River Tweed are some shields installed to remember those whose names were not included on the Memorial itself. From left to right: Civilian Personnnel, Royal Air Force, The youth of today remember the youth of yesterday. This last has the furtehr information, “These shields were requested by the children of the area In Memory of the Fallen.” “We do not forget.” (Royal Tweed Bridge and Berwick Bridge in background.)

There are two more shields to the right of Youth of today; Royal Navy and British Army:-

Tweedmouth War Memorial and Berwick Bridge from Royal Tweed Bridge:-

I have posted pictures of Berwick’s bridges before, in 2010.

Berwick’s old bridge was built between 1611 and 1624. Previously wooden bridges had spanned the river but were variously destroyed by floods or military action.

From Tweedmouth side:-

From newer bridge (to west; stitched photo):-

From northwest, on new bridge (stitched photo):-

Annan is a town in Dumfries and Galloway. It is named for the river which runs through it:-

That bridge is well-proportioned:-

View from bridge looking north:-

Somewhere in the park beyond is the remains of Robert Bruce’s motte and bailey castle:-

A statue of Bruce adorns the Town Hall:-

The Town Hall itself from a different angle:-

This is the view south from the bridge. Another bridge (a footbridge) can be seen to top centre right:-

We walked down to get a closer look (and eventually walked over it):-

The footbridge gave a good view of the old railway bridge over the River Annan. the railway is now disused:-

St Petersburg is criss-crossed by waterways, not only the River Neva. Several of them pass under the western portion of Nevsky Prospekt. One of these is the Griboyedov Canal which runs from the Church on Spilled Blood to go under the road and on to link the River Moyka to the River Fontanka.

The Moyka River itself (see previous post) runs from the River Fontanka at the Mihailovsky Castle past the Church on Spilled Blood on under Nevsky Propekt eventually to reach the River Neva.

The Fontanka River makes a big half loop round the city centre and under the Anichkov Bridge at Nevsky Propekt:-

There’s always something pleasing about a river in the middle of a city:-

The Summer Garden, the oldest garden in St Petersburg, lies over the road from the Field of Mars, between the Palace Embankment of the River Neva and the Mihailovsky Castle.

Palace Embankment, St Petersburg:-

Garden:-

Walkway:-

There are several fountains in the Summer Garden. This one is surrounded by statuary:-

Square Fountain:-

This is the most ornate fountain:-

I have featured Bakewell, Derbyshire before here and here. We passed through it again in September 2018, had a nice walk around and along the River Wye plus a good lunch in one of the cafés.

One footbridge and weir over River Wye:-

A second footbridge:-

Weir and old bridge:-

Old bridge:-

Fish and Duck:-

Fish (trout?):-

In St Serf’s churchyard, Dunning (see previous post,) there are two Commonwealth War Graves

Lance Corporal W L Crowe, 5th Battalion, Australian Infantry, 6/7/1918, aged 24:-

Corporal A G Small, Army Catering Corps, 15/12/1944, aged 22:-

In the churchyard another gravestone commemorates William Duncan, 1st Scots Guards, died of wounds in France, 13/12/1916 aged 32:-

A plaque in St Serf’s itself remembers Major Norman Chetwynd Rollo, KOSB, died of wounds in Belgium, September, 1944, aged 28:-

A burn runs through the village and under the main road. It forms a backstop to the foot of this garden:-

Isle of Whithorn is not to be confused with Whithorn. It is about three miles further south and is one of the most southerly villages in Scotland. The locals refer to it simply as, “the Isle.” It is said to be the place at which St Ninian first made landfall in Scotland.

Harbour. This is where the Drummullin Burn enters the Solway Firth:-

A chapel dedicated to St Ninian was erected here in the 13th century. Its ruins lie very close to the sea.

The village has a War Memorial to the right of the road entering it. A Celtic Cross on a square plinth. Great War names here:-

Dedications, ‘In honour of the men from the village and district who fell in the Great War 1914-1918. “Lest We Forget.” 1939-1945,’ and World War 2 names:-

Edited to add: I meant to say above that the Isle was where part of the cult horror film The Wicker Man was filmed.