Dumfries & Galloway and a bonfire

A peat bog with "hares tail cotton grass" gone to seed.

We debated about how to best use our last two weeks in wonderful Scotland, and finally decided to continue this slow travel approach, focusing on only three small areas in our last two weeks in Scotland-- Dumfries, The Isle of Arran and the highland town of Inveraray -- and so ditching so much of this amazing country including the  awesome Orkney Islands, the Hebrides, the Shetlands, the northern highlands, sigh.  Not an easy choice.  Dumfries was an easy choice, as it's the chosen home of environmental artist Andy Goldsworthy, with the hope of getting to get to know Goldsworthy's land and inspiration a bit.   So live two dreams:  riding a Clydesdale, seeing Goldsworthy works in his inspirational countryside.  And more.

Me on Alfie, in a dream state.  It was wonderful.  Big feet, big clopping sound, long stride, such power and height.

One of the foals we met while at the (wonderful) Blackstone Clydesdale Farm.   Bonnie, all legs and bounce. 

  We drove from the Clydesdale farm through Andy's town of Penpont (this, on a ridge, edge of town).

And proceeded to Striding Arches, below, one of a four part work of his in the Scottish National Forest surrounding Penpont.  The other three are on hilltops, accessible only through some serious hiking around a 10 mile circuit.  To get to just this one we had to drive along a tiny gravel road for 7 miles.  

And inside.   The arches are about striding,  how folks live, move on.

One from a distance.  

The land that inspires and pleases him above and below -- it's gorgeous.  Digitalis flowers on the right.

And another Goldsworthy (Three Cones) stumbled upon while walking through Dumfries after dinner one night (cones were of stone, apparent gold coloring is from the setting sun).

Another day we drove around the southern coast here, which is a huge, huge sandy tidal flat area.  The sign below was pretty exciting.  And watching the tides go and come underlined this.  The quicksands are real.  

And we hiked around in an unusual a peat bog, supposedly tick-central, and it had a lovely plant called "hares tail cotton grass" en masse.  The cotton bits/seeds stuck to the other plants as they took flight on their seeding attempts -- with rather odd frosted results.  Almost like a giant spider should emerge.

Little pine encased in cotton floss.

And one final thing -- we went to a festival in Moffat, a little town 30 miles north of Dumfries, which has an annual gala during which the good townfolks follow a pipe band out of town to a field that's had a huge bonfire readied, and they light it with their torches and dance til the wee hours.  Fun stuff.  I haven't seen a fire like that ever, and can't imagine how it could possibly work in the US.  Fire laws alone.

On their way, marching to a pipe band.  

Into the field.

Us and the fire.

The fire engaged and the dance beginning.


We leave this morning for our final stop in Scotland -- Inveraray and its highland games.  Can't believe it's almost over!