Simon Varwell's Blog, page 5
July 13, 2017
Whaligoe Steps
This is part of a short series of posts I wrote about a July 2017 road trip from Inverness northwards along the east coast of the Highlands, culminating in a visit to the abandoned island of Stroma. See all my posts on the overview page.
Our final stop on our road trip north towards Stroma, before camping for the night, was at the Whaligoe Steps. The steps are, to me, a good example of the impact of the NC500. It’s taken a stunning attraction that has probably been all too little known, turn...
Sinclair Mausoleum
This is part of a short series of posts I wrote about a July 2017 road trip from Inverness northwards along the east coast of the Highlands, culminating in a visit to the abandoned island of Stroma. See all my posts on the overview page.
On the eastern coast of Caithness, not far short of the county town of Wick, lies the village of Ulbster. There, not far from the coast and in the midst of green farmland, lies a curious little construction – the Sinclair Mausoleum.
Built, it seems, in 1700...
July 10, 2017
A brief stop in Helmsdale
This is part of a short series of posts I wrote about a July 2017 road trip from Inverness northwards along the east coast of the Highlands, culminating in a visit to the abandoned island of Stroma. See all my posts on the overview page.
Helmsdale is a striking village on the east coast of the Highlands, within the historic county of Sutherland. It owes its current form, as does Sutherland and the wider Highlands generally, to the Highland Clearances. It’s a modern planned village with a sma...
July 6, 2017
Preview: A Ride in the Neon Sun, by Josie Dew
This post is a part of my year-long quest in 2017 to read only female-authored travel writing. Find out more about it on the project’s main page.
July 4, 2017
Review: Fabled Shore, by Rose Macaulay
This post is a part of my year-long quest in 2017 to read only female-authored travel writing. Find out more about it on the project’s main page.
June 21, 2017
Preview: Fabled Shore, by Rose Macaulay
This post is a part of my year-long quest in 2017 to read only female-authored travel writing. Find out more about it on the project’s main page.
June 2, 2017
Review: Among Muslims, by Kathleen Jamie
This post is a part of my year-long quest in 2017 to read only female-authored travel writing. Find out more about it on the project’s main page.
May 25, 2017
Pressing concerns
The horrendous bombing in Manchester earlier this week has appalled the world and affected so many people, so deeply. And I’m not really qualified to talk about the events in depth other than express my sadness and revulsion.
But what I couldn’t help notice on Twitter in the past few days has been the way that the bombing has led to a lot of discussion about so-called “death knocking” – where newspaper journalists contact friends or family of dead or missing people as part of their research.
...May 7, 2017
Preview: Among Muslims, by Kathleen Jamie
This post is a part of my year-long quest in 2017 to read only female-authored travel writing. Find out more about it on the project’s main page.
May 5, 2017
My views on Inverness
I saw a tweet a few weeks ago from local newspaper the Inverness Courier promoting their ongoing campaign to generate discussion about improving Inverness city centre.
Tell us what you want to see in Inverness city centre #reinventinverness pic.twitter.com/mAnS2LOynJ
— Inverness Courier (@InvCourier) April 7, 2017
Having a few strong views about the city in which I live, and having a few minutes to kill as I read the tweet, I fired off a pile of responses. Some were slightly less serious th...
