4th August 2018 - CM Coaches Volvo B7 and Target Travel Volvo B10M SUI8207 load outside Exeter St David's Station whilst operating rail replacement services between Exeter and Salisbury due to a strike by South Western Railway staff.

Castle Toward is a nineteenth-century country house in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

Built in 1820 by Glasgow merchant Kirkman Finlay, it replaced the late medieval Toward Castle, formerly the ancestral home of the Clan Lamont. It was greatly extended in the early 20th century, and in the Second World War it served as HMS Brontosaurus. After the war it was sold to Glasgow Corporation and was used as an outdoor education facility until its closure in 2014. After a failed community buyout, Toward Castle and the estate were sold by Argyll and Bute Council to private owners in 2016. Castle Toward is a scheduled monument (LB5068).

The original Toward Castle dates from the 15th century and was owned by the Clan Lamont until 1809. The castle was extended in the 17th century, but was abandoned after an attack by the Clan Campbell in 1646. The ruins lie around 500 metres (1,600 ft) south-east of the later Castle Toward. Toward Castle is a scheduled monument (SM300).

The present Castle Toward was built in 1820 for Kirkman Finlay (1773–1842), former Lord Provost of Glasgow, as his family's country house. Finlay purchased the Achavoulin estate and renamed it Toward in 1818. It is built in the castellated Gothic Revival style, and was designed by David Hamilton. Edward La Trobe Bateman was involved in garden design work here in the 1880s.

It was from Castle Toward that the second son of Alexander Struthers Finlay – Alexander Kirkman Finlay – emigrated to the then colony of Victoria, Australia, and subsequently married the daughter of the then Governor of New South Wales, Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead. The wedding of Nora Robinson and Alexander Kirkman Finlay at St James' Church, Sydney, in 1878 attracted enormous attention in the colony and was extensively reported in the press.

Later owned and extended by Major Andrew Coats, of the Coats family of Paisley, Italian plasterwork was installed in the public rooms in 1920. The entire building was restored and enlarged over the course of the 1920s by the architect Francis William Deas, who also laid out most of the current landscaping. The grounds incorporate the ruins of the original Toward Castle, the Chinese ponds, wooded areas, access to the shore, and views over the Firth of Clyde.

During the Second World War the castle was requisitioned as a combined operations centre (COC No. 2), and was commissioned as HMS Brontosaurus in 1942. It was a training centre for the amphibious landings that were launched on D-Day, as well as for other raids. Officers and men trained on nearby beaches to use various landing craft. Both Winston Churchill and Lord Mountbatten during this time visited Brontosaurus. It closed in 1946.

The castle, and 226 acres (0.91 km2) of woodland, were purchased by the Corporation of Glasgow in 1948. The building was used initially as a residential school for children recovering from illness or living in deprived home conditions. It then became available for residential education for children from all Glasgow Primary Schools and operated for 50 years as an outdoor education centre for children from Glasgow, Renfrewshire and further afield. With the reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1996, ownership passed to Argyll and Bute Council and such centres were threatened with closure. Peter Wilson, at the time the principal of the centre, formed a company called Actual Reality to operate the centre, as well as a second council-owned centre at Ardentinny. Activities operated by Actual Reality included high ropes, kayaking, and orienteering, as well as gorge walks and hill walks. The grounds of the centre were used as a filming location for the children's BBC Television series Raven, featuring the actor James Mackenzie, up to and including the seventh series at the start of 2008. The house was also used for residential courses for young people in music and art. The Glasgow Schools' Symphony Orchestra and West of Scotland Schools' Concert Band visited regularly. The house has been a category B listed building since 1971, and the grounds were added to the national Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland in 2007.

On 13 November 2009 Argyll and Bute Council temporarily closed the castle on the recommendation of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, on the grounds that it was unfit for purpose. There followed several attempts by the council to sell the estate, though all met with local opposition. The castle's former composer-in-residence, John Maxwell Geddes, wrote a Postlude for Strings in protest at plans to sell the castle. The Council placed the building on the market in 2010, and in response the South Cowal Community Development Company (SCCDC) was formed to explore community ownership of the castle, though their initial bid was rejected by the Scottish Ministers in 2011. An agreement was reached with a holiday company, which then pulled out of the sale in 2013 forcing the council to market the property once more. SCCDC launched a second community ownership bid which was accepted by Scottish Ministers in November 2013. However, in December 2014 the Council rejected SCCDC's offer, claiming that at £865,000 it was below market value, and instead offered to support SCCDC with a loan. SCCDC dismissed the council's proposal in January 2015, stating that securing the community purchase before a 31 January deadline now had "very little chance of succeeding". By 26 January, 5,600 people had signed an online petition calling on the council to reconsider their decision. The council sold the castle in October 2016, for £1.51 million, to Scottish entrepreneurs and married couple Denice Purdie and Keith Punler, who planned to restore the mansion house and grounds to their former glory.

Toward Point marks the extreme south-westerly point of the Highland Boundary Fault as it crosses the Scottish mainland. The Highland Boundary Fault does not run through Toward Point, but about one kilometre to the west it can be located on the Toward shore by the presence of Serpentinite and the sudden change from younger sedimentary rocks to much older metamorphic rocks, notably Psammite.

Toward is a village near Dunoon, Scotland, at the southern tip of the Cowal peninsula.

During World War II, the Toward area was a training centre called HMS Brontosaurus also known as the No 2 Combined Training Centre (CTC), based at Castle Toward.

Nearby is Castle Toward, a former country house built close to the ruined Toward Castle. Castle Toward was used as an outdoor education centre. The grounds were also used as a location for the children's BBC TV series Raven. Sold by Argyll and Bute Council to a private individual in 2016.

Toward Point has one of the eighteen lighthouses built by Robert Stevenson.

The Highland Boundary Fault passes Toward, as it crosses Scotland from Isle of Arran in the west to Stonehaven on the east coast. The geological fault line formed around 430 million years ago.

Sports

Toward Sailing Club provides racing, cruising and training.

Cowal is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is bounded on the west by Loch Fyne and on the east by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde. The Kyles of Bute separate it from the Isle of Bute to the south.

The northern part of the peninsula is covered by Argyll Forest Park and also includes the Arrochar Alps. In the south, the peninsula is divided into three forks by Loch Striven and Loch Riddon.

Cowal's only burgh is Dunoon in the south-east, from which ferries sail to Gourock in Inverclyde. Other ferries run from Portavadie in the west to Tarbert in Kintyre, and from Colintraive in the south to Rhubodach on Bute.

Much of Cowal was once held by the Lamonts clan. Later, the Campbells came to be one of the most powerful families in Cowal.

Cowal's underlying geology is made up largely of resistant metamorphic rocks, but south of the Highland Boundary Fault part of the Toward peninsula is composed of sedimentary rocks. The landscape is mountainous, the high ground dominated by moorland, peat mosses and the forest that often extends down the sides of the sea lochs to the water's edge. The acreage of improved farmland is small. Most land is owned by estates or the Forestry and Land Scotland except in the more settled areas.

The coast is mostly rocky and the few beaches are mostly shingle and gravel except on Loch Fyne: the longest sandy beach is at Ardentinny on Loch Long. The only lowland areas are around the coast where most of the settlement is found, particularly around Dunoon, Cowal's largest settlement on the Firth of Clyde. Other settlements include Innellan, Sandbank, Kilmun, Strone, Arrochar, Lochgoilhead, Tighnabruaich, Kames and Strachur.

The A83 trunk road crosses the northern end of the peninsular passing Arrochar at the head of Loch Long and Cairndow near the head of Loch Fyne. It partly follows or runs parallel to William Caulfield's historic military road that takes its name, Rest and Be Thankful from the stone seat erected at the summit at the head of Glen Croe. As the A83 has been subject to landslips, the old route has been used as a diversionary route. The other A roads are the A815 which links the A83 with Dunoon via Strachur where the A886 leaves it and heads south via Glendaruel to Colintraive where the ferry connects it to the Isle of Bute and the A8003 which links Tighnabruaich to the A886. Other roads are secondary B roads, narrow roads or tracks.

At Colintraive the Caledonian MacBrayne vehicle ferry takes five minutes to cross the 400-yard (370-metre) strait to Rhubodach on Bute. The ferry from Portavadie to Tarbert on Kintyre across Loch Fyne takes 25 minutes. A passenger-only service operated by Caledonian MacBrayne connects Dunoon to Gourock in Inverclyde where there is easy access the ScotRail train service to Glasgow Central railway station. Western Ferries operates a high-frequency vehicle carrying service between Hunters Quay, near Dunoon, and McInroy's Point, on the outskirts of Gourock in Inverclyde.

The NCR75 links Dunoon and Portavadie on Cowal. The NRC75 route originates at Edinburgh and Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula. The National Cycle Network is maintained by sustrans.

Route across Cowal, traveling from east to west. After catching the ferry from Gourock to cross the upper Firth of Clyde to Dunoon. The route continues along the Cowal peninsula coast, passing the Holy Loch and Sandbank. Then travels through Glen Lean to the head of Loch Striven at Ardtaraig. Then passes the Kyles of Bute passing through Tighnabruaich, to Portavadie. From where another ferry crosses Loch Fyne, connecting the route onto the Kintyre peninsula at Tarbert. On the Kintyre peninsula you can join the National Cycle Route 78 (The Caledonia Way).

Evidence of early occupation of the area is in the form of cairns or burial mounds. One example is a Bronze Age cairn from between about 2000 BC and 800 BC is situated close to the summit of Creag Evanachan, 195 metres (640 ft) above sea level overlooking Loch Fyne. It is a mound of stones about 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter and up to 2 metres (6.6 ft) high. Another is the cairn at Dunchraigaig which is 195 feet (59 m) in diameter and was first excavated in 1864. At the south end a cist contained the deposits of burnt bones from eight or ten bodies. A smaller cist in the centre contained a bowl, burnt bone, charcoal and flint chips, and in the clay below them, the remains of a burial. A third even smaller cist also contained a food bowl, burnt bones and flint chips. A whetstone, flint knife, fragments of pottery and a greenstone axe were also found.

When the Irish invaded the region, it became part of their kingdom of Dal Riata. The Cenél Comgaill, a kin group within Dal Riata, controlled the Cowal peninsula, which consequently took their name (evolving over time from Comgaill to Cowal). Prior to this, little is known, except as revealed archaeologically, though the region may have been part of the Pictish kingdom of Fortriu.

Following a subsequent invasion by Norsemen, the Hebridean islands of Dal Riata became the Kingdom of the Isles, which following Norwegian unification became part of Norway, as Suðreyjar (historically anglicised as Sodor). The remaining parts of Dal Riata attracted the name Argyle (later Argyll), in reference to their ethnicity. In an unclear manner, the kingdom of Alba was founded elsewhere by groups originating from Argyll, and expanded to include Argyll itself.

However, an 11th-century Norse military campaign led to the formal transfer of Lorn, Islay, Kintyre, Knapdale, Bute, and Arran, to Suðreyjar. This left Alba with no part of Argyll except Cowal, and the land between Loch Awe and Loch Fyne. After Alba united with Moray, over the course of the century, it became Scotland. In 1326, a sheriff was appointed for the Scottish parts of Argyll.

Although, following the Treaty of Perth, Suðreyjar's successor state, the Lordship of the Isles, fell under the nominal authority of the Scottish king, it was not until 1475 that it was merged with Scotland (the occasion being the punishment of its ruler for an anti-Scottish conspiracy). The sheriffdom of Argyll was expanded to include the adjacent mainland areas from the Lordship. Following local government reforms in the 19th century, the traditional provinces were formally abolished, in favour of counties aligned with sheriffdoms, so Cowal became merely a part of the county of Argyll.

The history of the Cowal is tied into the clans who inhabited it. Seemingly, in the 11th century, an unidentified heiress of the Cenel Comgaill married Anrothan, grandson of the king of the Cenél nEógain, from Ulster. Clan traditions argue that Anrothan's lands were passed down to a descendant named Aodha Alainn O'Neil, who had the following sons:

Neil, who founded the MacNeil of Argyll, who were castellans of Castle Sween in Knapdale, on behalf of the Lords of the Isles. The MacNeil of Barra claim to be related to them, though how they came to be involved with Barra is unclear.

Gillachrist, whose son was:

Lachlan Mor, who founded Clan MacLachlan, who ruled from Castle Lachlan, on the Loch Fyne coast

Dunslebhe, whose sons were:

Ewen, who founded Clan Ewen of Otter, who ruled from Castle MacEwen, in the Kilfinan peninsula

Fearchar, who founded Clan MacKerracher, renamed Clan Lamont after 1235, after Lauman, the then chief. Clan Lamont ruled from Toward Castle, in the Toward peninsula.

Excavations carried out at Castle MacEwen showed the site had several stages of development before it was the defended medieval homestead of the MacEwens; at first there was a palisaded enclosure, and then a promontory fort with a timber rampart.

The remote areas in the north east of Cowal, which were theoretically under the dominion of Clan Lamont, were used by Scottish kings for hunting; indeed, Cowal was the last part of Britain to have wild boar. When King John Balliol was threatened by his rival, Robert de Bruys, Balliol's ally, the king of England, established Henry Percy at Carrick Castle, in the region; likewise Dunoon Castle further south. De Bruys expelled the English from Cowal, with the aid of the Campbells (who were based nearby at Loch Awe), and eventually defeated Balliol. De Bruy's son gave Carrick Castle to the Campbells, while, after spending some time as a direct Royal possession, Dunoon Castle was handed to them by James III, who made the Campbells its Honorary Keepers.

During the civil war between Royalists and Puritans, the Campbells had sided with the Puritans, so following their defeat at the Battle of Inverlochy, Clan Lamont took the opportunity to push back the borders of Campbell control. Predictably, in 1646, the Campbells took revenge, and overran Toward Castle; after being offered hospitability, the Campbells slaughtered the Lamont occupants in their beds. Despite the chief of the Lamonts surrendering, the Campbells hanged many members of Clan Lamont, in what became known as the Dunoon massacre.

By contrast, the next chief of the Campbells, the son of the former chief, was a Royalist, so after the restoration of Royalist rule, the Campbells were not ultimately dispossessed of their gains. However, after James VII came to the Scottish throne, the Campbells revolted, and the chief was executed, but his son, the new chief, took part in the successful expulsion of James VII, so the Campbells once again ultimately retained their lands.

After the Jacobite rising of 1715 when James Francis Edward Stuart attempted to regain the throne, the lack of roads in the Highlands prevented the British army from advancing to quell areas of unrest. General Wade was tasked with implementing a programme to build military roads from north-central Scotland through the Highlands to the forts in the Great Glen. They were constructed by officers and soldiers. William Caulfeild succeeded Wade in 1740 and constructed the road from Dumbarton via Tarbet to Inveraray through the Cowal where it is known as the "Rest and Be Thankful".

In Victorian times tourism began to take hold on the Clyde coast. Steam propulsion started in 1812 and by the end of the 19th century, paddle steamers ferried thousands of Glaswegians doon the watter from Broomielaw in the city centre to holiday resorts including Dunoon on the Cowal.

The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way stretches for over 57 miles (92 kilometres) through Cowal, from Portavadie on the southeastern shore of Loch Fyne leading to Inveruglas on Loch Lomond, in the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.

The Cowal Highland Gathering, the annual highland games, are held annually in Dunoon stadium on the last Friday/Saturday of August.

Asgog Castle, ruin, next to Asgog Loch, Millhouse, Kilfinan Parish.

Auchenbreck Castle (no longer standing), Kilmodan, Glendaruel

Carrick Castle (private), Carrick Castle

Dunans Castle (ruin, fire damage), Glendaruel

Dunoon Castle (no longer standing), Dunoon

Knockamillie Castle, ruin, Innellan

New Castle Lachlan (private), Strathlachlan

Old Castle Lachlan (ruin), Strathlachlan

Castle MacEwen (no longer standing), Kilfinan

Castle Toward (private), Toward

Toward Castle (ruin), in the grounds of Castle Toward

Here is Arriva Buses Wales Optare Solo SR MX12 KVG 711 is seen as this was on the route 4A from Llangefni but this will be returning to its headquarters as they send the Wrightbus VDL SB200 Pulsar CX14 BYD 3167 to do the 44A to Llangefni. 4/01/17

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 16-Jul-24.

Operated for Lufthansa by Lufthansa CityLine.

A different view, taken from the old Emirates offices on the 7th floor of the Control Tower extension.

First flown with the Fokker test registration PH-EXX, this aircraft was leased to DLT Deutsche Luftverkehrgesellschaft as D-AFKN in Jul-91. DLT was renamed Lufthansa CityLine in Mar-92.

It was sold to Lufthansa Leasing GmbH in Jul-92 while the lease to Lufthansa CityLine continued. The 'CityLine' titles were removed in Mar-94 although the aircraft continued to be operated by Lufthansa CityLine.

It was returned to Lufthansa Leasing in Jan-97 and leased to Contact Air in Feb-97 when it became part of 'Team Lufthansa' operated by Contact Air. It changed to Lufthansa Regional in Oct-03.

The aircraft was returned to Lufthansa Leasing in Apr-04 and sold to Air Iceland - Flugfelag Islands as TF-JMN at the end of the month. It was wet-leased to Air Baltic between Apr-09 / May-10. It was withdrawn from service and stored at Woensdrecht, Netherlands in May-17.

In Oct-17 the aircraft was sold to the Avmax Group and leased to Silverstone Air (Kenya) as 5Y-SMO a few days later. It was withdrawn from service in Nov-19 and stored at Nairobi-Wilson. Silverstone Air ceased operations in Mar-20, the aircraft was returned to the lessor and remained stored.

Silverstone Air was rebranded as Jetlite Air in Feb-21 and the lease was transferred. It was wet-leased to Saacid Air, Somalia in Aug-23. Jetlite Air appear to have morphed into DragonFly Aviation, Kenya in Nov-23.

Details are a bit sketchy, however the aircraft appears to have been sold to an unknown operator in Malawi as 7Q-SMO in May-25. Now 34 years old the aircraft appears to be still active. Updated 13-Aug-25.

Replaced, after a bit of a think, with a square crop.

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

replaced the M9 with an M-P (240) :D

Having sold off a lot of old gear including most of my old Nikon kit, I also got hold of a 35mm 1.4 Summilux FLE

Replaced to add back the EXIF data that Picasa dropped.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 01-Nov-22.

Shame about the fence, but worth it as they won't be seen again in this livery.

This aircraft was rolled out at Toulouse on 10-Apr-08 as F-WWTL in full Kingfisher Airlines (India) livery and was placed into storage. It had it's first flight 3 months later on 10-Jul-08. It should have become VT-VJE but Kingfisher were having financial problems and were unable to take delivery so it remained stored at Toulouse.

There had been a plan for it to be delivered to Air Deccan, a Kingfisher subsidiary, but this also fell through and the sale was cancelled in Sep-08.

In Oct-08 the aircraft was to be leased to Arik Air, Nigeria. It was delivered to Airbus Financial Services(?) in Oct-08 and re-registered F-WJKI. Flown to Paris-Orly, it was repainted in full Arik Air livery. It returned to Toulouse and was returned to storage as Arik Air didn't have the financing either.

In May-09 it was registered in Portugal as CS-TFX and leased to Hi Fly (a Portuguese airline operating ACMI [= Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance & Insurance] services for other airlines). It was then sub-leased to Arik Air operated by Hi Fly.

In Mar-12 it was to become Nigerian registered as 5N-JIA but the lessor was unhappy about that and so it remained with Hi Fly, registered in Portugal.

In Dec-14 this aircraft's sister-ship CS-TFW had an engine technical problem in Lagos, Nigeria, which needed spare parts which Arik Air didn't have and were unable to finance, so that aircraft was stored in Lagos (It was still there in Apr-16 and was eventually permanently retired).

Operations continued with CS-TFX until Jun-15 when it was returned to Hi Fly. The maroon/blue livery of Arik Air became grey/blue and Hi Fly now operate it themselves on Corporate and VIP charters and occasionally for other airlines.

For varying periods the aircraft was operated for Norwegian Air International, El Al Israel Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and a two month Haj Pilgrimage lease to Tunis Air between Jul / Sep-18. It was returned to the lessor in Oct-18 and permanently retired at Lourdes, France.

Note: I also have a photo of this aircraft in Nov-15 at Manchester, UK, as CS-TFX operated by Hi Fly. See www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/22674376412

Replaced the cartridge with a Denon DL103r moving coil cartridge

Replaced 14/07/2024

IMG_0762-02-B

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 26-Jul-17 + DeNoise AI 18-Oct-22.

Fleet No: "50M".

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 26-Dec-21 (DeNoise AI).

A dull December day in Manchester.

First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWBZ, this aircraft was delivered to the Orix Aircraft Corporation as G-OOAA in Mar-92 and leased to Air 2000 the following month.

It was returned to Orix in Oct-00, re-registered N291MX in Nov-00 and leased to Mexicana. It was repossessed and stored at Mexico City when Mexicana ceased operations in Aug-10.

The aircraft was due to be leased to the 'new' Mexicana in early 2011 but the finance didn't materialise and the aircraft remained stored at Mexico City. In Aug-11 it was ferried to Marana, AZ, USA, sold to Evergreen Trade Inc and permanently retired. The registration was cancelled in Oct-11 and it was eventually broken up.

replacing my road bicycle bottom bracket

Hopefully something will start to pop. there is not really much to photo right now. Birds are starting to arrive but they are still few in number ( except for the Robins ) I have been wondering where the Red Wings, Grackles and Cow Birds went I have not seen any at the feeder in almost a week now

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 03-Jul-21 (DeNoiseAI).

Taken just a few days before it was repainted into Flying Colours livery.

First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVZM, it was re-registered D-ASSY a few days later. The aircraft was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to UK charter airline, Air World as G-BXAW in Mar-97. Air World was merged into Flying Colours Airlines in Nov-98 and returned to the lessor in early Jan-99.

It was leased to Air Jamaica as 6J-JMD a few days later and returned to the lessor 10 years later, in mid Mar-09. The aircraft was leased to Turkuaz Airlines (Turkey) as TC-TCE in May-09. It was wet-leased to Al Wafeer Air (Saudi Arabia) for a Haj Pilgrimage operation between Oct/Dec-10. Turkuaz ceased operations at the end of the lease and the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Medina, Saudi Arabia.

In Mar-11 the aircraft was re-registered N851LF and moved to Shannon, Ireland for further storage in May-11. It was re-registered again in Aug-11, this time as EI-ESI and remained stored at Shannon. The aircraft was leased to Al Masria Universal Airlines (Egypt) as SU-TCC in Oct-11. It returned to the lessor as EI-ESI in Jun-13.

In Aug-13 the aircraft was leased to Hermes Airlines (Greece) as SX-BHT. It was wet-leased to Air Moldova between May/Oct-14 and again between Apr/Oct-15. It was returned to the lessor in Mar-16 and stored at Craiova, Romania.

The aircraft was leased to Olympus Airways (Greece) in Jul-16, using the same registration. It was wet-leased to Air Moldova the following day and returned to Olympus in Mar-17. It was wet-leased to Wings of Lebanon, short-term, between Apr/May-17 and then to Windrose Aviation (Ukraine) between May/Oct-17. On it's return to Olympus the aircraft was initially stored at Istanbul before being ferried to Goodyear, AZ, USA where it was permanently retired in Jan-18. Updated 03-Jul-21.

Replaced the old cameras with new ones and added more detail.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 23-Jan-23, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 30-Dec-23.

This aircraft was delivered to Singapore Airlines as 9V-SPL in Jan-97. It was repainted in the 'Tropical Megatop / Raffles' special livery in 1998, however it was quickly returned to standard livery after sister-ship 9V-SPK (also in the 'Raffles' livery) was lost when it crashed on take-off at Taipei, Taiwan on 31-Oct-2000.

It was sold to Cathay Pacific Airways Cargo as B-HKX in Jan-09 and was converted to freighter configuration with a main deck side cargo door (SCD) in Jun-09.

The aircraft was transferred to Air Hong Kong in Jul-17 and returned to Cathay Pacific Cargo in Jun-18 when it was stored at Hong Kong.

It was sold to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest and leased to Atlas Air Cargo as N471MC in Aug-18. The aircraft was withdrawn from service and stored at Lleida, Spain between Feb/Apr-20. It returned to service on 09-Apr-20. Current, updated 28-Jul-22.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 23-Oct-14.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 12-Jan-24.

A cold and misty Manchester morning!

This history is incomplete. This aircraft was delivered to Balkan Bulgarian Airlines as LZ-BTQ in Mar-87. It was wet-leased to MAT Macedonian Air Transport (date unknown). It was leased to Kish Air (Iran) as EP-LBD in late 1997 and returned to Balkan Bulgarian as LZ-BTQ in mid 1998.

The aircraft was sold to Hemus Air (Bulgaria) as LZ-HMQ in early 2001 and leased to BH Air / Balkan Holidays in Spring 2002. It was leased to KMV Mineralnye Vody Avia as RA-85038 in Jan-08.

The aircraft was leased to Iran Airtours as EP-MCR in Jul-08. It was badly damaged when it encountered severe clear air turbulence in early Aug-09 and made an emergency landing at Mashad, Iran. Written off.

Station Abcoude 23/06/2020 16h42

Due to the doubling of the track between Amsterdam and Utrecht, the Abcoude station area was reconstructed. An aqueduct (Rien Nouwen Aqueduct) with four tracks has been built under the Gein to replace the lift bridge. Because the existing station is located on the slope to the aqueduct, a new station with a modern platform cover has been built north of the Gein near the Hollandse Kade on the north-east side of Abcoude, further from the center of the village than the old station. Only the middle two tracks are located on the island platform. The outer two tracks are used by the intercity trains.

On April 23, 2007, the aqueduct and the new station were put into use. There is only one entrance on the west side of the station. The square in front of the station is called Geinplein and the road along Spoorlaan, because the street names Stationsplein and Stationsstraat already existed and still exist at the old station. However, the old Stationsplein was no longer accessible, while Stationstraat no longer runs to the (current) station.

The old first station building has survived and thus remains a landmark along the railway (although it is hardly visible from passing trains). The old track around Abcoude has been demolished, as well as the second station building and the platforms from 1977. The old first station building fell into disrepair but eventually got a different purpose. The building was renovated and since April 2016 a bed and breakfast "De Witte Dame" has been established in it.

Abcoude

Abcoude is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Since 2011 it has been part of the municipality of De Ronde Venen. The former municipality of Abcoude consisted of the villages Abcoude and Baambrugge, and the hamlet Stokkelaarsbrug.Abcoude lies in the Province Utrecht, about 13 km southeast of (the centre of) Amsterdam, on the confluence of the Angstel River, Gein River and Holendrecht River. In 2001, the town of Abcoude had 6431 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 1.28 km², and contained 2678 residences. The current approximation is over 8000.Abcoude was first mentioned in a report from 1085 by the bishop of Utrecht. In this document the residents of Abcoude were named ’habitatores de Abecenwalde’. In 1672 most of the town was burned down by the French. In 1820 Abcoude had 1100 inhabitants. The municipality of Abcoude was formed in 1941, from the former municipalities of Abcoude-Proosdij (containing the village of Abcoude) and Abcoude-Baambrugge (containing the village of Baambrugge).The town is served by Abcoude railway station. It is in the northern part of Abcoude. The station offers direct services to Amsterdam, Utrecht, Gouda and Rotterdam. Abcoude has its own exit on the highway A2 between Amsterdam and Utrecht, exit 3.Abcoude is known as the only town whose name starts with the letters A, B, and C in that order and ends with D and E in that order.

Area: 32.11 km²

Population: 8,657

Density: 285/km²

Elevation: -1 m

[ Wikipedia 09/2020 ]

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 22-Oct-21 (DeNoise AI).

This aircraft was delivered to Linjeflyg (Sweden) as SE-DNI in Dec-91. It was wet-leased to LOT Polish Airlines in Apr-92. Linjeflyg was merged into SAS Scandinavian Airlines in Jan-93 and the aircraft was returned to SAS in Mar-93.

In Apr-93 it was leased to BMA British Midland Airways as G-OBMY, returning to SAS in Sep-98 it was immediately leased to Sterling European Airlines as OY-SEG. It returned to SAS in Apr-99 and was leased to Lithuanian Airlines as LY-BFV later the same month.

The aircraft was returned to SAS, sold to a lessor and stored in Feb-00. It was leased to British Airways as G-GFFD in Jun-00. It was returned to the lessor in Nov-08 and stored at Belgrade, Serbia. It was moved to Istanbul-SAW in Oct-11 prior to an expected leased to Aeroflot-Don.

The lease didn't take place and the aircraft remained stored at Istanbul until it was leased to Kyrgyzstan Aircompany as EK-37501 in Apr-12. The aircraft was permanently retired and stored in Oct-17.

I also have a photo of this aircraft with BMA British Midland Airways as G-OBMY at...

www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/6315570370

and with Lithuanian Airlines as LY-BFV at...

www.flickr.com/photos/kenfielding/6317952687

Lincolnview Local Schools - 2004 Thomas Saf-T-Liner EF - Retired; Myers Equipment Corp. - Canfield, Ohio. Replaced a 1987 Blue Bird Chevrolet. Bus has also since been retired and replaced. It was brand new at the time of photography.

I replaced the previous video with this 720 rez, let's see if it works. Flickr is spotty today

Today 14 wild horses came galloping down our dirt road and made a beeline to our stock tank. OMG, they drank it dry in minutes. So, I got the hose out while talking sweet to them and started filling it back up. They watched intently and then started drinking from the hose gentle spray. Then they made another beeline to the tall grasses near our septic tank field.

I love nature!!!

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 12-Mar-17, although the negative has deteriorated (yellowed) over time.

Taken from the glass fronted viewing terrace at Las Palmas with some reflections!

A UK airline based at Manchester, Av8 Airlines (Aviate - gettit?) was yet another airline that didn't last. Initial services were operated using this leased Icelandair B767 on long-haul flights Manchester / Dublin / Cape Town using Icelandair's AOC. Operations were started in Nov-03. The plan was to have a B767-300ER for long-haul and a B757-200 for inclusive tour flights from Manchester to southern Europe. They took delivery of the B757 (G-OAVB) in Nov-03 and it flew regular training flights but never entered revenue service. Their own AOC was granted in Mar-04 but was rescinded almost immediately as the parent travel company couldn't raise the necessary CAA Bond. They ceased trading in early Apr-04 and the B757 was returned to the lessor.

This aircraft was delivered to SAS Scandinavian Airlines as SE-DKX in Oct-91. It was sold to the Sunrock Aircraft Corporation in Jan-94 and leased back to SAS. At the same time it was transferred to SAS Norway and re-registered LN-RCL. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Nov-03 as N365SR.

It was leased to Icelandair the following month and immediately wet leased to a new UK company, Av8 Airlines. They ceased operations in Apr-04 and the aircraft was returned to Icelandair.

In Dec-04 it was wet leased to NEOS (Italy) for the winter, returning to Icelandair in Apr-05. It was wet-leased to SBA Santa Barbara Airlines in Nov-06, returning to Icelandair in Sep-08.

After major maintenance at Tel Aviv the aircraft was leased to Travel Service Airlines (Czech Republic) in Dec-09. In May-09 it was sub-leased by Travel Service Airlines to Kabo Air (Nigeria), still operated by Icelandair. The aircraft returned to Travel Service Airlines in Dec-09 and was returned to Icelandair in Apr-10.

In May-10 it was wet-leased to SBA Santa Barbara Airlines again, returning to Icelandair in Feb-11. It had a major maintenance check at Guangzhou, China and was dry leased, long term, to Air Niugini as P2-PXW in Apr-11. Now 31 years old, it continues in service. Updated 29-Oct-22.

Note: The registration TF-FIB was previously used on an Icelandair B737-400.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 30-Sep-22 + DeNoise AI.

Seen here on its first visit to Manchester in the original livery.

First flown in Dec-88 as CCCP-82060, this world-famous aircraft was operated by Antonov Airlines and originally designed to carry the Russian equivalent of the Space Shuttle, 'Buran'.

Russia's 'Space Shuttle' programme was cancelled and the aircraft converted into a freighter configuration, completed in Sep-93 and re-registered in Ukraine as UR-82060. It was withdrawn from use and stored at the Antonov factory airfield at Gostomel, Kyiv, Ukraine in Apr-94.

It was re-registered UR-480182 in May-96 and returned to its original registration, UR-82060 in May-98. The aircraft didn't fly again until May-01 when it entered service as the world's largest cargo carrier.

It was stored at Gostomel between Aug-20 and Jun-21. It was stored again at Gostomel in early Feb-22. Sadly, the aircraft was destroyed by Russian Forces on 24-Feb-22 in the early stages of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 03-Oct-21 (DeNoise AI).

'jmc AIR' sometimes leased aircraft in the USA during the UK winter season. This was leased to Ryan International Airlines and operated for Apple Vacations. It's seen here about to depart Manchester for the USA.

Another long and complicated history... First flown with the Airbus test registration F-WWBQ, this aircraft was delivered to GECAS and leased to Airworld (UK) as G-BXKC in Dec-97.

It was wet-leased on delivery, to Ryan International Airlines (USA) and operated on behalf of US Tour Company 'Apple Vacations'. It returned to Airworld in Apr-98.

Airworld was merged into Flying Colours Airlines in Nov-98 and the aircraft was again wet-leased to Ryan International on behalf of Apple Vacations in Dec-98 and returned to Flying Colours in Apr-99.

This aircraft was repainted in 'jmc AIR' livery in Oct-99 and then wet-leased to Ryan International in Dec-99, again operating for Apple Vacations. At the end of Mar-00, Flying Colours was merged with Caledonian Airways (Mk:2) for form 'jmc AIR' (see below) and the aircraft was returned to 'jmc' in Apr-00.

The operation was repeated between Dec-00/May-01, Nov-01/Apr-02 and Dec-02/Apr-03. 'jmc AIR' was renamed Thomas Cook Airlines in Mar-03. For the next four European Winter seasons (Dec-03/Apr-04, Dec-04/Apr-05, Dec-05/Apr-06 and Nov-06/Apr-07), the aircraft was wet-leased to Bredan Airways (doing business as USA 3000 Airlines).

It was returned to GECAS in Jan-08 and leased to Vladivostok Avia as VP-BFX a few days later, It was returned to GECAS in early 2014 and stored at Shannon, Ireland. In Apr-14 the aircraft was leased to Hamburg Airways. Hamburg Airways ceased operations in mid Dec-14 and the aircraft was returned to GECAS at the end of the month when it was again stored at Shannon.

It was sold to Sunrise Asset Management Inc and leased to Allegiant Air as N229NV in Apr-15. Current, updated 15-Dec-22.

Note: The 'JMC' in 'jmc AIR' is the initials of Thomas Cook's son John Mason Cook! Who knew!! Well, no one really! The name and the livery were an advertising man's dream, but an airline man's nightmare. The general public (and half the travel trade) had no idea what it meant, what it stood for and what it's history was. It wasn't the greatest success and three years later 'jmc AIR' was renamed Thomas Cook Airlines.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 09-Apr-20.

Additional 'Official Airline CHOGM 2005 MT' titles (= 'Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting' 2005 Malta).

First flown with the Airbus test registration D-AVWQ. This aircraft was delivered to ILFC International Lease Finance Corporation and leased to Air Malta as 9H-AEG in Feb-04.

It was subleased to Skyservice Airlines Canada as C-GAEG in Dec-05, returning to Air Malta in Mar-06, and again between Oct-07/Apr-08. The aircraft was returned to the lessor in Dec-15 and stored at Shannon.

It was re-registered EI-FMT in Feb-16 and leased to Volotea Airlines a week later. It was re-registered EC-MTN in Dec-17. The aircraft was placed in temporary storage at Nantes, France in Mar-20 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It returned to service briefly in Oct-21 and was stored again until Feb-22. Current, updated 30-Sep-22.

My model represents an early production example. Later in service, many A-4Es were upgraded using equipment that was also fitted to the later A-4F, such as a cranked refuelling probe (replacing the straight version on my model), a dorsal avionics hump and various lumps and bumps associated with electronic warfare.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 04-Jan-20.

Now with 'billboard' titles

Named: "Prince Sebastian".

This aircraft was delivered to Luxair Luxembourg Airlines as LX-LGU in Oct-98. It was sold to Champion Air LLC (Dale Ernhardt Racing) as N500DE in Oct-07. Current, updated 10-Oct-24.

Note: The registration LX-LGU was previously used on a Luxair Boeing 707-344B between 1987/1993 and is currently on a Luxair B737-8C3/SW since 2012.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 07-Aug-21.

-Delft Blue Daybreak-, Netherlands World Tail livery. Operated by British Airways franchise partner Maersk Air UK.

This aircraft was delivered to Maersk Air (Denmark) as OY-APB in Apr-96. It was leased to Maersk Air UK as G-MSKE in Apr-99 and operated on behalf of British Airways under a franchise agreement. The aircraft was returned to Maersk Air (Denmark) as OY-APB in Dec-01.

Maersk Air was merged into Sterling European Airlines in Sep-05. Sterling European ceased operations at the end of Oct-08 and the aircraft was returned to Maersk Finance in Oct-08. It was initially stored at Copenhagen, Denmark and move to Chateauroux (France) for further storage in Dec-08.

It was sold to the Orix Atlas Corporation in late May-10 as F-HCOA and leased to Air Mediterranee (France) in early Jun-10. They ceased operations in Feb-16 and the aircraft was returned to the lessor and stored at Lourdes, France.

In Jun-18 it was sold to Kalitta Charters II LLC (USA) as N375CK and ferried to Oscoda, MI, USA where it was permanently retired and used for spares. Updated 07-Aug-21.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 28-Jan-22 (DeNoise AI).

A very early Boeing 767-200 (line no:35), this aircraft first flew with the Boeing test registration N8289V. It was delivered to Ansett Airlines as VH-RMG in Aug-83. Ansett Airlines was renamed Ansett Australia in Jan-91.

In financial difficulties in Oct-01, Ansett grounded their Boeing 737 and 767 fleets (a limited operation was resumed in Nov-01 with around 5 A320's but operations ceased completely in Mar-02).

The aircraft was stored at Melbourne in Oct-01. It remained stored until it was sold to AeroTurbine Inc as N862AT in Feb-05.

After some maintenance it was ferried to Opa Locka, FL, USA in Mar-05 and permanently retired. The registration was cancelled in May-06 and the aircraft was broken up for spares.

Ontario

Now replaced by a bridge - which was nearing completion at that time.

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 25-Aug-20.

Photo taken from the Templeton Bridge.

Fleet No: "309". Green Jazz... (the aircraft was later repainted in 'Red Jazz' livery).

This aircraft was delivered to Air BC as C-FACT in Mar-91. Air BC was merged into Air Canada Regional in Nov-10. Air Canada Regional was renamed Air Canada Jazz in May-02. It was transferred to Jazz Air Ltd in Dec-04. Operations for Air Canada Jazz continued. Jazz Air Ltd became Jazz Aviation LP in Mar-11 and Air Canada Jazz became Air Canada Express in May-11, still operated by Jazz Aviation LP. Now 30 years old, the aircraft continues in service. Current, updated Mar-21

Where once the laptop had its place is now a quiet little corner. We decided to move the laptop back upstairs in the bedroom...we both have realised we spent waaay too much time on the internet (yes im guilty to being addicted to flickr and a bit facebook) not like we are reaaally,really addicted but it was time ;)

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 09-Nov-23.

This aircraft was delivered to Aeroflot Russian Airlines as CCCP-86054 in 1983. It became RA-86504 in 1992 when the Russian Federation was formed.

It was withdrawn from use and broken up by 2006.

Replacing an earlier digital proto with a better version 17-Mar-20.

Hybrid basic British Airways livery with FlyBe titles. It was only operated for 4 months, this photo was taken the day before it left the fleet.

First flown with the Embraer test registration PT-SBQ, this aircraft was delivered to a lessor and leased to BRA British Regional Airlines as G-EMBG in Nov-98 and operated on behalf of British Airways. British Regional was merged into British Airways Citiexpress in Mar-02. Citiexpress was renamed BA Connect in Feb-06. The aircraft was transferred to FlyBe Airlines in Mar-07 when British Airways 'gave away' their loss-making UK regional services. It was returned to the lessor in Jul-07 and leased to Dniproavia (Ukraine) as UR-DNB at the end of Aug-07. In Mar-12 the Ukranian Government 'consolidated' Dniproavia into Aerosvit and operations continued using Aerosvit flight numbers. Both companies ceased operations in early Jan-13 but some services were resumed the following month. Dniproavia was declared bankrupt in Dec-17 and the aircraft was transferred to Windrose Airlines, It was permanently retired in Apr-18.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 16-Apr-22 (DeNoise AI).

National Jet Systems.

Replacing an earlier scanned slide with a better version 23-Feb-15, plus Topaz DeNoise AI 22-Jul-23.

In this shot G-ALZR doesn't look as though it has any windows. It does, they are quite high on the fuselage and are hidden by the engine. It was also newly fitted with it's freight door in Nov-64.

G-ALZR was delivered new to BEA British European Airways in Feb-52. Just over five years later, in Aug-57, it was sold to Rolls Royce and was re-registered G-37-4 in Feb-59. It was used as a test-bed for the Rolls Royce Tyne engine.

It was sold to BKS Air Transport in May-63 and was converted to a freighter in Nov-64 for the BKS Bloodstock Division specialising in the carriage of horses.

It was damaged beyond repair while landing at London-Gatwick Airport in Jul-69 when the nosewheel collapsed. It was sold to Dan-Air London in Nov-69 for spares and transported to Dan-Air's Engineering base at Lasham, Hants, UK, where it was broken up in 1972.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 27-Oct-14..

One of the aircraft's earlier operators was Leeds, UK, based Brown Air Services, hence the registration!

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 24-Oct-17.

Delta Air Transport, operating for SABENA Belgian World Airlines.

First flown with the British Aerospace test registration G-6-167, this aircraft was delivered to DAT Delta Air Transport as OO-DJF in Aug-90. It was operated on behalf of SABENA Belgian World Airlines until they ceased operations in Feb-02. DAT was then renamed SN Brussels Airlines and continued operating parts of SABENA's European network. The 'SN' was dropped from the titles in Mar-07 and Brussels Airlines got rid of the old 'Sabena' style livery with a completely new look. The aircraft was permanently retired at Brussels in Feb-09 and it was broken up there in Dec-10.

Woordfoto: fietsen

This is meant to go with my Shelby Cobra when I'm finished :-)

I got the idea for doing the logos brick-built from Ryan Link

Thanks for rendering Blackout!

Looks best when either far away or small

Replacing the KingAir as multi-engine training aircraft.

what do you think?

I destroyed my other humvee but think this one looks better :D

please comment and tell me if you want me to upload separate picture of the humvee and killer drone,thanks!

Replacing an earlier digital photo with a better version 15-Jun-25

This aircraft was delivered to MCAP and leased to Air Europa as EC-LPR in Apr-12. It was sold to Maverick Aviation Ventures Apr-22, lease continued. Current, updated 15-Jun-25.

Replacing an earlier scanned photo with a better version 12-Feb-22 (DeNoise AI).

This aircraft, built as a Tristar 500, was delivered to British Airways as G-BFCE in Jul-79. It was in service for less than four years before it was sold to the UK's RAF Royal Air Force as ZD952 in Mar-83.

It was leased back to British Airways charter subsidiary British Airtours as G-BFCE in Jun-85 for the peak summer season, and returned to the RAF as ZD952 in early Oct-85.

It was converted to a Tristar KC.1 in Oct/Nov-85. The aircraft was in service with the Royal Air Force for another 29 years until it was permanently retired at Kemble, UK in Feb-14. Updated 12-Feb-22.