Aberfoyle - Achray Forest

On the outskirts of Aberfoyle lies the David Marshall Lodge Visitor Centre.

A pleasant couple of hours were spent enjoying the scenery before moving on to Loch Ard.

Male Mallard stretching its wings in the pond

Waterfall and stream

Waterfall viewed from conifer glade

How many figures can you see?

Lumberjill statue, a monument to the Land Girls of WW2

Inchmahome Priory

Lake of Menteith is often refered to as the only lake in Scotland.

On its largest island, Inchmahome, is the ruin of a priory famous for providing shelter to Mary Queen of Scots when she was a child.

The island is looked after by Historic Scotland who do a wonderful job of retaining our heritage.

Access to the island is via a small jetty.

West entrance to the chapel

Remains of the north and west walls with the bell tower at the near corner

The chapter house is the only building which has a roof

View from the warming house

A woodland walk takes you around the island

Fallen tree

Some of the sweet chestnuts are over 400 years old

This box bower is supposed to date back to the time of Mary Queen of Scots' visit in 1547

A few remaining flowers add a splash of colour

Lake of Menteith is well stocked with brown and rainbow trout

Joint Warrior arrivals

With the start of the Joint Warrior approaching, the visiting warrships have started arriving.

Most of them are heading for Faslane but a few are also berthing at KGV dock in Glasgow.

Weather has been pretty awful at times but the rain eased enough to catch most of the ships arriving.

Dutch frigate HNLMS Evertsen passing Greenock

HNLMS Evertsen

HNLMS Evertsen on her way to Glasgow

HNLMS De Ruyter being followed by local Svitzer tug Anglegarth

HNLMS De Ruyter

HNLMS De Ruyter and Anglegarth

German Kulmbach class minehunter M1096 Passau approaching Rhu narrows

German minehunter Passau

Passau and her escort heading towards Faslane

British Duke class frigate HMS Kent

HMS Kent (F78)

HMS Kent finds a break in the clouds passing Rhu

M921 Lobelia and M924 Primula, Belgian Tripartite class minehunters

Belgiam minehunter Lobelia

M924 Primula

Belgian minehunter Primula

HDMS Hvidbjørnen, an ocean survey vessel of the Royal Danish Navy

HDMS Hvidbjørnen, older Danish for Polar Bear

HDMS Hvidbjørnen (F360), final ship of the day to head for Faslane

Operation Joint Warrior

The ships are gathering again. The event is the twice annually NATO Joint Warrior exercise off the west coast of Scotland.

This morning the French frigate Latouche Tréville sailed upriver to King George V dock in Glasgow, one of the gathering points for the visiting ships.

More ships are expected to arrive tomorrow and hopefully the weather will look kindly on us.

Latouche Tréville

Latouche Tréville

Latouche Tréville

Latouche Tréville

Latouche Tréville

AMT Trader

The barge AMT Trader came up the river this morning towed by Italian tug Carlo Magno.

She was handed over to the local tugs off the Esplanade before being take to Fergusons' in Port Glasgow.

There she will prepare for transporting a section of aircraft carrier from Glasgow to Rosyth for assembly.

Carlo Magno towing AMT Trader

Itaian tug Carlo Magno

Anglegarth takes overthe towing chains

AMT Trader off Greenock

Clyde Marine tug Battler retuning to her base

Anglegarth towing AMT Trader

Anglegarth and AMT Trader

Passing Port Glasgow lighthouse

AMT Trader being pushed towards the quay at Fergusons'

Norwegian Sun

This morning Greenock welcomed her last big cruise liner of the year. Norwegian Sun arrived to a beautiful morning with the sun trying hard to break through the clouds.

I'm sure the passengers are relieved that they've missed the stormy weather we've had over the past couple of days.

Norwegian Sun arriving off the Esplanade

Norwegian Sun's colourful bow

Norwegian Sun canting beside No 1 buoy

The sun making an appearance as Norwegian Sun berths