Yip, it is July in Scotland!!!
The meteorologists would have you believe that the summer is Scotland's most unpredictable and temperamental season. Anyone who has spent a number of years in Scotland would beg to differ. For the poor pasty faced inhabitants of this weather beaten country it is entirely predictable that as soon as you turn the calendar page to July it is going to rain and then some.
The weather of Scotland is governed by its northern latitude, the season of the year, the sea and the wind direction. These factors create a 'Temperate Cold Climate' in which the country receives a great deal of rain, especially in the West. The predominant sky condition for Scotland is overcast or partially cloudy. The amount of sunlight varies across Scotland with the south and west being cloudier than the north and east.
In Scotland (because the weather is so changeable), we half-joke that we get four seasons in the one day and that it is an absolute gem of a day when you see the rain clouds in the distance instead of them being permanently above you.
These long spells of limited sunshine give the Scottish pallor a deathly white appearance which turns to light blue in the winter months. An aesthetic misfortune that the criminal fraternity have picked up on resulting in vast amounts of laundered money being sunk into Suntan parlours which have opened up in abundance in the High Streets of every town in the country.
Scottish people and sunshine has never been a happy relationship, as soon as the sun makes any attempt at longevity the populace rushes to shed its clothing and parade their abundant pink flesh to an unforgiving sun which burns with an intensity that the Gobi Desert could not hope to emulate. Sales of Calamine lotion rocket as the fair skinned clear the chemist shelves of all sunburn medications swiftly followed by an overnight change of bed sheets as the duvet and bedcovers become congested with a sticky mix of peeling skin and lotion.
We should for reasons of accuracy point out that this large yellow object in the sky is a rare occurrence and only viewed between long bouts of overcast and/or damp conditions and if spotted for more than two days is regarded as a heat wave resulting in an immediate hosepipe ban amidst threats of dwindling reservoir levels.
We have no Antipodean worries today regarding heat stroke or forest fires as the rain is tipping it down with an intensity that keeps us car bound as we travel south to the town of Moffat and Grey Mare’s Tail.
Grey Mare’s Tail is a "hanging valley" waterfall: the valley was scoured out by glaciers during the last ice age leaving the outlet burn from Loch Skene falling about 300 feet down a sheer and dangerous cliff face making it the 5th highest waterfall in the UK.
Sir Walter Scott wrote in Marmion:
Where deep deep down, and far within
Toils with the rocks the roaring linn;
Then issuing forth one foamy wave,
And wheeling round the giant's grave
White as the snowy charger's tail
Drives down the pass of Moffatdale.
The overcast and wet conditions make the effort of bringing the camera with us a futile gesture and damningly we have had to acquire an image from the Internet (above) that brings to life the full splendour of the falls which we found impossible to capture on the day.
Seeking sanctuary from the adverse weather conditions we travel slightly north to Peebles and the Peebles Hydro.
Part of the Hydro chain of Hotels built at the end of the 19th century for the wealthy industrialists of the day it now sadly has a feel of Gods waiting room and spookily has a passing resemblance to The Overlook Hotel from Stephen King's The Shining. We tentatively enter the Hotel treading carefully so as not to arouse any potential eye rolling, axe wielding resident proclaiming loudly ‘HERE’S JOHHNY’.
Although slightly dated we take great delight in the Hotel grounds and Victorian elegance before climbing back in to the car and put an end to a thoroughly damp day.
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