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The day started dull and threatening, and the forecast was
for rain later (wrong again, it got warm); not only that but
many of the explorers were away since it was in the middle
of the Easter holiday. So it was not surprising that we had
almost the lowest turnout ever: only Iain and Robert.
The walk to the Hill of Judgment (expedition number 29, 28/7/99)
had covered part of the stream which flows from the Lochan
a'Mhuilinn. Although we had found traces of a mill on that
walk, John thought that the old sawmill at Dalilea, at the
end of the stream, might once have been the site of a former
mill so the start of the expedition was an examination of
the stream for evidence of a former mill. Although we saw
a substantial wall, it was of rather insecure dry stone and
could not have been part of a mill; apart from that there
were no walls to be seen at all.
We then crossed the hill, looking at two cairns, which might
have been funerary cairns, and the outline of a sheiling house
high up on the hill. We saw a red deer moving up out of the
birch woods as we approached. Once in the wood we followed
an old route towards Cuil Cottage, finding another cairn and
a possible house foundation on the way. We stopped for a break
at a group of huge boulders which were full of large crystals
of quartz, feldspar and mica and then left the bags to climb
onto the hill to look for dwarf junipers which John had seen
there many years ago. We failed to find them although there
was a dwarf birch on one peak.
Returning to the bags we continued on to the oak woods and
found an interesting pair of oak trees which had fused some
way up to leave a gap through which Iain and Robert squeezed,
making a wish as they did so. Then we continued down to a
little stream which had several holes, possibly badger setts,
on it. There was also a large bog oak submerged in the stream
and some striped sandy sediments in the bank. At the mouth
of the stream were two large silver firs and a beech with
some calculations carved in its bark. There was also a swing
next to the beach which received some attention.
Carrying on down the road we passed the old fank and reached
the car, but before returning we went to talk to Jim Michie
on his boat, the Sileas, which was at Dalilea Pier. Robert
and Iain went all over the boat and discovered that it had
once been called 'The Vital Spark'. Before we left we examined
the place where John's old canoe had been smashed by a tree
many years before, and found part of it still in quite good
condition.
The expedition concluded with a fine lunch at Mave's, where
the pictures were drawn.
The Pictures
There were quite a lot of different features during the expedition
and both explorers came up with slightly different views.
Robert showed a sketch of himself and lain pretending to fight
on the top of one of the big stones, the oak tree with lain's
feet sticking out of the hole, himself with his boots sunk
into the mud and a view of the Sileas. lain also drew the
Sileas, with the cars parked in the background, Robert emerging
through the tree, both the explorers on the rock, the sediments
by the stream and the bog oak in the stream.
John
Dye
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