St Margaret’s Loch

Summer is on it’s way

bruceonthefringe 2025, Bats, Edinburgh Farmers Market, Eurovision, Holyrood Park, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Summer is definitely on the way, last night the bats were out to play! I went down to St Margaret’s Loch a couple of weeks ago, the day had been warm so I reckoned there’d be plenty flying things for the bats to feed up on – I saw a measly two! Bah. Yesterday evening I took myself off for a walk around Queen’s Drive, going anticlockwise from St Leonard’s Crag to catch the end of the sunset over the city. Also because I know that the bats around Dunsapie Loch (the top pond) emerge earlier than those down at St Margaret’s Loch (the bottom pond). Yep, they were out flitting about, what a joy to just stand and watch them! Oh, and there was a fine layer of evening mist drifting over the water, it was almost ethereal.

St Margaret’s Loch in Holyrood Park

There were the usual few bats darting around, between the trees on either side of the road, as I headed down the drive, but I was to be disappointed by a lack of bats at the end of St Margaret’s Loch, had some calamity befallen them? I’ve seen so many around there in the past, but not a one! Oh well, on to the next spot (there are five particular spots around the pond that the bats favour), yay, plenty! And the next two as well. By now it was getting pretty dark but my night vision is good (until a car drives past, leaving me briefly blinded); I really can just stand for ages with bats swooping around me, and the longer you stay still the closer and closer they’ll flit past, I never want to break the spell and leave, but this time after a rather spectacular acrobatic pair disappeared into the gloom, I knew I should make that the finale and plodded home. It was just after half eleven when I put the kettle on for a bedtime brew!

The light was seriously fading but still I stood

And it’s yet another hot, sunny day today (I predict a wet Fringe!), its also Eurovision today! Yay! I will admit I wasn’t bothering to be interested this year as I really wasn’t impressed by the UK’s entry; it’s been played plenty on the radio but nah, right-hand side of the scoreboard for that. Then Thursday evening I watched the second Semi-final; the UK as one of the “big five” are straight into the final but they do sing in the Semi’s. Wow, Geez Louise, watching Remember Monday perform What The Hell Just Happened? well, blimey Charlie, I am converted! Those girls know a thing or two about how to sell a song, they nailed it! I will be very disappointed if it doesn’t finish on the left-hand side of the board (I’m not so delusional to think it could win, ‘twould be nice, but it won’t). I have listened to the contenders on the Eurovision playlist on Spotify but nothing has screamed absolute winner for me. I’ve also been checking out Accordion Ryan‘s takes on all the songs, always a joy, and pretty impressive that he sings in all the various languages, well it sounds impressive to me. Do check him out on Instagram, this is the third year he’s been doing it, Eurovision on accordion, it was meant to be.

I’ll have to pop out soon, buy some snacky stuff for the evening. I have some Birra Moretti in the fridge, and a small bottle of sparkling that been in there for ages, perfect for Song No.9 (to toast Sir Terry). This morning I picked up some of Levantine’s excellent Baba Ganoush at the Edinburgh Farmers Market and after great deliberation, a slice of the black cherry from Hometown Cheesecakes (it was between that and the mango’n’passionfruit, tough choice). I rustle up something with the hogget liver that i bought from Annanwater, something paprikary, yum.

Oh, and on the Farmers Market – there’s a new stall, and it sells the most amazing ice cream!! But, not only do Thistle & Churn make their own ice cream, the cones are all made by in house too, and they’re incredible! When investigating buying cones, the lovely man discovered the shelf life was fifteen months, like, what’s in them to last so long? So he rolled up his sleeves and came up with his own recipe; the ice cream recipes are divine, and by’eck if the cones aren’t the perfect accompaniment! Oh, I had a lovely chat with him, that’s how I know he’s a lovely, interesting chap. I like to find out a bit about new stallholders, and they’re usually very pleased when someone takes an interest. God, I’m so lucky, artisan chocolates and now ice creams!

Thistle & Churn’s Caledonian Cream

Anyhoo, must go. Toodle pip!

The Long Dusk

bruceonthefringe Bats, Edinburgh, Flora and fauna, Holyrood Park, Places to go, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Errol Flynn sure did have some wicked ways! Yes, I’m still reading My Wicked, Wicked Ways, it’s tiny print – plus I only read it on sunny days out in the Park. Boy, was it sunny yesterday! I took myself up Whinny Hill to find a quiet grassy spot hidden in the gorse, annoyingly my usual “go to” spots had already been got to by others! I wandered higher and higher to find a suitable spot – so I’m particular, bite me. The sun was so sunny and the book was so fascinating, it was going on for seven o’clock before I headed home for tea.

Tea over I headed out again, well, it was still very warm, I reckoned it would be a good night for bats. As it would be quite a while before any bats came out there was plenty of time to head to St Margaret’s Loch the long way round – right round the Park! For the back of ten o’clock there were still quite a number of folk out taking the evening air watching the dusk deepening (dusk takes it’s time in Scotland in the middle of summer).

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There was still some birdsong, oh, and a peacock sounding off over at Prestonfield House, a posh affair just south of Holyrood Park. The jackdaws were all away for the night, a few swallows zoomed about but most noticeable was the sound of the grasshoppers (grasshoppers/crickets? I looked it up, pretty sure it’s grasshoppers here). That sound! It evokes other places, other times, dreams! It rose up from the large sweeps of long grass around that area; I will definitely go on more evening walks up around Dunsapie Loch. And then, bats, oh my!

One, I hadn’t even thought there’d be bats around Dunsapie Loch (where would they roost?) and two, it was much lighter than when they usually come out down at St Margaret’s Loch. They were flitting around by the trees in the carpark area, had the swallows just knocked off up there? – I have a thing that the bats aren’t allowed out until every swallow has parked up for the night. You’ll always see the odd one or two cheeky swallows taking their time with a few last flybys. It was definitely much lighter, I was able to walk at the edge of the Loch and see the bats skim way across the water (by now, at quarter to eleven). I would have walked to the other end of the lochside but ahead I saw the swans were all asleep on the path, apart from one that was obviously on duty. Nope, I backtracked enough to find another way back on to the road, I’m not stupid!

Only a couple of bats flitted by as I walked down the road towards a more wooded area. In the gloom under the low hanging trees I saw an animal ahead of me, it slunk along looking for trouble, umm, black and white. Aww, it was a cat, a cat that glared at me for calling it Puss, a number of times to no avail. Didn’t I realise that tonight she was a badass Nightprowler?!

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Wow, even at that time there were walkers and cyclists going past me up into the Park. One cyclist had no lights AND he was on the path under low dense trees! I could hear something odd ahead and luckily decided to move off the path as I could see the road better. Finally down at St Margaret’s Loch it was very gloomy, but no bats!? I stood and waited in my first spot (I’ll wait around a long time to see a bat), nothing, walked to the second spot (I have my five best spots to  bat watch around the Loch), zilch. Third spot, come on, guys, it’s definitely past bat o’clock by now. Fourth spot, and oo, one, then nothing. I was sure it would be Bat Central there but instead, just Norman-No-Mates.

I headed home somewhat perplexed. I do hope the bats are okay, I would hate to have anything happen to them. Yeah, course they are, what do I know about bats? Not a lot, they’re just great to watch, like vampires. Yay, Buffy was on telly when I got in. Marvellous!

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‘Allo Vera!

bruceonthefringe Bats, Edinburgh, Flora and fauna, Places to go, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , 4 Comments

How I love the smell of gorse flowers in the evening! After a warm sunny day the heady perfume from all the gorse around Holyrood Park is quite intoxicating; it lingers into the twilight with the occasional whiff on the breeze. If you’re wondering what this heavenly scent is like just think suntan lotion with aloe vera. God, I love it, in fact one year I decided to attempt to bottle it!

I had pondered on the idea for a few years, so with a few old books on wine-making and Google to assist, I set out to capture this nectar of the gorse in alcoholic form. Did it work? Umm, if I ever tried again I would hold back with the raisins, whilst I get that they help with the sweetness it was too sherry-y for me which I put down to the raisins. Mind I still have a couple or three bottles of it! They do say try some of your endeavours young but lay some back to mature. There’s also a bottle of greengage wine from a few years ago, up there in the winerack, gathering dust, occasionally winking at me.

Anyway, yes, the last two evenings I strolled down to Holyrood Park to enjoy the scented evening air and a spot of bat-watching. My favourite place for this is St Margaret’s Loch, or the Bottom Pond as I just called it for years (halfway up the park is the Top Pond aka Dunsapie Loch). There may be other good places to see bats in the Park, probably near Duddingston Loch, but they might be creepier to walk home from in the dark! At dusk there are still plenty of folk in the area, some winding their way down from Arthur’s Seat or the Crags, others heading up (I do hope they have torches); St Anthony’s Chapel above St Margaret’s Loch always attracts a few.

A blackbird was blasting out his evensong as I approached the Loch yesterday. There was plenty of other snippets of birdsong which seemed to turn into disgruntled squarks and squabbles as everyone settled in for the evening. A few ducks flew off and the swans all settled down, no longer bothering to follow anyone walking by the lochside. And then the bats came out to play!

With such clear skies both evenings the bats were very visible at the start. I was making my way along the path on the hill side of the Loch when I saw a few bats skittering above the gorse bushes towards the end of the water. Oh my, there were loads, don’t think I’ve ever seen so many there before, a bumper year for bats? Once I see one bat that’s me for a long while, just standing, enchanted by them. A few folk walk past, some look decidedly in front trying to avoid eye contact with the weirdo standing staring into the gloom, whilst others notice the bats and often stop awhile too.

Just round through the trees to the end of the Loch and there’s another great spot to see them swooping all around you. The longer you stay still the closer the bats will come – you’re attracting insects and so too the bats! Two evenings ago a couple of American tourists stood awhile with me, the lady was worried by the old myth of bats flying into hair, but I explained the insect deal and assured her the bats wouldn’t land in her hair – unless she moved really suddenly at the wrong moment!

After a long while I headed back up the road side of the Loch; there are some great spots along this stretch, just where the trees clear by the water’s edge for seeing more bats. Then sadly, much as bat-watching is fun, the chill and darkness became apparent and time for home. Up on the hillsides in the Park random torchlights shine and snippets of music and chat waft down. Heading back into town the Cursed Earth (sorry,  Dynamic Earth to you guys, I called it that when it was being built and it stuck) looks like some giant malevolent bug.

I love that I live in a beautiful city but have this abundance of wildness on my doorstep 💛

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