Scottish Geo Finds

I've just spent a week in Scotland on leave.  I started in Glasgow, swung by Dunblane and Stirling and finished my week in Ayr.

Glasgow is a truly beautiful city to wander around.  The architecture is fantastic.  Not only that but the building stone makes it dead easy to spot benchmarks.

Look at this beauty - higher than usual due to the building buttress.

I realised quite soon that the benchmarks were so easy to spot across road junctions that I nearly got run over a few times; being far more focused on the BM opposite than the traffic.  Doh.

Glasgow Central Station is a bit special.  I've never seen this before. I wonder if they put in the second higher BM when the lower one was covered?

As I walked towards Kelvingrove I liked this company's sign for obvious reasons.

And, hey, it has it's own benchmark too!

A stroll around the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum unearthed these

And a larger orrery.  This is by John Fulton built in 1833.  It contains only 7 planets: it was before Nepture and Pluto were discovered.

One thing I wanted to do whilst in Glasgow was the Glasgow Geek Guide.  I was particuarly keen to see the measurements in George's Square.    Standard measures at 62 deg F.

The guide says there are more in the North Lawns.  It took me a while to realise that these weren't easily accessible due to pre-Commonwealth Games construction work.  However, armed with a good idea where they should be a gap in the hoarding, I sort of 'bagged' them.
 
If you look carefully you can see the chain length marked out.

Maybe when I'm back next summer I'll be able to have a better look and perhaps see the RICS plaque too.

No geo finds in Dunblane but Stirling was oozing with them.  Or perhaps not?  Is this British Telecom graffiti?

And this is?

Now this one is a bit special - BM with bolt.  And I presume the info about is by the War Department?

More War Department info on the walls surrounding Stirling Castle.

The Stirling Smith Museum and Art Gallery was a nice find. 

Queen Anne official weights, 1707.

Imperial Yard.

And a chain.

Lastly I visited Ayr. I had decided to bag a couple of OS bolts on the promenade. The first was up on the south arm of the harbour.  As I walked towards it I came across this  unusual lampost.

Not a mile I've come across in my geodesy career.  It is apparently1984 yards, 224 yards longer than a standard mile.  Whatever 'standard' was in those days.  It is not at all surprising that measurements varied locally; I'm still smiling at the Smoot length we found in Boston last year.
 
At the end of the south arm of the harbour entrance is a very rusty light beacon.

And a few metres away is the bolt.  A local fisherman moved his foot so I could take a photo.  I got the 'you look a bit mad to be photographing the pavement' look from him which I am well used to seeing.  Anyway, TP11614 all bagged and blogged.
 
The second bolt, a Lang Scots Mile and a bit away, was equally unexciting to look at.  But I still sadly took a photo. TP11612 bagged. 

Babbacombe Trigs

Decided I needed a bout of trig hunting today.

First off found The Beacon which is just south of Teignmouth.  An easy bag - helped by the now familiar well worn path up through the hedge to the trig - and some wonderful views across the bay.


Looking north towards the River Teign.

Happy days.

Next we drove to Watcombe walking south and bagged this golf course trig pillar, Easterfield.  I never linger at these types of trigs conscious that a stray ball may be coming my way.

And our last trig was Petit Tor.  I thought it was helpful previous trig hunters who had created such an easy scramble up to this.  But as I passed condom packets and a pair of pants hung in the tree I quickly realised that trig hunters are probably the lesser of the traffic up this path.  I shall spare you the photos!

The trig is at a beautiful spot.
 

Annoyed at some earlier picnickers there who left their McDonalds rubbish in a carrier bag hanging off the trig.  Lazy idiots. Who on earth do they think is going to sweep buy and collect their gash for them?  We took it down (thanks Rog).

Ah well, beautiful views in the sun.

 I'd considered bagging more but it started to rain and I was wondering if I'd stretched teenage patience enough for one day.

Few French Findings

I have just returned from a holiday in France.  Sadly not much geo collateral to report.  I surprisingly didn't trip over the cobbles of Annecy as I wandered around, my gaze not at the beautiful buildings or even objects (usually people) in front of me, but focused on a point approximately 10cm up walls, buildings and corners searching for bench marks.  There are lots of interesting disks nailed to walls at said height but they all seem related to utilities.  I really should do my homework in advance and see if the nation I'm visiting actually uses buildings for control of height.  Would save me the bother I suppose. But then I'm so tuned into this 10cm up-from-the-pavement purview that I look for benchmarks everywhere, including inside buildings, brand new shopping centres, supermarkets etc.

When I did look up I saw this lovely sign. It looks pretty old to me which makes me wonder when France adopted the metric system.

41km and 8 hours to Geneva suggests a slow travel method.  Horse?

I did eventually strike lucky on a walk up the Taillefer Ridge.  OK this wee trig isn't going to win any beauty contests but it's a control point none-the-less and it deserves to be blogged.

No other markings on it.