Cameron Reservoir - 6th December 2020

 I'd wanted to visit Cameron Reservoir for a long time and today gave me an excellent excuse to do the walk I've had marked on my Memory Map for several months - there was a Ringed Neck Duck there. Doubly excited as the sun was shining (one of the rare days it had done so this autumn/winter). I parked at Higham Toll and had a quick sneaky look for the first benchmark of the day. I was a little put off by the arrival of another vehicle. It always looks a little odd when someone is snooping around a car park, so I gave up and head north along the B940 towards Radernie. I really hope I didn't miss what is called a Guideplate, one of those lovely milestones with hands on. I see it used to be there - perhaps even that's where the benchmark is, though I can't see it on any photo.

My walk started in boring fashion along rather a busy road.

B940 near Lathones - NO4709

I didn't expect to find the next benchmark either as it was going to be on a  wall on a busy road, but I cast my eye in the benchmark's direction when I approached and lo and behold, there it was!

Benchmark at Higham House. NO4709

This was a good start to my day and I was confident about the next benchmark too as it was on a milestone and Fife has some beautiful milestones. Sure enough, there it was, in excellent condition.

Milestone near Radernie on B940. NO4609

Benchmark on above milestone.

I was now approaching the hamlet of Radernie and was glad to turn off this busy road. I immediately had to stand to one side to allow a car to pass; it had just set off from a house here. The driver opened his window to greet me (I was glad I'd seen a footpath sign to Cameron Reservoir). A friendly voice asked if I intended walking along that road? I replied in the affirmativek, confident that I was definitely on a footpath. "Lots of people use the other footpath," he replied pointing in the direction I had just come from. I knew which footpath he meant, the one without a footpath sign, the one I had nearly taken. "It's less muddy," he continued, indicating the undeniably muddy path ahead of me. "I'm dressed for it," I lied, smiling and he waved and drove on. I made a mental note to return the other way.

Hamlet of Radernie. NO4609

It definitely was a very muddy footpath, but I'm used to it and it was short-lived.

I photographed a flock of Pink-footed Geese, which I guessed were making their way to Cameron Reservoir (I didn't see them when I got there though).

Pink-footed Geese at Radernie. NO4609

When I reached the point from which I would not be returning the same way, I looked at my GPS to see how far I would have to walk the same way I had come - nearly a mile. Oh, well! Nothing I could do about it. I saw my exit from my return journey and revelled now in being in new territory. And what territory it was. This turned out to be my favourite part of the walk, but I've forgotten to mention I was now in a new gridsquare and I was to be in it for only a very short period - at least that's what I thought at the time. I didn't include the photograph I took then, as I took a slightly better one later on when my route changed - read on to find out why!

A delightful walk. NO4710

A sign at South Radernie pointed left to Cameron Reservoir, but the path I had drawn led straight on, so I ignored the sign and continued, hoping the path would not peter out. It didn't and it was delightful. I was not the only one basking in apricity that day. I soon came across a small flock of finches and another of thrushes and stopped in my tracks to just watch and, if possible, photograph.Blushing pink male Bullfinches were toing and froing across the path and performing acrobatics on seedheads. I was mesmerised.

Bullfinch on seedhead near Cameron Reservoir.

Whilst I was watching the Bullfinches I caught sight of something out of the corner of my eye and gradually turned my head to see what it was. A mammal darted into the wall and I just saw enough of it to make out a long tail and body. It was either a Weasel or a Stoat. I stood statue still and waited, camera poised, for it to reappear.

Stoat near Cameron Reservoir. NO4710

I was absolutely delighted. It was years since I'd had such a good view of a Stoat, for when I saw its black tail as it lept onto the wall and stopped for a split second to stare at me, I knew that's what it was.

Having weighed me up and judged me to be potentially dangerous, it skipped across the track and into a pile of vegetation and I didn't see it again. How wonderfully agile these creatures are and how good at hiding. How many other creatures do I pass each day without realising it? We humans go about with such heavy footsteps and loud voices; we leave a heavy mark on the world. These lightfooted creatures barely disturb the vegetation and scarcely leave a footprint - unless you're talking about a woolly mammoth perhaps!

I floated along the rest of the track in a state of heightened expectancy and enjoyment. Experiences like these are rare and must be treasured. I was already looking forward to capturing the moment in my nature diary later.

The next benchmark was at a former field boundary and I paused when I arrived.I was very unlikely to find it here and guessed it would be a rivet, my favourite sort. I don't like pulling back the moss the look for benchmarks, but something about the way the moss was lying was telling me to explore further and I was glad I did, for there indeed was the rivet! Hidden for who knows how many years.

Easter Radernie rivet. NO4710

Wonderful as this gridsquare had proved to be (and if I ever draw up a list of my top 50 gridsquares in Fife, this will be in that list), I had spent long enough in it and it was time to move onto the next gridsquare - which was Cameron Reservoir itself. I had been looking for signs of the reservoir for the past half a mile or so, but from this southern aspect at least, it is hidden by a line of conifers, so I didn't see it until I was nearly on top of it. I opened another gate and looked for another benchmark, but this time there were no likely looking boulders to be seen. It was bathed in sunshine though.

Gate near Cameron Reservoir. NO4711

I was thoroughly enjoying the day - and I hadn't even looiked at the Reservoir yet. First to inspect the fenceposts, some of which were verdant with lichen and bryophyte growth.

Beautiful fencepost at Cameron Reservoir. NO4711

What a difference it makes when the sun shines. If it sounds like  I was drugged up on sunshine, it's because I was. It had been such an infrequent sight this autumn and that always makes you appreciate something more.

Sunlight at Cameron Reservoir. NO4711

It was only after fully absorbing all of these other delights, that I allowed myself to turn to face the Reservoir itself. I could see lots of wildfowl, mostly gathered in the middle of the reservoir. It wasn't going to be easy to spot the Ring-necked Duck. I had done my research before coming. The bird was like a Tufted Duck but had a pointed head and a sort of ring round its beak. To make matters even more difficult, this bird was a female, so not nearly as recognisable. I peered through my binoculars and immediately added several new species to my day's list: Mute and Whooper Swans, Wigeon and Grey Heron.

Whooper Swan family on Cameron Reservoir. NO4711

There was no way I was going to spot the Ring-necked Duck without a telescope. Just at that moment another birder approached. I asked him if he had seen the Ring-necked Duck and not only had he seen it, but he had also seen a Smew! He gave very detailed directions, which meant retracing my steps. I quickly worked out that if I did that, I could continue my walk along the south shores of Cameron Reservoir rather than the north shores. A quick look at my map informed me that I would only miss one benchmark, but would not miss out on any gridsquares, so I decided to take this guy's advice and change my route.

Cameron Reservoir. NO4711

The above photo shows where I stood to look for the RND and Smew. I spent quite a long time looking and sat on the wet grass with my flask and lemon bakewell hoping that the ducks would swim closer - they didn't. I persevered, however, and gasped when I finally saw something that looked like the Smew. I looked again. It was a long way in the distance, but was unmistakeable. My photo was far too blurry to include here, but was evidence enough for my brother to confirm its identity. I felt very proud of myself for having spotted it. It made up for not seeing the RND, which I did not see.

I then continued  along the well marked path, which was just within the gridsquare I had briefly entered earlier on.

Path south of Cameron Reservoir. NO4610

I continued along this path until I reached the place where I had to divert just a few yards in order to reach the only gridsquare that I would otherwise miss.

Footbridge west of Cameron Reservoir. NO4611

I didn't need to turn right here as I had already bagged NO4611, but I couldn't resist as it would offer me a view of Cameron Reservoir from the west. This is a very attractive body of water and obviously popular with wintering wildfowl.

Cameron Reservoir from the west. NO4611

The path continued to be well-marked as I wandered westwards, glancing every so often at the flooded fields beyond the crop field through which I walked. Again the birds were far too distant to make out their identity.

Flooded field near Cameron Reservoir. NO4610

I approached Blackwalls, which turned out to be deserted, but, sadly the land was obviously farmed  as there were several people chatting there. I say sadly only because I would have liked to investigate the farmyard further. There seemed to be plenty of interest there.

Blackwalls. NO4511

Old truck at Blackwalls. NO4511

I was walking through the field at this stage, having mysteriously missed the path at some stage. I was glad now that I was on the other side of the fence from the path as I had obviously annoyed a barking dog who ran after me and I was thankful for the fence. At the end of the field, however, I had to climb over a fence to get to the road. I'm not sure how one is supposed to access the signed footpath from the road as it was completely blocked from this end.

It was with some caution that I proceeded along the drive to Greigston House. There was no Private sign at the entrance but I erred on the side of caution and walked through the wood, rather than conspicuously along the drive itself. Not wanting to enter the field at the end of the wood due to the menacing presence of a large bull, I lept over another fence onto the driveway and round the corner to the house itself.

Greigston House. NO4411

I nearly went wrong here; in my eagerness to get out of sight of the house, I ended up going directly south along the very obvious driveway to the house. This route would have curtailed my walk by about two miles, but would have missed the trigpoint which I had included in my route. Fortunately, I glance at my phone map so frequently that I quickly realised my mistake and sought a way to rectify it. I needed to head westwards. I entered a field which headed towards the quarry and, had I reaslied it at the time, a doocot. I did see the rectangular building but didn't associate it with a doocot. From now on I photograph everything as this is not the first time I have made this sort of mistake. It is very unlikely that I will ever return here, especially as this section of the walk was one of my worst walking experiences in Fife. Allow me to explain.

Having passed the doocot that I didn't realise was a doocot I ended up at a field full of cows. Hmm. I didn't fancy walking through that lot. I looked for an alternative and saw a paddock with two horses in it. Of the two I would rather face two horses than 100 cows, so I either opened a gate, climbed over a gate or climbed over a fence, I can't remember which and was in the paddock, with the horses. They couldn't have been less interested in me, but I was still relieved to reach the other side, where I climbed over another fence (there'd been a lot of that today!) and was on the very old original road between West Mains and Greigston House. It was obviously a very long time since any vehicle had driven along here.

West Mains or Greigston Mains as it is also known, came into view and I grew anxious about access to my path beyond the farm. I could see no alternative but to walk through two gates just in front of the elevated farmhouse. At the same time a vehicle drove up the farm track and parked at the farmhouse. "Oh, well", I thought to myself, "no-one has chased me, it must be OK." Relieved, I walked down the farm track back to the B940. I stopped to look at some gulls in a ploughed field and thought I heard a vehicle driving up behind me. I turned and I had heard a vehicle behind me. It was a pick up truck, and I prepared to give a friendly wave as I so often have done on these occasions. The truck drew to a halt, however, the window was wound down and an aggressive voice from within asked if I was lost. "No," I replied, my defences going up instantly from his tone of voice. "This isn't a public walk way," he rejoined. "It's a working farm." I said I hadn't seen any private signs and was under the impression one could walk anywhere within reason in Scotland. He obviously was not aware of the right to roam rule and just kept muttering it was a working farm. He was aghast that I would have the audacity to walk through his farm, even though I was by then on the road leading up to the farm and nowhere near the farm and hadn't been anywhere near his farmyard and didn't have a dog with me. 

I rarely encounter such abuse and mostly people are very glad to see people familiarising themselves with their local environment and appreciating their land rather than travelling great distances to walk or go on holiday. But this encounter had marred my day. I tried to forget about it as I continued up to the B940 and turned right. I almost didn't; I almost lost heart and decided to miss the trigpoint, but I'm glad I didn't. This was my least favourite part of the walk by a long way, not lease because I had to walk along this busy road again. I was glad to turn off down another farm track, a long one this time. There were a couple of benchmarks marked on the map on the track to Bruntshiels, but I didn't find any of them. It seemed a very long way to the farmhouse and, just before getting there I viewed the trigpoint in a field with sheep. 

Even without my last encounter, I would have stopped to ask at the farmhouse if it was OK for me to visit the trigpoint. I did so rather nervously this time, but needn't have worried. The lady who answered the door was very friendly and simply asked me to ensure the gate was firmly closed on entering and exiting the field.

Lovely mosses on gatepost on way to Bruntshiels. NO4310.

Bruntshiels trigpoint. NO4310

Despite being hungry and ready for lunch, and despite it being what I would call lunchtime (1 pm), I  couldn't really sit in a field with sheep. I decided to wait until I got to Bankhead Moss where I knew there was some lovely places to sit for lunch. Of course that meant a long walk,  but I would be more relaxed having got it out of the way. I marched as quickly as I could along the B940, not stopping before I got to the entrance to the SWT Reserve at Bankhead Moss. First, though, to look for the benchmark marked on the map on the opposite side of the road at the entrance to Greigston House.

This one was easy to spot. I love those!

Benchmark on gatepost to Greigston House. NO4410

SWT Bankhead Moss. NO4410

This is a delightful little reserve and one which I had visited a few weeks earlier with Margaret when we had made a study of the many lichens here. Today my agenda was very different - find somewhere to sit with lunch - I know, the bird hide. I ignored all the lichens en route and arrived at the bird hide in no time where I sat with my welcome sandwich and flask of tea and saw not a single bird. Not even the Mallard we'd seen last time.

It felt wrong, a crime even to be walking past the carpets of Cladonia lichen as I left the hide and walked the way I'd walked several weeks before when we'd revelled in the Cladonia species. I'd even seen a new species for me here. Cladonia sulphurina. One of the beauties of lichen hunting is that you can do it at any time of year, unlike botany.

Cladonia sulphurina (taken 27.9.2020)

Daylight is in short supply at this time of year, however, so I had to resist the pull to the Cladonia and promised I'd revisit them another time. For now, I left the circular route round the small reserve and headed south towards Larennie. This was the southerly entrance to the Reserve and new territory for me. I turned left towards Peat Inn and photographed my new gridsquare.

Near Peat Inn. NO4409

Peat Inn is a very small hamlet and yet it is signposted from many places. Perhaps it is of some historic significance. It was so small and insignificant that I almost forgot to take a photograph. I was out of the square before I remembered and had to walk back a matter of a few yards to photograph the phone box.

Phone Kiosk, Peat Inn. NO4509

I made my way back along the B940 (boy I was getting fed up of this road!) and turned off at Crossgates, and then again a little further along the minor road I was on.

Crossgates. NO4510

I was heading towards Nether Radernie, another ruin.

Nether Radernie. NO4510

I was less than half a mile south of where I'd walked earlier in the day, albeit in a new gridsquare. There was not a lot to see in these ruins, though I love imagining what life would have been like when these small farms were occupied. Did the inhabitants struggle to make a living? What caused them to leave? Could the voices of those who had lived there still be heard in the rustle of the trees, in the breath of the wind? I'm sure they can in a weird and wonderful way without it being in the least bit creepy. Here was laughter, love and tears; here was birth and death and marriage; here was life and here life remains in a different way, which is yet the same. Trees which once stood have germinated and given way to younger versions of themselves, stones have been reutilised  and tell their story elsewhere. Perhaps I romanticise a little, but it's the poetic voice within me and who's to say I'm wrong?

I walked south exactly equal with the westernmost gridline of square NO4610. I had now walked in that square's western, southern and northern boundaries.

Just before Lawhead, I turned eastwards for the last leg of my journey today. It wasn't even a new gridsquare, as I would shortly be rejoining the track I had walked along at the beginning of my walk.My mood was very different now, my encounter with the angry farmer having left its mark. The lighting was warm and golden though, so it was difficult to remain sombre.

Sheep in golden light. NO4609

So I retraced those steps, content with my day's walk, with all I'd seen. The little stoat I had met earlier in the day would soon be tucking itself up for the night, perhaps with a mate; the Swans and ducks would tuck their heads into their wings and float with ease on the cold waters of Cameron Reservoir and I would soon be back to my own cosy home.

A welcome sight - my car at Higham Toll carp park. NO4709

Pink-footed Geese in a rosy-hued sky.

Number of miles walked: 10.6

Number of new gridsquares: 13

Number of trigpoints: 1

Number of benchmarks: 4

Walk worth repeating: Yes, Radernie and Cameron Reservoir and possibly Bankhead Moss

Highlights: Stoat, Bullfinches, Pink-footed Geese, Smew, rivet, Bankhead Moss