Scotland v Ukraine After being postponed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing conflict, on Wednesday 1st June 2022 the Ukrainian national football team will come to Glasgow to play their football World Cup qualifying match against Scotland.   Although it is trite to say it, there are some things more important than sport. The brutal war in Ukraine is resulting in the daily deaths of many soldiers and civilians, and the demolition of cities. Despite that background Ukraine are keen to get this football match played. While the Russian football team is now banned fro ..read more

A 10 Mile Victory Lap of Cumbrae I took a notion over 2 years ago to run across Scotland from coast to coast. In the odd day off work I tried to pick a route across the central belt that would take in some places I hadn't really been before. Across Fife I followed the new long distance walking path from Culross to St Andrews, The Pilgrim Way. From Glasgow to Culross the obvious route seemed to follow the canals the connect the Clyde to the Forth. From Glasgow to Largs I was really retracing the weekend days out and early holidays of my childhood, and the trips of generations of Glaswegians "do ..read more

Coast to Coast Part 13. Wemyss Bay to Largs Almost two years ago I decided to run, in stages, all across the Central Belt of Scotland. It started out as a way to give myself a change of scene on my longer weekend jogging routes. Eventually I decided to link two of my favourite coastal towns, bringing back memories of childhood holiday destinations. My runs would hopefully take me from Largs on the Ayrshire coast, to St Andrews in Fife.  I followed the Pilgrim's Way footpath from St Andrews to Culross, then came through Falkirk and Kirkintilloch to reach Glasgow. From here my route took ..read more

With the days blurring into each other in yet another Covid-19 induced lockdown, the motivation to go for a cycle, a run or a walk in these Winter evenings can be hard to find sometimes. However, I know that after I get home from work it will be the best way to clear my head and relax. Trying to exercise near to home during our current lockdown does inevitably mean that you go walking or running over the same routes again and again. I am a bit tired of jazzing up my long Sunday run by maybe running around the Subway stations clockwise instead of anti-clockwise, or going out to Clydebank along ..read more

Normally at this time of year (December 2020) I would be trying to spend as many weekends as possible out in the hills and mountains of Scotland. It is my favourite time to be out there. In the colder weather the boggy ground is usually frozen solid, making for easier going on the lower slopes, the biting midges have all died off for a season with their eggs awaiting the arrival of warmer weather, and with a bit of luck there will be enough snow at the summits to let me dust off my ice axe and crampons.  Buachaille Etive Mor seen from Beinn a'Chrulaiste Covid restrictions But ..read more

The Progress of Science - a sculpture at Glasgow University Engineering Building Views over Kelvingrove Park from University of Glasgow During the recent coronavirus lockdown, like many people I have spent more evenings wandering around the streets of my hometown, and maybe paying attention to some details that had previously escaped my notice. Now 12 weeks in, I think I have now walked up and down each and every street, lane and park within a 5 mile radius of my house. One place I keep coming back to is the University of Glasgow building on Gilmorehill, either enjoying the views ove ..read more

As I write this in early May 2020 the United Kingdom has sadly become the European country with the highest death toll from the COVID-19 outbreak. This made me look back to see how we ended up in this position.  The viral infection first came to light in the Wuhan province of China when WHO reported deaths from an unusual type of pneumonia on 31st December 2019. A new coronavirus was identified as the cause, later named COVID-19, and on the 24th of January 2020 a paper in The Lancet described human to human transmission of the virus. It advised of the potential for a pandemic t ..read more

Coast to Coast. Greenock to Weymss Bay Over the space of several weekend runs, I had been trying to jog across Scotland, a proper cross-country run. However, there are more important things on the go just now with the Covid-19 pandemic, and as I write, we are only just at the beginning of this. Part of the reason for me writing these blogs was to flag up various lesser-visited parts of Scotland, that can be beautiful, and always have a fascinating history. It was for my own personal curiosity, but I hoped that people would maybe use the blogs as a prompt to head off somewhere different for ..read more

Running Coast to Coast - Johnstone to Greenock Over the space of several weekend runs, I have been trying to jog across Scotland, a proper cross-country run. Having now run from Glasgow, across to Falkirk, then into Fife at Kincardine, via Dunfermline and Glenrothes to St Andrews, it seemed only fair to turn my face the other way and head for the Ayrshire coast. Much of this has taken me through places that I have rarely spent much time, so it has given me a chance to find out more of the local history along the way. I have got as far as Johnstone now, just west of Paisley, and to stay off t ..read more

Glasgow to Johnstone Over the space of several weekend runs, I have been trying to jog across Scotland, a proper cross-country run. Having now ran from Glasgow, across to Falkirk, then into Fife at Kincardine, via Dunfermline and Glenrothes to St Andrews, it seemed only fair to turn my face the other way and head for the Ayrshire coast. Much of this has taken me through places that I have rarely spent much time, so it has given me a chance to find out more of the local history along the way. On running through Fife I had come across the stories of women accused of witchcraft and executed in ..read more