Lewis Grassic @ Gibbon
We had a wee gander around Lewis Grassic Gibbon territory at the weekend. At the Kirk of St Ternan, we duly signed the visitors book before setting off to Fowlsheugh in search of puffins. Fowlsheugh is aptly named since the stench of bird-droppings is quite overpowering although some folk prefer to call the place Crawton. There are around 200k breeding seabirds on and around the sea cliffs at this time of year but there were only a very few puffins - perhaps seven in all - and I now am wondering if the RSPB have plaster mock-ups stapled onto the seaside cliffs. Seemingly if you sign up to a public walk they will show you more at a cost of £8 for members and £14 for so-called 'Non -members'. I prefer to be an outsider and, given the lack of facilities on-site, am quite prepared to stick to my principles. Seven puffins will do me for a lifetime methinks. Confusingly, the interpretation boards along the way sometimes refer to fish as opposed to birds and the way-mark...