I recently followed an on-line course in scalable vector graphics (SVG) and wanted to share some of my enthusiasm for the subject. SVG can be scaled up without any of the loss in quality found when zooming in on bitmap images such as the one found below. SVG files are also very small (in terms of kilobytes) and are therefore downloaded “in no time” by web browsers.

Unfortunately browser support is patchy at the moment which is why I made a bitmap image (PNG) from my original SVG file to show you. The great news is that Microsoft have promised support for SVG in the next version of their web browser (Internet Explorer 9).

If you’re interested in this kind of work there’s more to be found on my blog, including links to some of the original SVG source files I made during the course.

The Birnam Hill path works recommenced a couple of weeks ago when the snow had melted sufficiently.  By the end of week 4 Feb, weather permitting, the whole job was scheduled to be largely complete. The steps had been rebuilt in November just before they were covered by snow, but are now visible (see photo 1).

Two weeks ago the contractors built the causeway over the marsh on the top of the hill (photos 2, 3, 4). This has not been done as agreed with the working group. I sent the following email to PKCT:–

The causeway over the marsh has not been built as you said it would. I seem to remember you saying that a bed of larch logs and drainage pipes would be laid on the marsh, then locally sourced material built up on top to create the raised path. This would allow the underlying water to naturally flow under/through the path without disturbing the water table.
What I could see is a ditch collecting the water and taking it to 3 pipes at the north end of the causeway. No sign of larch logs or pipes along the length of the causeway (see photos). What is your reasoning behind this?

And received the following reply:–

The specification for the causeway on Birnam hill was modified slightly to take account of the higher water table following the snow melt, and the severe frost that was in the ground during the work. The causeway does have larch timbers below the built up causeway under the as dug material from beside the site along the softer section. It was never considered necessary to extend the timber platform the full length of the causeway as the southern end is on much firmer ground. The ditch was excavated to allow work to be carried out and for the causeway to dry out and firm up for its long term stability. Replacement of some vegetation turfs on the side of the causeway was not possible at the time due to the frozen ground. It is intended that this will be done during a milder spell when the frost has come out of the ground. The replacement of side turfs will soften the side ditch and slow the water flow through the pipes placed under the causeway allowing the regrowth of wetland vegetation in the ditch itself. Over time this will this will obstruct the drainage pipes and the ditch sufficiently to allow the water table to return the higher level.  As this causeway is above this level it should remain firm and dry in almost all conditions.

Work is currently underway on the steep north side path. On the lower bulldozed section they are creating drainage ditches, and have made short narrow zig-zags up the very steep section (see photo 5). On the upper ‘saved’ section of path they have made minor ‘improvements’ (see photos 6 & 7) and they are in the process of strimming heather – PKCT’s explanation:–

As the existing path on the ascent/decent on the north side is eroded in places, it was agreed that we would strim a new line to allow users to take a different route allowing some of the worst eroded bits to regenerate and recover. It is the intention to strim a new route through the open area of bracken on the south side of the existing path from where the machines stopped. This will then be clearer, although we accept that because of the time of year this route will not be as clear as it would have been when the bracken was higher. It is possible that we will need to revisit this once growth has returned. Hopefully the line of the alternative route will be clearer once strimming has been done. It is noticeable that the line of the path has changed at numerous times in the past, and during the spell of ice and snow, the desire lines to avoid the existing path line were noticeable in the snow. These lines helped to identify the preferred route on the steepest sections. We hope that the group will encourage the use of the alternative route so that the eroded sections will get the chance to recover. It may be that, once this happened, the path may return to on, or nearer to, the existing route.

The bulldozed sections of path are extremely muddy and slippy just now, take care.

Photography: Grahame Nicoll

Birnam and Dunkeld railway station

That railway station card is the dearest one I bought. I paid £32 for that card. It went from 20 to 22, 24, 26, 30, and I got it for £32. This was at auction at Dewars Centre in Perth. Railway station cards are very collectible.

Birnam Hotel

There were only two gas lamps in Birnam at the time and that was one of them. We must be talking about 1930.