Honestly, if you only ever used the BBC weather forecast you’d never go outside 😆
Ben Dolphin 🏴❄️⛰🌲
@countrysideben.bsky.social
Ranger in the Cairngorms, occasional writer, general evangelist for the great outdoors. Winter's biggest fan and prone to blethering. Definitely my own views!!
Quoich this past week, snapped on patrol. An almost other-worldly beauty when the ling is doing its thing 🙂 #rangerdailydiary
And speaking of autumnal sights......here's another one. Looks like a good year for rowan berries. Last year was awful.
As soon as the temperature dropped in the mornings this week and the mist rolled in, the spider webs were revealed 🙂 It won't be everyone's cup of tea.....but I do love how this particular sight suddenly appears around this time of year.
Always impressed by the skill of the pilots and ground crew who undertake various heavy-lifting tasks on the estate. This week it was old fencing being removed from Sgor Mor. #rangerdailydiary
I did think it felt chilly in the house this morning! Low of -0.3C here at Mar Lodge overnight, making it our first air frost since 15th June. Pretty normal, would expect to have had a frost while the heather is still in flower 👍
Gawd it’s midgey. In the time it takes to unload the car and get stuff into the house I am eaten alive 😬
29th August 1985 - An excited Michael Fish gets to deploy the rarely seen red number as the temperature gets up to an incredible 26 degrees in London!
Unanimous rejection of the Met Office new design. I've always found MO forecasts to be pretty accurate for the Cairngorms and Lomonds, albeit generally overcooking the overnight minima. I've always used @netweather.tv in conjunction, as it is also accurate for here, plus it has precip totals.
Yep, not a fan either Ben! The new app isn’t terrific either with somewhat meaningless temperature bars and no text forecast written by a human. 😬
"Shiny & new" is all too often rated higher than user experience... 😥
The new design is unusable. I'll be searching for another weather site if I'm forced to use the new design.
Yes, the new app is rubbish. The old one was actually pretty good. Come on Met Office, you can do better.
Completely agree, I hate the new design and am now looking for a better alternative weather app. 👎
A bridge to adventure 🙂 Such a magnificent place!
Managed to get to Corrour and back today before the heavy rain started. Our annual heli assistance for the stalwart MBA volunteers who empty the toilets at the end of every summer. #rangerdailydiary
Proper rain!! 🌧️ Clearly we've not been suffering the droughts they have down south, but it nevertheless feels an absolute age since we've had anything really heavy and prolonged. Almost an inch has fallen here since 4pm this afternoon......so hopefully the rivers will look a bit healthier tomorrow.
A charming ranger memory from this day in 2017 😬💩
A @naturescot.bsky.social spokesperson has told @thecourier.co.uk: “The estate doesn’t always appear to be compliant with Scotland’s access rights and the associated landowner duties, and we strongly urge the estate to reconsider its approach, working closely with its local access authority." 🤞
Row over access to four Munros on Perthshire estate reignited as council threatens legal action
NatureScot says Chesthill Estate in Glen Lyon "doesn’t always appear to be compliant with Scotland’s access rights."
thecourier.co.uk
I don't typically use commercial forestry plantations for recreation, but I do find this wee corner of the Ochils oddly attractive simply because it's so quiet vs the local honeypots.
I'm running out of spare days to revisit old favourite haunts in and around Fife.....so today I trudged across open hillside to revisit my favourite old random wreck 🚗 Hasn't changed for years.
Really baffled by the Met Office pushing through the new interface in its current form. The old version gives me everything I need at a single glance. The new one requires extra clicks on 'detailed forecast', more clicks to ask for humidity %, and then all the info doesn't fit on screen. Poor 🙁
Low of 16.7C overnight in the Lomond Hills. I’m pretty sure that’s my mildest night in 16 years of collecting weather data.
Beautiful evening in the Lomonds yesterday. About 17C with a light breeze, the heather doing its thing, and hardly any flies! 🪰 🙂
From 2003 to 2026……these are all the phones I’ve had from oldest to newest 😉 In case you’re wondering, 2026 is on the right 😆
It's been another beautiful Deeside day, with a modest high of 18.2C 🙂
The ling is doing its thing....as it always does in August 🙂 Scotland is a truly beautiful country but this wee corner of Aberdeenshire is bonkers at this time of year 😉
Today has been a good day 🙂 Our hardy band of volunteers helped to clear 103 hill drains of silt/gravel/stones on Carn Crom.....getting the path ready for the winter 😉 #rangerdailydiary
