Cycling Around

Today my wife and I cycled the thirteen miles around the Kyle of Tongue. The wind was rather cool but at least it was blowing us along as we headed Northward along the Western shore.

We began from our home in the picturesque village of Tongue. We cycled past the grand Tongue Hotel and then the cosy Ben Loyal Hotel before passing the Post Office and Police house. We continued South out of the village and down the hill to the scattered community of Rhian. After crossing the Rhian Burn we continued passed Ribigill Farm and up the steep hill to Lochan na Cuilce and Lochan Hakel or Hakon.

After a few more twists and turns the single-track road begins the descent down to Kinloch River. It gets pretty steep on this side too and both brakes were needed to avoid going round the gravelly corners too fast!

Once over the bridge we passed the entrance to Kinloch Lodge where the road turns sharply to the right. There is a road sign here warning users that beyond this point there is no gritting or snow clearance. Proceed at your own risk! We proceeded!

After passing through a stand of gnarled Silver Birch trees we came upon the boarded up Kinloch House. It seems a shame that such a fine house is no longer used. We continued along the road keeping our eyes open for the the ruins of Dun na Maigh, an old iron-age broch. But yet again we did not see it. Next time we will bring the guide book!

After crossing another bridge we took a wee detour left to see if this would lead to the Moine Path, which skirts to the North of Ben Hope before dropping down to the South end of Lochan Hope. The map says that it does but a shallow Ford dissuaded us from further exploration. We returned to the bridge and headed North beside the Kyle.

There is not much to see beside the road, but the steep rocky cliffs across the Kyle are worth the trip. Eventually we see Castle Varrich standing on the headland across the water and shortly after that the houses of Tongue can be seen too.


Looking Eastward across the Kyle towards the village of Tongue with Castle Varrich on the skyline at the right.


Looking Northward up the Kyle towards the bridge and causeway.

At the North end of the road we came to the main road between Thurso and Durness. Turning right we soon reached the bridge across the Kyle. The tide was an hour or two passed high water and I had never seen the water flowing out so fast. It was like a river rapid!


The ebbing tide running fast under the Kyle of Tongue bridge.

Once across the causeway, passed Tongue Lodge which is a Youth Hostel from Easter to Autumn, the road climbs back up to Tongue. We passed the historic kirk of St. Andrews, dating from 1680, round the hairpin bend, and up the last 100 yards to the house again. Ready for a cuppa!

Solar Storm

The world exists in a permanent condition of being 8 minutes away from annihilation. That is how long it takes light and other electromagnetic energies to travel from our nearest star, the Sun, to travel to Earth. If the Sun were to explode then we would first know about it 8 minutes after it happened.

I don't want you to be alarmed! The sun is in a continuous state of explosion, as this enormous ball of super-hot and super-dense Hydrogen gas, is crushed together by it's own mass and the force of gravity. Tiny Hydrogen atoms fuse together into Helium atoms, which are four times the mass. Enormous quantities of energy are released in this process, and these keep the Sun hot, and our Earth warm.

The Solar reaction is gradually slowing down as the Hydrogen fuel is consumed and turned into Helium. But it won't run out any time soon. It will be millions of years before that happens.

The Sun's activity appears to be cyclical, on an eleven-year cycle, and some longer cycles too. In recent time the Sun has passed its eleven-year minimum, and activity levels are increasing. The number of sunspots is growing, and the solar flares are occurring more often.

Several flares, or Coronal Mass Ejections, to give them their scientific name, occurred earlier this week. Huge quantities of the Sun's outer atmosphere of superheated gases are ejected at high velocity away from the Sun. This week's flares have headed in our direction.

The Northern Lights are likely to be visible over the next few nights. You may even have seen them already if the sky has been clear. The energetic charged atoms are deflected by the Earth's magnetic field. They get sucked into the North or South polar skies and when they hit the Earth's atmosphere they create beautiful and mysterious patterns of light high in the night sky.

We humans like to think we have everything under control. Our sophisticated electronic technology allows to find out almost anything we want, from almost anywhere in the world. We can speak to our friends at a moment's notice even if they are on the other side of the planet.

But Solar Storms such as the one this week can seriously disrupt satellite communications, and other radio communications such as mobile and cordless phones. Even high voltage systems such as the National Grid can be degraded by Solar Storms.

Our human activities take place in a very fragile environment, where the temperature and climate, are within very narrow limits.

Jesus Christ came to bring the Good News that we can depend utterly upon the love and power of God. God cares about each human person. He cares enough about us to allow us to choose whether we even believe in Him. He invites us to talk with Him, and follow his leadings and guidings. His decisions can seem strange, mysterious, and even perverse, according to our understandings. But what we believe does not change who He is.

In the storms of life, as well in the sunny days, put your trust in Jesus Christ. He will never let you down.

Spring already?

It is hard to believe that it is already the middle of February. I nearly missed St. Valentine's Day, although my wife reminded me!

Life has been busy here. During the second half of January I attended a Presbytery training day at Dornoch, a friend's ordination in Glasgow (which was great!), a training day on prayer and prophecy in Lairg, and a church consultation in Inverness.

We also finished the Alpha Course, which we have been helping with since October, and we had our second all-age activity service at the end of the month.

A couple of weeks ago we had a big storm, which roared around the house through the night. In the morning one of the ridge tiles had come off the roof, but it was quickly replaced. I was astonished to discover that the windows were all coated in salt spray - and the house is 200 feet above sea level, and 750metres (about half a mile) from the seashore of the Kyle of Tongue. The wind has an awesome power. But the power of God's Holy Spirit is even more awesome!

February has been a little quieter, although we began it with the funeral of one of our older members. She had friends and family all over Scotland, and the Melness Church was full to overflowing. There must have been about 250 people there. The Free Church minister for this area was sharing in the service too, and it was good for folk to see us on the same platform together. It was the first time we had met each other, so it was a good opportunity for us to see each other in action!

This week we will journey with six folk through the basics of Christian faith and church life. I am pleased they have taken this opportunity to explore what is involved in becoming, and remaining!, members of the Church of Scotland. We look forward to welcoming them into full membership of the church of Jesus Christ in this place.

During this past week we have discovered some snowdrops growing in the manse garden. The snowdrop in the photo above is today's discovery, and it seems to be struggling to flourish. Perhaps the strimmer has been applied too diligently in the past. Or maybe its position at the front of the house leaves it too exposed to the wintry blasts that can sweep across the house even at this time of year. Spring may be in sight, but it is not here yet!

It almost miraculous that these beautiful plants remain hidden under the ground, and yet when the time and conditions are right they burst forth and surprise us with their exquisite beauty.

It seems to me like a metaphor for the workings of God through his people, the Church. It seems like there is no life, that nothing is happening, that the future is hopeless. But just when we least expect it, the new life appears, springs into sight, and bursts forth into bloom.

Jesus told a story about a man who went to sow his field. The seed which fell on good ground yielded as much as a hundred new seeds. God is calling each one of us in his Church to be fruitful and to prepare for harvest. (Luke chapter 8:5-15)