R Mac

:biggrin:

I was a bit unsure when I posted about John O Groats to be honest, must see where Dunnet head actually is.

May is probably the best month, not too cold, good chance of dry weather, still snow on the hills (looks Nice) less trouble with midges. Things to see & do? West Coast is the gateway to the inner and outer Hebrides After leaving Glasgow you get Loch Lomond, Glencoe, Fort William Things to see around Ft William, Ben Nevis, Britains highest mountain Lots of Commando related stuff, they trained in the area during WW2. Display in Ft William Museum, Monument near Spean Bridge, display in Spean Bridge Hotel, all free. Moving up the West Coast takes you to the Isle of Skye, used to be a ferry now there's a bridge, Once on Skye you can take a ferry to the outer Hebridean islands. Keep up the West until you reach the top at Durness, go east to reach John o Groats, mainland Britains most northerly point, back down the East coast to Inverness, go westish again to reach Aviemore and the Cairngorms National Nature reserve, go east again to Braemar and Balmoral Castle, South again to Perth and then Edinburgh, the capital and Home to Edinburgh Castle (surprisingly) and loads of other stuff. Alternatively fly into Inverness and do it all in reverse.

Like Scotland only more and bigger. Looking at the population of the PNW states and what you say about Vancouver island puts in perspective just how overcrowded we are in the UK, even in 'exotic postcode' land where I am.

Should be interesting, surprisingly little underneath a pick-up once the tub is off. The chassis looks quite light compared to say a Land Rover, that isn't a criticism by the way, just an observation. I take it you're intending putting a tipper back on? plus a winch, she'll be the business. Good Luck, crack on, need to see her finished

Good luck to you too, sounds great where you're going. I think though it's us who stay in the UK that need the luck most.

Love the scenery up your way and aye there's no shortage of things to do, although the scenery is pretty stunning up the West Coast, Kinlochleven up to Applecross and onwards is fantastic if you get the weather. To be honest once you cross the Erskine or Forth bridge the scenery is pretty special

Sadly I doubt it'll get any better, how many organisations/bodies/associations are there currently related to the forestry/arb industry before you even get to the various government HSE bodies, what do they actually do for you? do you actually benefit in any way from their existence or do they simply put stumbling blocks in your way while directly and/or indirectly costing you money or are they simply self serving? Who called for them to be set up? the industry itself? or did they set themselves up as guardians and sell the idea to the industry on what could loosely be described as health and safety blackmail? How many of those making decisions that effect us have actually worked in the forestry/arb industry?

Good post Reg, to the point and down to earth as always. I'm way too old now but the past year my feeling has been that rather than send 16-18 years olds to pointless training academies to study subjects that they'll never find work at they should all be encouraged to do 3-6 months work experience in at least one other country, kind of like a student exchange program. That would let them see that there's vastly more out there than what exists in their own locality/county/country. I think a fair few of us have thought of emigrating at some point but perhaps the fear of the unknown or the comfort of the familiar has stopped us. Honestly glad things have worked out for you Reg, you've laid the foundations for a vastly better future for not only your daughter but for yourself and your wife. (and yeah the weather is much nicer in your videos so it makes for better entertainment for me )

Looks like the lower jaw from a squirrel, seems to have the correct number of teeth.