The B and H Expedition of March 2013

I had another day off today. It was wonderful. Yay for days off! Anyways, I got up late (as usual for such days) and took my time doing various things like getting dressed, eating breakfast, reading, eating lunch etc. Vicky (as usual, not her real name) and I had decided yesterday (or the day before...) that we were going to go up behind the Ropes Course and look at the cool broken down house there. So we wandered up there during her lunch break. I didn't have the sense to bring my camera, which was a shame. It was super cool up there. Lots of mossy stones, and brambles. I liked it so much that after returning with Vicky to the house and talking to my mother, and Aunt and cousin, I went back, this time armed with my camera, and with a different faithful companion/colleague! We shall simply call her B because I can't think of another name other then hers that suits her...and that starts with a "B". . .

We spent a lot of time musing as to what on earth this area we were exploring was originally. You'll see in the pictures that there is a "gatehouse" seeming section and then a high wall. Now, as we continued walking through the back wooded area we found bits of broken down wall all along the way. It was very intriguing, and we are even more curious about the original plans for the estate.

As we reached the edge of the estate (it's not very large, but I just like calling it an estate..it sounds much more grand and luxurious that way. I know, I'm weird...deal with it ;), we  saw a nice rolling green hill that we  decided that in the Summer we were going to sit on top of with some bread and jam in the wee hours of the morning and watch the sunrise at 4ish. (It doesn't really get dark here during the summer. The sunsets around 11 and rises again around 4 or so) So that will be fun! We'll see if we actually do it. We're also planning that night, when it gets dark, to have a bit of a bonfire at the bonfire site down on that side of the center and roast marshmallows and hotdogs. It's gonna be totally awesome!

Anyways, here are the pictures I took of the ruined house and surrounding areas. There will be more information about the Expedition in the captions as usual (I seem to be saying that phrase quite a lot today...hmmm) 

On the way up to the Ropes Course. The pathways here are covered in broken shells. It's pretty neat to someone who's used to wood chips and gravel...

If you look closely you can see the wall in behind those trees...but only if you know where to look

The wall

The gate that goes up towards the Ropes Course

Looking down towards the broken gatehouse type thing

I love old, moss-covered stone steps.

At the back of the house area looking towards the farmer's fields

The back of the house. That piece of piping is significant..it comes into our theories later...

Looking along the wall from the back of the house

Towards the Ropes Course from the back

Another random stone structure...and B :)

Looking over the fields

Some old stonework for the brother :)

B and I came across this old wooden bridge in the middle of the brambles. We have no idea why it was there. There was no stream there. This confused us even more. We still had no idea what this area once was. We had thought some sort of farmyard, but this bit of bridge makes that theory a little odd. Why do they need a wooden bridge over some trench? Why is there a trench in a farmyard?? (so many questions...)

And then another piece of oldness came and through another wrench into our theories. Curiosity got the better of us and we opened it. We, well...at least I felt like someone from a children's adventure story, something like the Famous Five, looking for clues and finding the entrance to some secret hideout. I am still such a child inside...but I don't mind. Having an imagination is so much more entertaining than being reasonable and rational all the time.

Down into the well! See I told you that piping would be significant later. I figure that the pipes get linked and that they would pump water up from the well. Maybe for a farmyard drinking trough for cows or some such beast. I really need to Google this...

We went wandering down a path that didn't seem as well-used anymore. It ended and then we went careening through trees and leaves.

Yeah, that's right. We found a skull...I'm pretty sure it's from a sheep.

That's part of the hill we plan to have our morning sunrise picnic thinger on...it's gonna be great

And then we went down this path. It was all dark, and gloomy, and cool (as in temperature...though it was pretty cool, cool-wise...), and mysterious. It actually kinda felt like some sorta jungle. Just because it was pretty dense foliage and the leaves were that broad, thick sort.

We found wall all along our walk to the outskirts of the estate.  So we're pretty sure this wall at some point extended around most of the center. We still have no idea why...but we think it did.

More wall-y bits

More wall :)

So that was another fun adventure! :) Time for me to go and look up some stuff about this house...I'll let you know what I find.


Basically, what it comes down to is that I couldn't find anything. However, I found a pretty neat pictures of what it looked in days past.

http://www.kirkcudbright.co/postcards/Barcaple%20-%20Ringford.jpg

So that's it at some point in the past....

And this is it now minus the snow of course:

http://www.abernethy.org.uk/App/uploads/Barcaple%20house%20snowy.JPG

As you can see, the conservatory as been moved. However, my bedroom window is the same in both locations, though the colour changed! (it's red in the first image and white in the second.) In the first image, the window on the ground floor on the left hand side of the conservatory is now, so I believe, one of the doors into the conservatory. The tree is still there. The one on the far right. So that's pretty cool. It seems we have lost some of the other trees though, which is kinda sad, but I'm guessing they were removed to make room for the addition (which I have no idea when it was added...it's pretty old as well so not too modern...maybe really late 1800s or early 1900s...). I know there's no ivy in the second picture, but I feel like there is still some now...but I'm not sure...apparently I didn't take a picture of that side of the house when I went out taking pictures the first Saturday I was here...

So that's my day...and some before and after details of Barcaple House (sort of...okay, not really...). That's about it for now...I will probably blog next week sometime...sometime...