Turf Zone – KingInTheSky
Another reason for my turfing session around Currie and Balerno the other day, one I forgot to mention in the turf blog of that trip, was to tick off another Monument zone towards the new Monument medal. This medal requires you to take 50 zones with the Monument attribute. When I first posted about this new medal, according to https://turf.lundkvist.com/, I had taken 41 Monument zones and zone DougalHaston added another bringing my total to 42, the answer to Life the Universe and Everything.
However, while 42 might be the answer to Life the Universe and Everything, it does not explain that today https://turf.lundkvist.com/ shows I’ve taken 44 of the 237 Monument zones in Scotland. Where did the other 2 comes from? I’ve not been anywhere other than locally; no new zones have appeared and I’ve not been further afield to take any other Monument zones. Very odd. Perhaps s coding error or perhaps some zones have been granted the Monument attribute?
Turf Zone – CuteChurch
Nevertheless, I’m off to Grangemouth and Falkirk for a turfing session today. The area has a good population of Monument zones with 9 in total, and around 250 normal zones, all fairly close together and easily reached by bicycle or kick scooter and I’ve only taken one of them previously, zone TheKelpies. So, with a bit of luck should have that first Monument medal before the day is done. Or perhaps not, as things turned out.
Okay, fast forwards a few hours, slow along the A720 City of Edinburgh Bypass, faster along the busy M8, and even faster along the quieter M9 and finally the 30 mph urban A905 through Grangemouth. And here’s a wee tip. You can park by the side of the road on the A905 in Grangemouth, just before it crossed the River Carron and leaves town for Skinflats. It’s only 400m away from The Kelpies, so easy access to the canal paths and other walkways. And no parking or entry charges. But don’t tell everyone!
Turf Zone – LoveAndKisses
The original plan with to follow a loose circuit taking in all the eight Monument zones I was after. However, that went out the window as soon as I started cycling. It’s seemed daft not to take as many unique zones as I could and collect any Monument zones and turfer uniques along the way. I always like to, what I refer to as block clear, taking all the zones in an area when hunting for uniques. It saves returning for the odd zone or two again later. Though Sod’s Law will see new zones appearing no doubt, usually just after I’ve been there.
After clearing all the zones in Grangemouth, at least withing the town on the seaward side of the M9 motorway, I decided to head for the countryside and cycled up towards Skinflats, then across to Carronshore than down to Falkirk. I then spent the remainder of the day taking uniques. On a previous trip on the kick scooter, I’d taken most of the zones along the canal paths, so could leave those be.
Turf Zone – TheKelpies
After 4 hours in the saddle, mission accomplished. 72 zones taken, one turfer unique by the name of Brows and four Monument zones including KingInTheSky, Zetland, 1914To1919 and JohnDeGraeme. Thus, bringing my Monument total to 48, leaving only two more required. My total towards the 2500 Unique medal stands at 2430. That’s two new turf medals not far away.
So, what are the highlights of the session? First has to be the replica Supermarine Spitfire Mark 1 at zone KingInTheSky. It commemorates the trainee Spitfire pilots from WWII. Then there’s the amazing church at zone CuteChurch, actually called Bothkennar and Carronshore Parish Church. I guess that was too long for a zone name?
Zone LoveAndKisses has to get a mention because I’m not sure if it’s rude or not, as does zone TheKelpies, which is magnificent. Interesting that The Kelpies are well concealed until the last minutes when you cycle up though The Helix. Also came across some bricks near zone ThePicnicZone, including DOUGAL, LARKHALL, BOGHEAD and a very nice JG STEIN & CO DENNY. A nice find. More soon.
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