Founded by King David 1 ( 1124-1153 ) Holyrood Abbey was raised to the ground in 1570.

Today it comprises of little other than the nave walls.

Dalry Place Edinburgh

Not far from Haymarket Station Dalry Place is a residential area untypical for the city centre in that it does not consist of tenement buildings.

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Scottish Parliament

Near to Holyrood you'll find the Scottish Parliament buildings - very very modern.

Grassmarket

From 1477 the Grassmarket which lies at the foot of Edinburgh Castle was used not only as a marketplace but a place of executions .

Today the place is a tourist haunt being surrounded by pubs and restaurants

Edinburgh Castle inhabitants..

Here are some of the Castle's inhabitants - all rather wooden..

Edinburgh Castle

A few more shots from around the castle including the One O'Clock Gun - fired at one every day except Sunday and very noisy ...

The Argyle Battery consist of 18lb muzzle loading pieces and point towards the New Town.

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A fine view from Edinburgh Castle

As to be expected you can see for miles around from the castle ramparts - looking towards Midlothian or the Firth of Forth.

Edinburgh Castle

I took quite a few photos around and inside Edinburgh Castle - here the exterior.

Crowns and coffee ...

We've just had a few days away North of the Border in Edinburgh so over the next few days I'll be publishing a few photos.

Snapped the coffee with the chocolate shaped crown at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 

Not much change from a ten pound note for this lot !!!!

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More art work ....

Tucked away in a corner of Albert Square - looking old 

Chinese New Year

Getting ready for the Chinese New Year - the Year of the Ram.

ADRIFT - by John Cassidy

Since it's creation in 1907 by John Cassidy - ADRIFT has certainly moved around the city centre - latest resting place is Peter Street.

Cenotaph - Manchester

The Cenotaph in a new position. Moved due to the rebuilding of the Metro stop and the introduction of new lines.

St.Peters Square is certainly having a makeover .

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Manchester SNOWDROP City

A symbol of hope and peace the Snowdrop was planted on the graves of soldiers killed in World War I

To mark the centenary of the war the National Trust planted 100,000 snowdrops around Manchester in 2014.

Today they are now blooming.

These were planted in and around the Manchester Art Gallery and are gathering quite a few sightseers.

Solar lights

These solar lights look very attractive but are useless in the winter - our dark winter skies generate zero power.

Perhaps not a good idea ...

Perhaps not a good idea to manufacture a bird feeder in the shape of an owl - it must be off-putting for the sparrows and tits.

The "eyes" are very bright and can be seen way down the garden ...

Snowdrops ....

It may be minus 3 C. and snow lies on the ground but these snowdrops have managed to make an appearance.

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Swans

Photos taken at Alkrington Woods Middleton

A cold morning in Springfield Park

Some views from the park - across to Rochdale and the Pennines and Knowl Moor with the wind turbines.


Cold day but we were lucky with the snow - not much of the stuff....

Alkrington Woods

A few more photos from our walk around Alkrington Woods

Sunday Walk - Alkrington Woods

A cold but dry sunny Sunday morning and away we went for a walk around Alkrington Woods.

Here are just some of the photos we managed to take.

FA Cup - 3rd Round

FA Cup

Well both Manchester teams won their qualifying games today but it was a struggle for both of them - leaving it very late in the day to score goals !!!

United beat Yeovil 2-0 and City beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1.

Let's hope that standards improve  for the next round.

Saturday saw local team Rochdale beat Nottingham Forrest 1-0 - well done!!!

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