Logan Fish Pond

Hi
In my last post about Scotland we visited the spectacular Mull of Galloway with its light house, sea views and a cliff top cafe. If I've whetted your appetite and you do find yourself in the area, there is one place that you really shouldn't miss. Not far from the tip of the Mull of Galloway you will find Logan Bay, and a small attraction called Logan fish pond.

Logan fish pond, is something that contemporary chefs would be proud of. In 1788 the laird of Logan, Andrew McDouall had a brain wave. He decided to take advantage of a blow hole in the rocks that was found on the foreshore of Logan Bay and over a period of twelve years he employed a gang of workmen, armed only with hand tools, to excavate a pond out of the solid rock. The project was completed in 1800 and a variety of sea fish were introduced to their new home. Once in the pond, they were fed and lived quite happily until their day came to be chosen for the table. The sea water in the pond was kept clean and changed automatically by the tide twice a day, and the laird who lived nearby was guaranteed a supply of fresh fish.

Visitors to the fish pond can now enjoy the small gift shop and buy bags of food to feed the fish. It's quite magical to see big sea fish darting up for the food. I'm a coarse angler so not very good at recognising sea fish, but when I visited I think I saw, cod, pollack, wrasse and a turbot. As well as the fish in the big pond, there are also some aquariums where the visitors are allowed to touch the inhabitants. My wife picked up the starfish you can see on the right, but being a bit of a sissy I declined.

After visiting the fish pond we had a short walk along the beautifully sandy beach! Now, you may have noticed that I finished the last sentence with an exclamation mark and I'll explain why. My wife and I like to stroll on quiet beaches and pick up anything we find interesting; a pretty shell, an oddly shaped or coloured pebble and that sort of thing. Anyway the first time we found ourselves in Logan Bay, we thought we'd discovered a beachcomber's heaven. All manner of flotsam and jetsam was washed up the beach along the high tide mark. In fact there was so much stuff on this beach that after picking my way through some of it, I asked a local what was going on and was surprised by his answer. Apparently, across the sea in Northern Ireland, they have a rubbish tip that is situated near the coast and the wind blows lots of the rubbish into the sea. In turn, the prevailing tides takes all this crap out to sea and dumps the stuff in Logan Bay. Suddenly, beachcombing lost its charm and I don't think it will ever be the same again.

I think it's a disgrace, especially when we read in the papers that people are being fined for discarding their cigarette ends. To let all that rubbish enter the sea and allow some of it to foul one of the most beautiful areas of the country is criminal. By the way, I'm not defending those who drop their fag ends, I deplore any type of litter, I'm just making a comparison.

Anyway, I had the pleasure of visiting Logan Bay again this year, a photo of the harbour can be seen on the left, and was extremely pleased to find that the beach was as it should be. I don't know if it was down to the wind, tide or if it had been sorted altogether, but I was pleased to find that the beach was rubbish free. We also had a nice walk along the harbour wall and watched a flock of gannets as they plunged like darts into the blue sea in the middle of the bay. And so concluded another enjoyable visit to the Mull of Galloway and Logan Bay.

Here's just a reminder that if you want any further information about me, my books, or my writing services please click here.