Near as I can figure it, through the possibly flawed perceptual filters of my own reality tunnel, the most likely answers this week, seem to me to be:
Q1. Glenluce Abbey
Q2. Stranraer
The initial clues seem to place us in Wigtownshire, probably on the disused railway bridge which spans the Tarf Water (couldn't find a reference source which gave the length of this river but it looks to be around seventeen miles, on the maps I checked). The line used to be operated by the Portpatrick & Wigtownshire Joint Railway and appears to have closed c 1965.
Three miles south of the bridge brings us to Castle Loch and this seems to have an island with a ruined castle on it. Six miles west south west of the bridge lies the village of Glenluce and the Cistercian Abbey, which according to some of the reference sources I checked, was founded c 1192 by Roland, Earl of Galloway. The beach which is marked as a danger area, is probably 'Luce Sands', which is sometimes used by the scientists at QuineticiQ to test weapons and munitions. They took over RAF West Freugh airfield (opened c 1936/37) c 2001 and also have ranges on Torrs Warren.
It seems that on the fourth of April 1957, the multiple mobile radar units which had been deployed to assist with the testing at Luce Sands and fixed radars in several locations, detected a very large stationary object out over the Irish sea, initially at a height of fifty thousand feet which subsequently very rapidly moved to a height of seventy thousand feet. The unidentified aircraft was reportedly moving at speeds of several thousand miles per hour and performing manoeuvres which were not possible in the aircraft of the period. The story only got out because some of the operators at the civilian radar stations, talked to the press.
Travelling six miles north west of West Freugh airfield would take us to the town of Stranraer and the former home of the Arctic explorer, Sir John Ross (born c 1777). Ross lived for a time at the North West Castle, which is now a hotel. The ferries to Ireland now operate out of Cairnryan, a small dorp, four miles or so north of Stranraer, on the eastern shore of Loch Ryan and the OS map does show a lighthouse at that position.
N.B. Due to the number of people who normally write poison pen letters in green ink posting on his page, the Eastender has now moved to moderated comments but rest assured, if you have a non abusive comment or quip relating to the puzzle and its solution, he will endeavour to publish it.....
No comments:
Post a Comment