IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Dalquhurn Lane, DUMBARTON, G82 4LR

By the River Leven.

This photograph shows a set of steps leading down to the River Leven; the picture was taken from a footpath on the opposite bank. A covering of snow has made the steps more clearly visible than usual. The book "Renton Between the Wars" (2007), by the late Jim Murphy, explains: "Before the village got its own water supply, water was obtained from the river or using the rainwater barrels. Steps were provided at four points on the river embankment to give pedestrian access to either collect water or wash clothes. These are still in existence but are hidden by overgrowth on the river banking."

The green and white patches are a species of Water-crowfoot, an aquatic plant that was conspicuous here because prolonged dry weather had lowered the water level. For the flowers, see Image, taken further upriver in similar conditions, but on a different occasion.

This is the northern end of the housing development. When this picture was taken, some homes were occupied, and other areas of the site were still being developed. See also Image Image can be seen in the distant background, at the extreme left. For the area on other side of the lade, on the left, see Image

The galls are caused by mites, which I believe(*) to be of the species Aceria cephalonea (syn. Artacris cephaloneus). The tree itself is between the cycle path and the River Leven, not far from a Image - - • - - (*) The identification is according to the keys (specifically, the text) in "British Plant Galls" (2ed; Redfern & Shirley, 2011), and is based in large part on the host, the size of the galls, and the fact that the apex, where there is one, is very blunt and rounded. The accompanying illustrations to that key give a quite different impression, suggesting that these are the galls of Aceria macrorhyncha (synonyms Aceria macrorhynchus and Artacris macrorhynchus). Nevertheless, I have found the galls of that species to be typically much more pointed (Image). It may be that the illustrations are, in this case, a little misleading, or perhaps the appearance of the galls changes as they become more mature.

View across wasteland on the extremity of a new housing estate towards established housing on the banks of the River Leven.

In a new currently off-map housing estate, the road called 'Dalquhurn Lane' leads to the houses at Dalquhurn Point.

This part starts beside the foot of Image; the foot of the bridge is shown in Image For the far end of the same route, see Image Workmen from the local council had been putting in considerable effort to improve the paths that follow the bank of the River Leven around the outer edge of the Vale of Leven Industrial Estate. This picture shows a section that had been prepared for the next step of the process. See Image for a nearby part of the route, shown before improvement. Click on the end-note title for other views on this woodland walk.

See Image for a close-up of part of this patch. The path is part of cycle route NCN 7. The River Leven can be seen on the right. Not far ahead, but just out of sight from here, is a Image

The tree on which this gall was growing stands between the River Leven and the adjacent section of cycle route (that section is shown in Image). Many of these galls were present on the tree, and some leaves bore more than one of them, as shown in Image By late July, they had become brown and dried-up in appearance. These fairly large, stalked galls go by the common name of "fig galls". They are produced by a species of aphid, Tetraneura ulmi.