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Ardvrek Castle, Wee Hoose, Sputie Burn and Big Burn…

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Ten

31 July 2020

I started the day at Ardvrek castle, and tried an early shoot but I missed the dawn and the sun was now washing out half the shots I hoped for. I did have a go, and in one spot the shots came out fairly nicely, although I felt there was a definate need to come back and try again when the light reflected the mood of the castle itself. This castle, and its awesome history, needed, in my opinion, a good moody threatening sky. This would reflect its grim and bloody history well, I thought. Since this clearly wasnt going to be right now, I decided to have a retry tonight when the sun or light would be behind me for my prefferred shot and I had a rethink for today over breakfast.

I decided to take a leisurely drive down the A837/A836/A839/A9 to pick up on the southern part of Sutherland that I had driven through on my way to Caithness. There were a few locations I hoped to photograph down there and I didnt want to miss them. My first choice of location was the Sputie Burn waterfall at Golspie, a really sweet waterfall that was right on a beach apparently. The drive was easy, only an hour, and on the way I happened across the Wee Hoose in Loch Shin. I only grabbed a quick shot, as there was pretty much only one spot to shoot it from. Cloud had begun to set in, but the Hoose was still in full sun, so the shots here were a bit too harsh for my liking. I forgot to bring over my long lens too, so I couldnt zoom in more to get the shot I would have preferred, but I consoled myself with being able to get this better at another time. It was fun reading about the fake history of this house however, it was so convincing, it almost had me, even though I knew it wasnt real. The ‘legend’ has it, that a poacher named Jock Broon taught the local Laird how to distil whisky, and as a way of showing his gratitude, the Laird gave Broon a small piece of land of his own. It was said that Jock wanted to proudly mark his territory and his new status as a landowner, so build a house of his own and the Wee Hoose was born. The story then continues, stating that he didnt live there long, as he accidentally shot himself in the foot and died shortly after. Fun story, and there’s even a board nearby showing photos of the house in olden years… however, as I already noted, it is all fake, having been build some 20-25 years ago as a float for the local Lairg Gala. It was put on the island after the gala, purely as a bit of fun, and it took off and became so popular with not just the locals, but tourists, that it has since stayed. Bad weather had destroyed it a couple of times, but it has been rebuilt and apparently even has lighting that comes on at the same time as the street lights. Wish I had been there in the evening now…bet it looks lovely!!! Next time!

I continued down to the waterfall, found the spot fairly easily and had to park up on a verge as I wasnt sure whether I could get down the small road after the bridge here. I gathered my kit, the dog and my wellingtons and started off down the road, wading through water that flooded the road under the bridge, finding a spot for two cars at the end. I could have parked here after all. I heard the falls from here so followed through a small gate, and along the little footpath down to the beach. The waterfall was really easy to find, as it was indeed pretty much right on the beach where the path ended. When I arrived, it was bathed in beautiful sunlight, and looked amazing so I snapped a quick shot with my phone, and set the camera up. Once the camera was up however, the sun had gone behind a cloud. I waited for a while, and when it looked like a no show, just took what I could and packed my camera away when I couldnt really get much more. As I packed the camera away, the sun came out, so I quickly set up again, only to have the darned thing duck behind a cloud again. I waited, but nope, nothing, so packed away again. It continued to tease me like this for the whole time I was there. It was SO frustrating!!

I waited for a little longer just in case the sun was willing to make a re appearance, and even wandered down to the beach for a bit, but it clearly had no intention of coming out for any length of time. Eventually I had had enough of the wait, and the clouds were definately gathering rather than dispersing, so since it clearly wasnt going to happen for me today, I travelled the 5 minutes to get to Big Burn falls instead. These were also easy to find, as the Big Burn walk is marked from the roadside. Parking was plentiful, with a few car parks dotted along a narrow road and a nice 10-15 minute woodland walk from the end car park.

When I got there, I fell in love with these falls. They felt totally different in character. Where Sputie Burn was light, airy, fresh and open, Big Burn falls were dark, brooding and far more oppressive, in a good way if thats possible. They were in a small gorge that rounded and cupped the falls making them feel very intimate, private and peaceful. Sadly, these falls had pretty much only one position to shoot from, a ready built wooden viewing platform on the left side. Because of this, I didnt have a lot of options for alternative viewpoints so I tried several different exposures and ISO settings instead. I hoped that when I got home I might see the differences in each setting on the PC. I would have liked to have gotten a shot from the other side of the river, but the falls and water had cut a fairly deep riverbed so crossing today looked pretty impossible. I might try again at another date and see if its possible further down river, tho the walls of the gorge might make it impossible to walk up on the other side sadly. Of the two waterfall visits today however, this one was definately my favourite.

I loved how peaceful and intimate the Big Burn waterfall was

I stayed quite a while here, mostly just standing and soaking up the peace, but eventually I had to leave to do the drive back to Ardvrek Castle for a second night, and hopefully my moody castle shot. By the time I got back there, it was also in cloud cover so I got quite excited by the shot I was hoping to get. However, I had neglected to remember where I was, and the time of day, and the second I stepped out of the camper I was mobbed by evening midges that swarmed into the camper. I slammed the door shut as soon as I realised and spend the next 10 minutes doing my now impressive (and frantic) clapping dance to the still curious and confused gaze of the dog. Despite this not being my first ‘dance’ she still seemed totally perplexed. Within the hour, I was very sadly watching a stunning sunset swathed in the wee biteys from the window – but I was too scared to set foot outside. What a shite nancy of a photographer I was that night! 🙁

My Adventures

Wailing Widow Falls, Ardvrek Castle, and Inchnadamph

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Nine

30 July 2020

Today was the day I had most been looking forward to. I regularly watch several photographers on You Tube, and one of them, Gary Gough, had shown a set of videos of his photography experiences in the Assynt. Usually he tells us where he is, and then goes on to discuss the photographic aspect of the locations or his shots. In video one of the 3 however (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Zi76OOGko&ab_channel=GaryGough), less than 2 minutes in Gary shows us the waterfall, and simply say ‘as waterfalls go, this isn’t a bad one… time for a selfie!’ and that was it! I was beside myself. I LOVE a waterfall, and that one looked especially awesome! Did he tell us where he was though??!! Not in the slightest…! So I began the hunt to find out what it was called, and where, exactly, it was… and that became the basis of this photographic trip. I wanted to visit THAT waterfall, so I needed to visit Scotland, and I ended up growing my list of locations from this one place. The falls, I eventually found out were called Wailing Widow falls, and they have a couple of stories to explain the name. The one I think most likely, is the story of a widowed mother whose son, a goat herder, fell from the top during a very stormy evening as he was trying to gather his goats together. When I got to look at this place, I could see such an accident easily happening!

Anyway… today I was finally going to visit these stunning falls, and I couldn’t wait!! I got up, quickly snapped the view from where I had stopped the night (more for record, as the shot didn’t end up particularly great), and plotted the route to the falls into my sat nav. As I got close, I found myself driving right past the gorge that led to it, up to the top of the hill, and to the loch that supplies the water. By the time I got to that point and realised where I was, I suddenly realised that I had missed the spot totally! These falls are not signposted in any way, so I carefully drove back down the hill and spotted a single car parked up in a small spot big enough for just 2 vehicles. Pulling in next to the car, I prepared myself for a sturdy hike, and a couple of minutes in, passed a family heading back towards me. ‘Its not far’ they told me, ‘only 10-15 minutes, though be careful, some of the rocks in the middle are loose and the mud can be very slippery’ This was no exaggeration, but even given my poor fitness levels, it didn’t take long for the falls to come into view… and I was not at all disappointed.

Wailing Widow Falls from slightly down stream

They took my breath away, as they were so high, and fell in such a beautiful way, hitting several rocks at different levels. I stood for ages before I finally started to look for nice compositions of it. I started off nearby, in a couple of obvious spots, then decided that maybe the best shot would be across the river. I gingerly made my way across, and started to explore all angles from the other side, practising shots at a variety of different exposures to see what I liked best. I thought that maybe a shot further down the river on this side might be nice, so I very carefully made my way down the other bank. There was no path this side, and in fact, very little space to walk at points, but River and I eventually made our way slightly down stream to a fairly nice spot. It was a bit high though, and I really wanted to get to the rocks in the middle…so I sat down and slipped over a metre down off the ledge to a nice rocky base, that enabled me to get into a good spot to cross to the middle of the water. In the back of my head I wondered how on earth I was going to get back up that ledge, but I decided to worry about that later. For now, River had managed to find her own way down, and we set up in a great spot to shoot. As I finished the set up, another tourist came into view, and stood dead centre to my shot. Flipping typical, I thought, but I was loving it here, so actually, I really didn’t mind waiting. She took her time looking, she took some photos, then she took some more, and then just stood looking again, and then took even more photos. It felt like an eternity, and eventually I decided the wait was long enough, so I simply snapped a shot with her in it, mostly as a tester for seeing how my shot would look once she had moved. Unexpectedly, I really liked the shot. I am not a fan of people in my shots, but part of me felt she actually made this one!

By the time she left, I had already checked the picture, and on liking it so much, I called across to her to ask for a contact number so I could send it to her. When she got it, she was over the moon and shared it with a number of people, so I am quite pleased I bothered!

With the shot from this angle in the bag, I made my way back to the side, scrabbled back up the drop, and carefully plotted my way back. As I got nearer the falls, I decided to carry on and get as close as I could on this side. I found myself balanced in quite a precarious position, but I had the tripod set up securely enough to focus on what appeared to be a really nice shot. As I put the camera on and rummaged for the ND filter I wanted to use, my polariser and ring slipped from the bag, and before I could grab it, it feel right down into a deep pool where I had no hope of fishing it back out. ‘NOOoo!!!’ I cried giving River quite the cause for concern. I calmed her saying everything was OK, but inside I was gutted! With no other option, I just focussed on the shot I wanted and carried on – there wasn’t anything else I could do now really. Once the shots were taken, I just sat for a while and enjoyed the bird song from a grey wagtail, heard well before I spotted him. He didn’t seem too nervous of me or the dog, as he eventually happily sprang into view, hopped over the rocks, and then around to have a happy splashy bath in the waters between them. This ended up being a really happy place, and one I have taken home with me, in multiple senses of the word.

No Polariser, but I still managed a shot I was pleased with.

Having milked these falls for every angle I could think of, I carefully made my way back across the river, and hiked back to the camper. These falls were every bit as gorgeous as I hoped, and my day felt totally complete!

With some hours to go until dark I thought I might make my way to Ardvrek Castle for the evening, maybe have a walk around there, or try and find a simpler, smaller fall near Inchnadamph that was on my list. I found my spot for the night, then continued the drive on for a little bit, finding a car park in Inchnadamph, where I left the camper. River clearly didn’t want to walk any further, so rather than drag her with me, I decided to let her stay, and I set off alone. I started the walk following the river, but found that it didn’t lead anywhere, so walked back, crossed a bridge, and tried again the other side, following a path that seemed to follow the water. I assumed that the waterfall I was looking for would be somewhere along this river, but as the time progressed the river faded first from my sight, and eventually from my ears as well, until I realised that I was nowhere near any running water at all. It had been over an hour, and the daylight would be gone in another hour, so I had to stop and rethink this plan. I checked Google maps to see where I was. To my dismay, I was somewhere between 2 rivers, but not near either, and I had no idea which one might have the waterfall on. I was clearly nowhere near where I hoped to be, so reluctantly had to turn around and give up this one. I was very disappointed, not to mention, exhausted, but since I had no idea where I even was, it seemed to be the only sensible call I could make. When I turned round and began the long walk back I was faced with this sight:

For a moment I just stood and stared. How on earth did I not see this on the way up?! It was a perfect photo just staring at me right back, and it took a little while before I took my bag off my shoulders and set the camera up for a shot. A couple of hikers strolled by, with a cheery ‘Hello’, commented on the pretty sight in front of us, and then wandered on their happy way, leaving this for my eyes to enjoy. I have no idea what the house is, but I loved how it reflected the shape of the monro behind it, and how it sat right at the end of where the winding path turned to make its downhill trek to Inchnadamph. I couldn’t NOT take this could I?! Once done, I felt happier and less like this hike had been a total waste of time, and I found the walk back to be far quicker. Whether it was because I was happy at having seen that sight, or whether my sense of time had been elongated by my tiredness and the uphill hike (on top of the starting misroute I had turned back with) I don’t know, but I was back at Ardvrek castle quicker than I had expected, and made it with a little daylight left.

I took River out for a short tour around the castle, snapping a few ideas on my phone ready for tomorrow morning, and she found something that really got her nose excited. Sniffing and following a trail of something, she was happily bounding around the hill for ages before we finally went back to settle in for the night. Today had ended up a perfect one.

My Adventures

Smoo Cave, Sango Bay, and Loch Stack

Scottish Highlands 2020: Part Eight

29 July 2020

Today was beach day! In the dark the night before, I ended up driving around the area, unable to find a particularly good spot to park, with two parking areas right by the beach saying no overnight parking allowed. I drove around for a bit before I finally found a nice quiet spot that looked tucked away, and would also keep me safe for the night. I was done in by then, so I did little more than cook the quickest meal, and tuck myself into bed. The area was sheltered and quiet, and after the night before, sleeping was SOoooo easy!!! In the morning I took my time getting awake and ready for my beach practice day. Part of me was excited, part still very nervous – clearly my experience in Dorset earlier this year had left some lasting effects on me. (I haven’t written a blog about it yet, but the full story is on my Instagram). When I drove past the bay briefly, it was clear the tide wasn’t going to be in for several hours, and my concerns from the evening before proved to be totally unfounded. There was nothing I could do for now, as the rock I hoped to photograph was nowhere near the water and so, with all this extra time on my hands, I decided to head over to Smoo Cave. I had been very surprised by the location being so close by when I passed it the night before, but very pleased because it meant I could do two locations in one day – both of which I had been very much looking forward to.

Arriving at 9.30, I found that there were still quite a few spaces in the small car park. I am not sure how full this area gets later in the day, or in a really good season… but I imagine it might be a problem to park at times. With my timing perfect however, I parked up quickly. Finding the attraction to be absolutely free, I took the camera and the dog, and full of excited anticipation, headed down the stairs to the entrance. My first surprise was that I didn’t come down the side that I had seen others come down on online blogs and videos. No idea why – I didn’t notice a further car park over to the eastern side, and neglected to hike up that way to explore either. That’s a mistake for sure, as the cave entrance looks far more dramatic from up that side judging by pictures available online. But, as this was my first ever visit, I think missed opportunities are allowed, as they are what encourage me to make return visits. 🙂

On this occasion, I wandered down, and had a look from the front. Initial explorations show a huge cave entrance and a short gorge with a thin river flowing down the centre towards the sea. The tide was out, so I don’t actually know how far up the sea will come, but there is a simple little footbridge crossing the river, so I assume it doesn’t get dangerously high. There are lots of images online of the cave front, and although I did explore a little, for some reason I didn’t photograph it myself. I think it might look better with a dramatic or a blue sky, but when I arrived, the featureless grey one made it a flat and drab sight. Inside, the cave was large and light, with a pool of water at the back, and a covered wooden walkway to one side, leading into another cave area. There are signs about small boat tours, but didn’t see any operating today. The covered walkway followed above the river, and after the quick exploration inside the cave, I walked on over to the awesome sight I had come to see…

Only it wasn’t.

Images I had seen online showed a gushing waterfall in a cave, pouring down into a pool before flowing off. When I reached the barrier, I was faced with a tiny effort of a fall, almost dribbling down a cave wall. I was gutted!! I stood for some minutes staring in complete disappointment at the sight, and wondered where the water was. Of course, as its a waterfall, it’ll be dependent on water levels flowing down the river, and I hadn’t taken the glorious summer that we have been having, into consideration. Eventually after I had stared long enough, and several other people had wandered over, and away again, I decided that I should give this a go anyway – who knows, perhaps a long exposure would help bring the waterfall out a little. I squeezed myself into a corner to allow other visitors space to come and view, and set up with a heavy heart. River settled herself down between the legs of the tripod, as she often does. and just watched as the other visitors passed. The first few shots weren’t very good, so I went for a much longer exposure instead, and extended the time, ending up with shots varying between 30 seconds to 68 seconds. As the time went on I felt that maybe the water level was increasing, but wasn’t too sure… in the entire hour of my attempts to get a shot I hoped for, it didn’t grow substantially although it was a bit more than a dribble when I eventually left. I vowed to come back in a different season to see if there was any difference in the waters’ flow, because it must look very different at other times.

It wasn’t until I looked at the shots on my laptop that evening that I realised what I had managed to capture. My chin hit the deck at some of the images. The waterfall was pretty clear after all, but better than that, the long exposure had drawn out some stunning swirls and lines as the water flowed away. I loved these, and I had a real problem picking the nicest one out of them to edit and use. The subtilty of the fall helped give a calm and peaceful image, and the stillness of the rest of the water helped add to this. I ended up totally pleased that the waterfall hadn’t been gushing after all… the feel of this image would not have been possible if the water had been flowing faster!!

Smoo Cave, proving that it was well worth working through my initial disappointment!

As I left I took a photo of the cave entrance with my phone from the edge of the walkway. I liked this shot as well, but the cloud quickly covered the little patch of blue that was there, so my attempts with my Canon weren’t as nice. Since crowd numbers were growing too, it didn’t help having people dotted everywhere in the shot so I wasn’t worried. The visit first thing was definitely a good call I felt.

After this, I went over to Sango Bay, parked up right near the beach without any problems, and waited for the tide to come in. I practised on a few rocks that were closer to the edge before the water reached its peak, and then stayed at the main rock trying all sorts of settings. I managed a nice dreamy look, but I really struggled to get the shots with lines heading down the beach. I simply couldn’t get them to show up nicely. Another photographer joined me, saying hello and mentioning that his daughter recognised me from Dunnet head 😀 We chatted for a bit, and discussed the technique through, and eventually I think I sussed it. It seemed to need a shutter speed of around 2 seconds, and it was all about timing as the waves pull away from the camera. He was very kind and patient, and he came to the conclusion that it wasn’t just me and my inadequacies with this type of shot. He concluded that this beach wasn’t particularly good at frothy waves, and that where the water was coming around the main rock, it was reducing the likelihood of getting a straight line back towards the ocean. He suggested I might have better luck at a different beach. Satisfied I seemed to be getting something at least, he then left, and I don’t think he actually took any photos of his own!

Sango Beach practice photo. Trying to get trailing lines back down the beach. 24mm; f2.8; 2 seconds

Shortly after I met a sweet couple Rachel and… (Shite I forgot his name! I want to say Robbie, but I don’t think it was..) Anyway, he too was learning, so we chatted a bit about what I had been trying for today, and they told me they were on their way to Skye next. I assured then they would love it there, telling them about the blog I had not long written about all my days there. I wonder how they got on…?? As the afternoon was now drifting into evening, they went off for tea, while I continued on the beach, now moving to different rocks. I found this one, which I really liked. The tide was now starting to go back out again, but I managed this shot before it stopped coming up as high as the stone, and before the light started to dip behind a darkening cloud. I quite liked it. Still not lines, but the water lapping here was even more gentle with no froth whatsoever, so I really wasn’t expecting that type of shot this time. A little further, and now right at the end of the beach, I found a small bridge with a river tumbling over some rocks and flowing on to the sea. I snapped a few photos here as well, but now the cloud over my head had really dulled and flattened the light, so I left it and walked quickly back to the camper before the downpour hit.

Once I had finished on the beach, I looked ahead to tomorrow and tried to think of where I might stay the night ready for the next location. I was even more excited about this one, because this was the one place I had most looked forward to seeing in person. I didn’t settle on any plan in the end, but paused in the car park to feed River and just drove in the right direction, hoping a stop off point near the location would reveal itself! Less than an hour into the drive and I had to pull the car up short, and reverse it back to a safe stopping point. Now this spot WAS on my list, but I had neglected to notice it on the route map – and I had never expected to see the exact shot I wanted right by the roadside! Thank goodness it was, I might have missed it entirely!

This was Loch Stack, looking pretty much exactly like all the stunning photos I had seen of it. Light was failing for me however, so I didn’t want to get adventurous and hike all over it. I literally just stepped out of the camper, camera in hand, gingerly made my way across the uneven ground to a spot almost behind the hut, and snapped about 6 pictures of it. The sky was what it was, and there was no indication that the scene in front of my eyes was going to be any different, so it was pointless attempting anything different right now, or taking time to seek out any further vantage points. Its a classic shot, and very hard to get wrong I think! I wasn’t unhappy, but told myself to pay attention to the map better so I can plot these stops in better time in future! Next time I am this way, I will have a better look around, and hopefully I will also have a different look to the scene. (sun/fog/snow etc.)

As I continued the drive, the time was clearly getting away from me, so, when I spotted another camper parked up in a lay-by on the A894 overlooking Loch Duart, I decided to call it a day and pull in for the evening. I cooked a brief meal, and as I stood eating it out of the pot, I looked out at the gorgeous view through the window. As I was here, I thought I might try and grab a quick photo, it was that lovely, even though it was getting dark. What a mistake!! When I stood outside to take a quick snap with my mobile phone, I was horrified to find millions of midges attacking me. I could barely take 1 photo before I ran for my life back to the safety of Fred. I spent the next 30 minutes clapping in the camper, trying to rid the confined space of the small cloud that had managed to follow me in. Midges and mossies love me usually, and I was really fearful I would get eaten alive in my sleep. River just stared at me in total confusion. Goodness knows what my ‘neighbour’ thought was going on in there!! This was my first real experience of the issues that were to hound me for the rest of my trip, and I decided that maybe that photo would have to wait till morning!!

My Adventures

Dunnet Head, Varrich Castle and Loch Eriboll

Scottish Highlands 2020: Part Seven

28 July 2020

So the night did end up very rocky, with winds up to 40-45 mph, although I managed to sleep through some of it. By morning there was a low cloud giving a persistent drizzle, and the winds were still very high. I took the briefest of walks out and couldn’t even walk a few steps in a straight line, so I didn’t even bother to try and take a photo. The weather was just too poor to venture out in safely with a camera. When I walked through the car park I noticed the other campers from last night had already gone, even for this early in the morning, and one other had joined me. I don’t blame them for having left, we were pretty exposed up here, and if you hadn’t slept in a camper during high winds before, I can categorically say from experience… its very frightening!! While I ate breakfast, I decided that as I had achieved several of my favourites spots here and my days were moving quite quickly, waiting here for any clear days would be a waste of valuable time. Instead I would sort Fred out (fresh water, empty loo and waste water), top up with fresh foods and move on from Caithness to Sutherland. By the time I left, the cloud was lifting a little giving a slightly better visibility, but the wind remained. As I drove round the top of the A836, I did a very quick swing past John O’Groats, to pick up an NC500 sticker for Fred and a fridge magnet for home. (there wasn’t much else to do here – everything was closed, and other than the signpost pointing to Lands End/New York etc. its not very photogenic) Shortly after driving round a bit further, I noticed a sign pointing to Dunnet head. Now I knew this was the most northerly point of mainland Britain, and have never been here before, so thought that maybe, before I go any further, I would just be a tourist and go have a look… and I followed the road round.

What a laugh this ended up!! The site is quite nice. You have great views across to the Orkney Isles now the cloud had lifted, and there are gorgeous cliffs that are clearly home to puffins (among other sea birds) as one flew right past me! The laugh itself however, was in the winds here. Still very high, with gusts that were a real challenge to stand up in, this proved to be the biggest amount of fun to walk in that all of us tourists here were having! I say this, because, we were all wearing huge grins as we walked around challenging it to blow us over, and we all commented to each other about how hilarious this was! Thankfully the rain had stopped completely now, or this might not have been quite so entertaining. I tried a quick video for the kids, but you couldn’t hear a word I said, so plumped for a quick one of River looking totally unimpressed as she tucked behind some rocks, with her ears whipping her face and blowing almost horizontal.

I went from here to Ferry View Service stop, and sorted the camper out. (https://www.ferryview.scot/) The lady here was absolutely lovely, and very helpful, and for £5 I was able to sort everything out in Fred. This felt very worth the money, and together we discussed the lack of service stops to the west, with her very confused why camp sites don’t allow people, other than those staying, any services for a similar fee. I guess she should know what’s involved, and she was genuinely confused when I told her that one site had said they could only cater to the amount of people staying. ‘But they just get it emptied a day or two earlier if they need to’ she said ‘ they are getting the money to have it all emptied, so it doesn’t cost them any more… it doesn’t make sense’. I didn’t have an answer for that point. I could only quote what I was told, but I cant deny that she made sense and the question had already crossed my mind. There are other sites that are part of an umbrella company, such as camping and caravanning club, and the rules of membership for the campsites are that they cannot let non residents use their facilities. This seems very unfriendly, unhelpful and exclusive. Topped with the fact that staying AS a member costs no different to other sites that are not franchised (those being the helpful and considerate sites strangely enough), I didn’t understand what I, as a consumer, was getting for the extra money I would have had to have spent out. I told her I refused to even entertain staying at these sites with a money grabbing attitude like that, She nodded in understanding and told me she didn’t blame me for that opinion! It should be worth pointing out here, that an an added problem for me, is that as I don’t know where I need to stay more than a day in advance (I gauge on weather and how much I achieved on any given day), and by the time I do, nearly every site I have tried are normally fully booked up anyway, so these sites especially are often useless for my needs.

Once that was all done, I said goodbye to Caithness for this trip, headed to Thurso for some provisions and then onto Sutherland. I had no intention of actually doing any photography today since I knew I had things to do that would encroach on the larger part of the day, but I plumped for Varrich castle anyway, as it was pretty much the first place in Sutherland on my map, and one that looked really nice in the photos I had seen. As I drove, I saw the landscape change a little, and instead of being flat and open, meandering hills started appearing. To my delight, I noticed this with each change of area – Ross and Cromarty was marked by a more mountainous vista, and Inverness-shire by more populated and tourist driven areas. I loved that each county had its own character. As I the drive took a couple of hours, I found my self munching through a bunch of junk food that I had picked up… First big munching session I had had since the drive up and I particularly fell in love with Aberdeenshire Buttery’s. Yum! A simple little flat bread thing described perfectly online somewhere as ‘roadkill croissants’, these were absolutely wonderful, and I made my greedy way through nearly a whole pack! I am quite gutted that we cant buy these down my way…

Varrich was fairly easy to find, and I arrived by 2.30. The walk to the castle itself was also really easy, and despite the drizzle here, I have to say a really pleasant one. Nothing seems to be known about this castle but its definitely a treat for a beautiful day, or even a not so beautiful one, (like today unfortunately!) As I crested the hill, I realised a) how exposed the castle was and b) that the wind had definitely not dropped by much here – it nearly took me out! I gripped onto the walls of the castle itself, and slowly made my way around the edges until I reached the metal rung steps that led to the entrance. In here things were much better. There was little left of this castle other than a square tower, and most of that was taken up by a spiral staircase leading to a viewing tower. River really didn’t like it, as it was made of the same metal rungs as the steps in, and she could see down. It had taken major coaxing just to get her in here. So I left her at the bottom, for a quick look up top. I decided very fast, that the wind wasn’t worth the view anyway! I came back down and through the derelict window saw patches of light dancing across the landscape beyond. It looked beautiful, so I got the camera out and took some photos of that, having felt quite disappointed that I hadn’t seen anything exciting so far.

I still hadn’t seen the view other photographers had used until I realised they had probably walked up the hill next to this one. I was very tired, having had a poor night, but after realising I would be unlikely to come back here this visit, I persuaded myself to go and have a look to see what the view was like from there. Finding a footpath or any kind of trail was very hard due to the lack of footfall this year so far, so for the bulk of the hike I realised I followed sheep tracks. The heather here was beautiful though where it was just starting to bloom, and after quite a hard hike up, I finally found myself on the top of the second hill. This was the view alright, but the few gaps in the cloud from an hour ago, were now definitely not there any more, and I could see darker patches heading my way – rather quickly. The wind was still really strong, so I set my tripod as low as I could, focussed, and covered up the camera until the rain and wind stopped. I spend an hour in this unsheltered position, cussing myself for being here. In reality there wasn’t much of a photo at all as the light was really lacking here today, but it had been a challenge to find this spot that I had quite enjoyed mastering. Maybe any other time, regular walkers might have trodden a clear path, but for me, it had been like wandering off into the wilderness. The rain came in short waves, the wind stopped for very short moments, and when the two came together I quickly unwrapped the camera, snapped what I could, and hunkered down again for the next battering. When it became clear there was definitely no blue coming despite my highest hopes, and a sighting of solid black unbroken clouds appearing on the horizon heading my way, I packed up and worked my way back down again.

There was still daylight left, and time to drive somewhere else by the time I got back to Fred, so I had a look at my map and plotted my next stop. Tomorrow, I was likely to drive past Sango bay, and I knew that here was a spot where there was a definite composition no matter the weather, as I had seen many photographs from there. Because of these, I thought that this would be a good day to practice my seascapes. After the disastrous time I had had at Durdle Door earlier this year, I had actually been a bit scared to try proper seascapes, but this beach looked to be much safer. So I headed on over to there!

As I drove, I passed a loch, immediately stopped at the sight and reversed straight back into a lay-by. I jumped out for a quick look at the view and a read of the board. This was Loch Eriboll, and according to the board, this area had been under water as part of a huge lake just below the equator, some thousands of years ago. This left white sand settling at the bottom, and as the land mass moved up, it made the white sedimental lines in the sandstone we can see up here. After this, the land mass moved to North America, and then broke away, crushing into the bottom part of the United Kingdom. This crushing forced the land masses up at the join, making the mountain ranges of which Ben Nevis is the greatest part of. I imagine, it was also the cause of the dramatic striations that veer upwards rather than horizontally that I had seen around the coastal areas in Caithness. I found all this fascinating to read.

Loch Eriboll… I had to be quick to avoid the rain cloud coming over!

This was also spot I had wanted to photograph, but for some reason I hadn’t plotted it on my map! I ran back for my camera. It was less than an hour for sunset, not that the light would have given me a glorious one, but there was a little colour in the clouds that looked really photogenic and I felt I should at least try to get a photo or two, as it was unlikely I would be coming back past this way now. I could also see a really grim cloud at the end of the loch, raining and heading my way, and there was still a little sunlight on the little island I was desperate to photograph. Very quickly I snapped a couple of shots, and as the light went with the cloud approaching at some speed, I dived back for the camper!! It rained hard for a few minutes, and thinking that the evening light was going to fail now fairly quickly, I decided to continue the drive and try and get to Sango bay as soon as I could. I began the long drive around Loch Eribol, but when I was at the bottom had to stop, pull over again, and take a couple more shots, because the sight was just so gorgeous to the eye! I wasn’t sure if the shots did the sight any justice, but they have marked the spot in my mind now for a return!

I loved this view, and had to pull over again, just to jump out and grab it!

I was a little annoyed with myself as now the location for tomorrow had been set in my head, I found it really hard to deviate from the plan and consider stopping here for the night to shoot this location properly. The island, especially, had several photo opportunities on it that I now regret not utilising. In hindsight, starting here at 7 or 8 am and moving on after that, wouldn’t have made any big dent in the day, but I couldn’t divert from my decision, mostly because I was unsure of when the high tide at Sango was (no internet connection to check) and I definitely didn’t want to miss that.. I continued the drive instead, vowing to make this a proper, focussed stop next time I am here.

With the time ticking, it would be nearly 9 by the time I arrived in Sango, but if I could find somewhere to stay the night, at least I would be ready to start early if the tide was high.

My Adventures

Bucholi Castle, Westerdale Mill and Achscrabster Quarry

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Six

27 July 2020

Today my first stop was to head back over towards Bucholi castle. I followed the route I took home last night, and found my way there a fair bit easier, although I still managed to take a slightly wrong turn across the field. When I arrived, I realised that I still had the timing wrong and this wasn’t a sunrise site after all, so by 8.30 it was still in shadow. Despite a rainy dawn, the sky was now mostly blue, so the shadow across the castle was quite harsh, which didn’t look especially nice in the viewfinder sadly. I did what I could, and thought that this would be a better site another time, when conditions were a little more interesting. I love the history here though.

It was built. like Girnigoe and Wick on a large promontory jutting out safely away from the land, offering 3 sides of impenetrable 100ft rock face, and only one narrow bit to enter or leave the castle. This needed a drawbridge to cross, since even that had steep sides, and right in front of the main entrance, a big trench. Today I think it is only the gutsy or stupid that cross that bit… it looks scary looking down and on a windy day this would be extremely dangerous to cross!! This proved to be a really useful location when the original builder, a notorious pirate, robber and ‘Ultimate Viking’ by the name of Sweyn Asliefsson ran into a spot of bother around mid 1150’s when his lieutenant murdered a local nobleman. The nobleman’s son asked the local Earl, Rognvald, for justice and the Earl dutifully arrived with his forces to arrest Asliefsson. The Viking held the castle while the Earl and his men pitched outside, and a stalemate was had until Asliefsson and his 60 men started to run out of provisions. At this point, they planned a daring escape. One night, Asliefsson and his murderous henchman, Margad Grimson, lowered themselves down to the water on opposite side of the promontory to where Rognvald and his men were camped, and quietly swam away to their freedom. As a side note, from Sweyn, comes the surname Swanson, and his grandson Gunni was the founder of the Clan Gunn. Sweyn Asliefsson was in fact a very powerful man, disarmingly charming, and friend to anyone in power, (including Kings), but he was also self serving and brutal if crossed. Described as ‘the last great Viking’, this was a man you didn’t really want to cross!

The lands here were eventually given to the Mowat family by Robert the Bruce, and the castle we see today was built here then, and renamed from the Asliefsson’s ‘Lambaborg’ to Bucholi.

I took a few photos, but neglected to take one that I had wanted from the other side to the one I have above… but this will be one I can add to my ‘next time’ list. I did what I could anyway, before returning to the camper, having breakfast and considering my next destination. I had two options, Duncansby stacks, and Westerdale mill. I really needed Duncansby to be a low tide, as I hoped for a lower viewpoint from the beach – but the timing meant that by the time I got there, the tide would likely be on the turn, and since I had no idea how long the walk from the car park would be, nor how long it would take me to find a spot I liked, I was a little concerned the rising tide might cut me off from getting back safely. Maybe tomorrow morning for that one I mused, and decided that Westerdale would be my next port of call. Decision made, I headed off.

Now Westerdale Mill was only a secondary addition to my list. There was a big area in the middle of Caithness without any points plotted, so I had searched for anything in the centre that might be worth visiting. By pure chance, I came across a fairly drab snapshot of the mill from a distance, and thought that maybe this might be worth looking at. Well, when I eventually spotted it and pulled up, I was amazed that this wasn’t photographed far more frequently. It was gorgeous! Yes it is off the tourist path, but that’s what makes better sites for a photographer. They aren’t over run with people, and they are largely undisturbed. That was totally the case here. With just enough parking by the side of the road for Fred to park, I took River and went for an explore. We were the only ones here for the whole of my visit. The mill was fronted by a river that tumbled past over rocks in a really photogenic way, and to one side, it had a waterfall just to add more beauty to the shots. In fact the only thing missing to make it a picture perfect image, were blue skies and the sun shining on it! Sadly the morning’s promise of a bright day had drifted away during my drive, and now there were only little odd bits of blue showing in amongst the grey. This didn’t matter however, the whole location was still magical to my eyes!

The photos here were very easy to capture, so it didn’t take me very long to get everything I wanted. I waited for a little bit just in case the blue would return, but the sky just got grey and greyer. It was clear the glory of the morning wouldn’t be returning. Since Duncansby was definitely heading for high tide by now, I tried to find another location, and remembered one that had actually alluded me so far. I had seen a photo, several in fact, of an old quarry building adorned in ivy that I absolutely loved, but I had never found out where it actually was. When I had arrived here, I passed a quarry, and I suddenly wondered if it might be the same one. So I drove up the road for 5 minutes, and decided to have a look. Achanarras Quarry was easy to find, but boy it felt like a walk and a half from the parking spot to the quarry itself! I found it surprisingly exhausting, and by the time I got to the quarry, I realised that, no, this wasn’t the same one. This one was one where you could go looking for fossils, and take them away with you! I didn’t have any tools on me to hammer at the sandstone to separate the layers, so couldn’t join in on the fun sadly. I kinda wish I had realised, because I might have been tempted to stay! As it was, I did little more than about turn, and sadly walk all the way back to the camper. Very confused now, I had a deep and thorough search on the internet, and eventually found an old map. Ah.. now there it was! The quarry I was after. Achscrabster. (see! I knew it started with Ach… easy mistake…!!) I found it very strange how, even though there are several photos of the quarry building I liked, no-one actually said WHERE this place was! Turns out its literally right by the Achscrabster farm cottage that Google has clearly marked on its map, just 13 miles away from Westerdale, and a simple half hour drive. I didn’t need to think twice, off I went!!

When I walked up to the building, I just stood staring at it. It looked exactly like all the pictures I had seen, and they had likely been taken over a period of years. The only change was a drop in the water level, but I guess that’s seasonal, and this was summer after all. I loved it. I didn’t quite love the bits of debris all over the water, nor the rain that was now falling however, and even less, I certainly didn’t love the midges that swarmed right by the pool that I wanted to use for the reflection. This shot ended up a battle, with me ending up walking away (well running, flailing) on several occasions, and fighting drips down the front of the lens. My attention was on the tickling, biting midges in the end, and on most of the shots I clearly didn’t wipe the lens properly. This is going to be equally hard work cleaning any of these shots up! After just a few tries, I literally had to abandon the shoot altogether. This was my first encounter with the ‘Wee Bitey things’… but it most certainly wouldn”t be the last!! Welcome to Scotland’s most infamous summer resident!!

This one took a fair bit of work to clean up… but its come out better than I thought.

I drove on to Duncansby now, thinking that maybe I could at least have a look at the location ready for the morning, but the rain really wasn’t letting up this time. I tried a brief walk over to the stacks, and think a photo on the beach would work really well. I wasn’t too sure whether I could take River down there however, as it looks like you need a rope to get down! The rain was really coming down, and the wind was picking up quite a bit, so it was clear that it would be impossible for a photo from the top right now. I went back to the camper, and decided to wait for an hour or two to gauge what was going to happen. There were ‘no wild camping’ signs stuck on plastic covered haystacks so I was feeling a little wary about staying overnight, but it might be, that my only chance to get out may be the very early hours of the morning.

Whilst having a cuppa, some dinner, and catching up with ‘paperwork’ (back ups/diary notes/watching cat videos…) I looked up ‘wild camping’ and the relevant laws in Scotland, and discovered that the term didn’t actually refer to people in camper vans, even though we use the term ‘wild camping’. The law refers only to those on foot or on a bike. It made sense that the land owner didn’t want anyone pitching tents on the open land here, it was a perfect ‘campsite’ – open, flat, and very spacious, but anyone pitching up here would not only ruin the look of the landscape and wreck the grassland, they would scare away any animals that might inhabit the area I imagine. Given my new understanding of the term however, I thought that it would be fine to wait here in the car park till morning after all. I saw another two vans here, and a third joined us a couple of hours later, so took that as confirmation on my understanding of the signs. By 10, it was still raining, although not as heavily, but the visibility had dropped even more and the wind had really picked up. I checked the weather forecast (probably should have done this MUCH earlier!!), and it showed that sure enough the rain was due to die down by midnight – the wind however was going to pick up to around 30mph, with gusts much higher, and it was going to remain this way all of tomorrow. I hoped the reports were exaggerated, as I really didn’t want to leave without a photo of this fabulous place! Having sat through winds of over 45 in Skye earlier this year, I settled in for a shaky night, but wasn’t quite as fearful of Fred blowing over as I had been in the past, and I actually slept fairly well given all the rocking I endured!!

My Adventures

Whaligoe Steps, Keiss Castle and Bucholie Castle

Scotland Highlands 2020: Part Five

26 July 2020

Taking things a little easier, I found magic was to be had today..

Well, today was really pleasant after yesterday. The sky was perfectly clear, and I started fairly early so that I could clear the Whaligoe car park before too many people needed spaces. River didn’t want to come as it was early, and she may still have been annoyed with me for tying her up yesterday. In hindsight it was just as well, because the route to the peninsular for the shot I hoped for, ended up a little tricky!

I went through Sandys gate as he suggested, and found myself in a field full of sheep. As I made my way to the left I could see the first stile on Sandys land, but even from here, I couldn’t see the other one that should have been on the side of the Whaligoe steps car park, so I now assume the one over there has gone. I navigated round the edge of Sandy’s field, and kept clear of his sheep. Down the bottom of this, and the next, field however, there were no further stiles or ways to cross the fences, and I had to literally climb over the barb wire (despite there being a sign pointing you to the viewpoint in the second field!!). Sandy forgot to mention that…!! They were tricky but once safely over, I made my way down the narrowing finger of land, until I dared not go any further. When I looked at the view from there however, I was fully rewarded. It was gorgeous! I was very slightly disappointed that the waterfall was smaller than I had seen in other photos, and a second fall that Davy mentioned to me, was absent altogether. I guess this must be a winter/spring shot to get the best from it but nonetheless, the view was jaw dropping. I definitely want to come back here when there’s more water!! As I took my photos, the early morning sun behind me beamed down onto the waterfall at just the right angle to create a rather sweet rainbow at the bottom of the falls. I was kicking myself, because, to save weight, and assuming I would just want big vista shots, I didn’t bring the heavy zoom lens. Thankfully, my cameras file sizes allow for a tighter crop. When will I ever learn though?!! (at least I know for my return visit…)

The Whaligoe waterfall looking like it could be somewhere tropical!

Whaligoe by the way, gets its name from two words. Goe meaning inlet, Whali quite simply being Whale. When the place got its name there would be trapped or even dead whales occasionally, and the villagers would winch them to the top, using every bit of the corpses, wasting nothing. The steps were made back in mid 1700’s so that the locals could descend the 250ft cliffs to get to fishing boats. Herring fishing boomed shortly afterwards, and the local women would carry the fish up in heavy baskets when the boats docked. In all there are currently 339 steps, although apparently there were 365 at one point, ‘one for every day of the year’ – or so Davy informed me, and half way up you can still just make out a resting point for the ladies to rest the baskets on for a brief breather. One trip down these steps and you realise just how tough these women must have been… in poor weather at peak season, it must have been a hard task! Locals have maintained these steps for many years, and continue to do so, so that we can still enjoy the history of the place. The steps lead down to an artificial grassy area called the Bink, which was used to haul boats up for repair, as a docking point for loading and unloading, and as a safe store for boats in bad weather. Ruins down there were originally used to store salt, and the building at the top was used to make barrels (this is now a cafe, although was closed when I went). Davy told me that his grandfathers boat, one of the last, was finally pulled from the water in the 1970’s.

Whaligoe steps with the bink at the bottom, showing the salt store, and the barrel making buildings.

After what felt like a pretty fabulous start to the day, I left in good time, and filled up with fuel at Wick before moving further round Caithness towards Keiss castle. I had originally hoped for a nice moody shot of this castle with a high tide crashing on the cliffs that it perched on, but the weather and tide were definitely not on the same page as me. When I arrived the tide was out and the weather was very still and calm, although the blue from the early morning was beginning to break up, and the tide was coming in, even if it did have several hours to go. Since it was so pleasant, I thought I would simply go for a walk and explore first. There was absolutely no hurry or pressure today, and I had to remind myself to chill a little and to enjoy myself. The walk along the front was really pleasant, easy and flat, and I walked along the beach almost to the end. I stopped to look in some WW2 pillboxes that are sitting right on the front here, when I realised that basking on the rocks were a group of about 5 seals! Well forget about the high tide… I hurried back for my camera now! It was about 15 minutes to get back and by the time I did, the tide had started to cover their sunbathing spots forcing most of the seals into the water, but I managed to catch a delightful shot of one sharing his seaweed bed with a duck, before he too eventually slipped quietly away. I didn’t worry too much about the ones I missed, (secretly hoping they might return of course!) but I was just happy to have seen them, as the sight had been so unexpected!

when you are happy to share your seaweed bed…

As I chilled on the pebbles after this shot, I saw behind me on the horizon a hefty black cloud heading my way. I might not get the crashing waves, but if I waited I might get my moody shot after all! It looked ominous, REALLY ominous, but remarkably, as it went over my head, obliterating the blue in one harsh line, it only rained for a little bit.. and not hard at that. I was fully expecting to be totally soaked. No idea who got the rain, but it was definitely gonna be a wet one when it finally gave out! The cloud finally backed the castle, and I was treated to sun bursts that washed over the foreground, giving a really beautiful light across the scene. The first shots I took here had the light in patches, but then a long one swept over, and I managed to capture the whole of the mainland in light with the deep cloud behind. There is something I adore about watching the clouds and sun dance over a scene, and I stood for ages watching it here until eventually the blue sky took over again, and the tide started lapping my tripod. Before I moved however, I spotted a familiar head bobbing up, and continually looking at me. When I moved to a slightly further position, and started taking pictures from this angle, the seal continued to bob up and observe my shenanigans. It was so adorable. He clearly didn’t feel threatened in any way, and was quite obviously curious about me. I didn’t realise it at the time, but he’d been doing this for some time as I found him in one of my earlier photos too! (see header pic) Eventually he left and I could see that high tide wasn’t going to be especially dramatic, so being very content with my castle (and seal!) shots, I packed up, and wandered up the hill to get a closer view of the structure.

I was struck by its shape, as it reminded me of the folly, Broadway Tower in Worcestershire that I visited last year. That one came from an idea by Capability Brown and was built in 1794. Apparently its called a ‘z-plan’ design, and on reading further its not an unusual design. I haven’t seen any others myself yet. Keiss has two round towers built either side of a diamond central tower and each floor had only one room. Originally there were 4 floors and an attic, although the upper parts are now gone. As I got closer I could see it was fenced off as it is currently a dangerous structure, with bits still falling off. You can see the interior from the side where some of the North Eastern walls are now gone though. It looked intriguing. Having fallen into disrepair by the 1700’s, The land was purchased by Sir William Sinclair, 2nd baronet of Dunbeath and he built a manor house just across the field in a much safer spot. For me its really nice that he left this structure, rather than reuse the stones as was the norm, because I felt it was fascinating to see this shape rather than the more usual square tower, or sprawling encampment types of castles and homes.

I walked back to Fred, then walked on a little to see Keiss Harbour. It was a sweet one, but not terribly photogenic due to the number of cars parked all around it. So after a brief visit there, I left and headed to Bucholie castle, the next one on my list. Again, it wasn’t too far, but as I approached its location according to Google maps, I realised that a) it wasn’t signposted, and b) there was no parking. I drove past the area twice before I realised, and headed back to a derelict old cottage I had spotted, to work out what I wanted to do. I’d noticed parking spots for about 2 cars that took me safely away from the road on my last pass, so parked up there for now to look at my map.

Curious, I had a quick look around the cottage. There’s an idea for a photo that I have had in my head for a while now that I really want to try in one of these, but it all depends on what belongings are still available. Sadly, other than sheep poop, rubble and broken glass, there was nothing in this one, but it was lovely to walk around inside and imagine how the residents might have fared. As I got back to the Fred, I noticed fresh tire tracks on the ground so realised that others had parked here. Tired and hungry, I decided that maybe this should be my last stop for the day, with the idea of checking the castle out in the morning. I ate, and rested, but as the evening drew towards its close, it looked like it might be a nice sunset, and since, so far, I haven’t had a good one, I thought that maybe I should drag this tired old body out after all, just in case. So, off I trundled..

Turns out that there were no real foot paths, and only a pointer on Google maps that I could follow to get me there, so I was actually very glad I did this first visit to find it! I struggled to find the way over, travelling down one field too far, then missing the lightly trodden route across another. Eventually I found my way there, and as there was enough light to show where the cliff edges were, I didn’t fall to my doom either! (Yay!) The sunset didn’t flare up, and the light that did, came from the wrong direction putting the castle into darkness, so I wondered if this might work for a possible dawn shoot. For now there was just enough light for me to have an explore for viewpoints for the morning, and a quick videoed message for the kids to tell them a little about the history, (as this one is quite fascinating..)

Bucholie Castle, looking very shocked at my presence this late into the evening!

As I walked back, I passed a group of derelict houses together, maybe three of them? Some cars were pulling up outside and a group of youngsters were piling out of each for an evening of fun no doubt. I followed the single lane track/road they had used, back up towards the main road, and realised it came out near to where I was parked. It was pretty dark by now, but I wondered if that might have been a better parking spot. Another time maybe – tonight I really didn’t fancy moving any more. I was too exhausted and once tucked up in bed, fell to sleep very quickly!

My Adventures

Wick Lighthouse, Lifeboat House and Old Castle, and Whaligoe…

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Four

25 July 2020

What happens when you don’t listen to your exhausted body?… Today I was going to find out.

Having stayed right by the harbour overnight, I was in a really nice place to explore Wick South Pier Lighthouse (a cute diddy one!) and the lifeboat house. Turns out I was the wrong side of the bay, and on top of this, I totally missed a second viewpoint I had hoped to use, that WAS on the side I was on. (ugh! Great start!) As the light wasn’t exactly exciting, I guess it wasn’t a real issue in the big scheme, since I could always try again on another trip. I drove the short distance to a road nearer the lifeboat house, and took the short walk down the hill to explore it. The tide was out as I explored, and it quickly became obvious that it needed to be in to make any nice shot work. I looked around anyway to find a nice viewpoint, and took pictures on the phone as a memory aid. The weather was very still, but a flat grey, so I decided to try again a bit later in the hope that I might have better luck. For now, I drove to Wick Old Castle instead, to while away the time. I was so glad I did, because I found the boards giving its history to be quite fascinating!

The castle is on a bit of land that juts out into the ocean, pretty much the same as Castle Sinclair Girnigoe, (and, as it turned out, several others) Much of it has fallen and disappeared, leaving just a square tower, but there are areas that are unexcavated, so there may be more footings under the ground. Its history is pretty obscure, but the bit that caught my attention was that its likely builder, way back in the 1100’s was half Norse. Apparently during this time, Caithness, Sutherland and all of the western Isles islands were actually under control of the Norwegians (or more accurately the Norse, whose land back then included areas we now know as Norway, Denmark and Sweden) Their ownership of this part of Scotland followed a treaty that had been passed shortly after Edgar became King in 1097. It wasn’t a hard fisted control, with the local land owners being pretty much left to their own devices, but I found it fascinating to consider that the far north east of Scotland may have been ‘Norwegian’ at one point nonetheless. Harald Maddadsson, the likely builder, was Earl of Orkney and Caithness, and this castle may have been built to mark his territorial rights on the mainland. As I hiked over the peninsular, I took a photo of the remnants of the castle looking back along the path I had just walked, but I was really nervous of River on this peninsular as she seemed intent on exploring the edges. Eventually I moved back to the mainland bit, and walked along to an end viewpoint instead.

I loved the view from here and took several photos, waiting in between each for the few tourists to clear the scene. It was quite relaxing, and by the time I had taken a few, I happily went back to the camper for a nice cuppa. There were still a couple of hours until high tide by this point, so I chilled even more by having a nap! Totally unheard of for me, but well needed obviously, as it was no effort to fall asleep.

When I awoke, the sky was even more grim looking but I made my way back to the Lifeboat house determined to try a shot there. The grey meant that no sunset would be likely, so I didn’t think it would be worth waiting for that, and I was just going to have to try and work with the flat grey look and the high tide. I could see the weather working for the shot I hoped for however, so wasn’t deterred. As soon as I was in position though, it seemed everything started to work against me. The best position to photograph the lifeboat house was right by a tall wall with a ledge that was just the right height to see over, but that was as far as my luck went. I couldn’t work out which lens was best, as none seemed to do what I wanted – turns out I needed a lens in between the ones I owned (something that covers a 70mm-100mm focal range!) The wall itself proved to be a really complicated issue, with it being too high for the tripod, (even at its lowest position) and too low to work without one. It didn’t help by forcing me to balance on a slim ledge while I worked either. I tried putting the camera directly on the wall, nope, it tipped downwards to the sea only. I tried propping the lens a little with all my drying cloths to get the house in position, then I couldn’t see clearly enough to focus properly, because I was too high to view it without crouching (on a thin ledge remember). I tried handheld. That was a disaster, as I really struggle with that even in the best conditions. I tried all sorts, but simply couldn’t get my head around it! I just got myself riled up and angry instead!

Then River began playing up. She ran off into the road eventually, resulting in me having to climb back down, tie her to a lamp-post and feeling really guilty for doing that. It started drizzling, so I then had to try and keep the lens dry (with the very cloths I was using to prop the lens up on) – off came my jacket (to use as a prop up tool instead) as I continued to fight with myself for this shot. Eventually it just out and out rained. I could feel a fierce temper rising inside, borne out of the feelings of complete frustration and inadequacy, and then I finally realised that today, this wasn’t going to happen if I continued. Irritated with myself and River, and now completely angry and fed up, I packed everything away and stomped back to the camper in the foulest of moods. What I really needed to do was to just jump over the wall, and take the shot. But the rain, River, and a high tide all prevented me from doing that, so I left it before I ended up throwing stuff around!! On looking at the photos after the event, none of them are even in focus. I have absolutely NO idea why even THAT failed, as I was sure I had it pin sharp in the viewfinder. (probably where I couldn’t see the screen properly now I think of it)

poor focus, too low, too high, and finally, rain… just a handful of the frustrations!

The South Pier lighthouse was equally uninspiring now the rain was here, so I decided to abandon the shoot altogether, leaving Wick completely. My mood was that low.

Once away from the area I paused to look at my map and have a sensible think about where I wanted to go from here. I thought I might try Whaligoe steps as my next destination, as I knew it wasn’t too far, and that there were some lovely shots taken here by other photographers. If I was lucky, there may be parking there for the night so I could simply chill out and explore in the morning.

When I arrived I realised that parking was very limited… maybe 6-8 vehicles, less if big ones pulled in. As I had arrived later in the day, most tourists were already gone, so parking wasn’t an issue for me thankfully. In the car park I was met by local resident Davy (David Nicholson) If you have ever been to these steps I doubt very much if you missed this man! He is an absolute character, and we stood chatting for an absolute age, with him telling me all the history of the area, and the steps. He invited me over to his cottage (right by the steps) and pulled out a photo of his grandfathers boat, telling me what to look out for while I was down on the bink (the area where the fishermen pulled their fish and boats to) He excitedly filled me in with so many tiny facts, that by the time I went down the steps it was edging into evening, but I was too excited myself, to see all the little bits he had told me about! His manner is really joyful and infectious and it totally washed all the Wick frustrations away. I asked about staying overnight, and he really kindly told me to move the camper over to a residents spot, so that getting out in the morning after my photographic shoot would be far easier, then added that ‘if Jimmy asks, you are an old friend’. Apparently Jimmy tries to manage the car parking to mixed success, and he didn’t want to see me getting stuck trying to get out. At that point Jimmy came over, and Davy immediately went into a big spiel about me being his old friend who he hadn’t seen for 6 years (giving me a massive wink) Playing along, I added ‘well lets make sure I don’t wait another 6 years eh?!’ Jimmy nodded and walked away again. I moved the camper over then went down the steps. I totally forgot to bring the camera in my excitement, but sent a video to the family speaking in a very similar, excited manner to Davy, missing half the facts, and not finishing sentences where I was talking so fast. Davy knows how to entertain a crowd, and talk for England (Scotland??) that’s for sure!!

I found this on you tube… seems everyone gets the same excitable, informative chat!!

Once I had been down the steps, I was quite pleased to realise my climb back up all 339 steps went without too much effort (woo go me, I’m getting fitter!), and with a little daylight left, I thought I might try and see how to get to the end of the peninsular on the opposite side, as from there I knew you could see a waterfall. This wasn’t as easy as I hoped. The path from the car park was really overgrown, and trying to find the stile Davy told me about, proved impossible. I walked round to the houses that fronted the peninsular and tried to find a route there. There was none. As I explored however, a man came out and asked if I needed any help. As we got chatting, he told me he was the landowner, and that for tomorrow, I could use his side gate, although he was sure the stile from the car park was still there. (I did try a second look to no avail however) As we chatted, he told me his name was Sandy and that he was a farmer here, farming sheep, telling me a little more about the area. It was quite fascinating to hear how his family lived in days gone by. We chatted for a while and as we did I found out that he only farms sheep for lamb these days, as wool didn’t even bring enough money to cover the sheering of the sheep. I thought that was so sad to be part of a dying industry that I guess wool must be these days! I thanked him in advance for letting me use his gate, and went back to the camper, where Jimmy found me again. He looked a bit shifty, until he suddenly (and rather shyly) went ‘here you are!’ handing me a pack of cakes. ‘as you are a friend of Davy’s I thought you might like this to go with your tea’. Caught totally off guard, I thanked him as he scuttled quickly away, and I entered the van feeling really guilty.

All in all these 3 encounters cheered me up completely, ending the day on a far more positive note and I couldn’t wait for the morning so I could shoot the waterfall and continue my adventure. And for those wondering how I didn’t loose any weight with all this hiking… I blame Jimmy. ;-p

My Adventures

Noss Head Bay, Dunbeath Strath, Broch and Prisoners Leap

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Three

24 July 2020

Peaceful bays, Escaped prisoners, and perilous river crossings… today was gonna be a good one!

This morning when I woke, I realised there was still no chance of a nice sunrise, so I had another fairly easy start. I looked at my map and wondered where I should go today. As I looked at it, I realised I had driven past a location I very much wanted to find, so thought that maybe I might backtrack a little and go back to Dunbeath. This would leave me the upper part of Caithness in one easier trip, rather than me driving back and forth, top to bottom.

Before I left here however, I was determined to find that little sandy bay I missed yesterday! There was no fog this morning, so my first port of call, was back out to the cliff face to find out where it was, and today it proved much easier to find. I walked/climbed down the equally steep slip way to the one I did yesterday, and when I finally got down to the beach bit, I was really, REALLY pleased I bothered. It was absolutely gorgeous, small, cute and SO incredibly peaceful! I guess this wasn’t a regular beach for visitors, as it was so unspoiled, and other than one couple, River and I had it all to ourselves for the complete duration of my visit.

I had a little explore first, and River had a refreshing paddle in the gently lapping waves. There were more rocky outcrops, and the beach itself was made of a really interesting blend of yellow, red and black grains. Normally you only see one of these, so finding a beach with a mix, felt unusual – it was quite lovely to look at though. I found the rocks that curved out to sea to be the most interesting this morning, and wondered if a minimalist treatment might work here since they were far more picturesque than yesterdays ones. As I got the camera out, I became mindful of the tide. If it was coming in, I had to be aware of it because there was a chance I could get cut off from my exit route if I missed my timings! As it goes, the shot wasn’t very inspiring because the tide was so gentle and didn’t splash on the rocks in the way I envisioned. Its strange how a view can be gorgeous to the eye, but to the camera, it just doesn’t quite work for you. In the end I tried to capture the one little area where the water seemed to flow over the rocks instead. Looking at the back of the camera I didn’t feel too excited by what I was capturing and was not totally sure if the shot was any better than yesterdays one in the end, but I certainly had a lot of fun trying, perched up on some other rocks as I was!

Once I had tried a few different shots, I noticed that the tide was definitely coming, in, and I was also aware that Dunbeath was calling. I had seen only one or two shots of the exact area I was looking for online, so wasn’t totally sure how to find the specific spot. Without that knowledge, I didn’t know how long it would take me to find either, so I decided that I should head off, quite excited at the prospect of trying to explore a location! This bay however, would easily be one I might try again. maybe focussing on the dramatic diagonal of the rock striations next time?

The prisoners leap at Dunbeath has a great story. Legend has it that way back in the day, an Ian McCormack Gunn was held prisoner by the Clan Keith at Forse Castle, some 6-7 miles away. He escaped and ran as far as the gorge at Dunbeath with the Keiths hot on his tail. Once there, he was trapped, so they jeered their taunt of ‘jump, Jump!’ then he was told, rather mockingly, that if he could jump the gorge he would earn his freedom. I assume they thought that one way or other, this man would be no further bother after today, fully expecting him to die of course… It IS quite a leap – but I guess Gunn had little choice but to either try, or die by the sword. So he jumped… and miraculously, made it to freedom.

Aside from the story, the location had struck me as stunning in one particular photo that I had found by photographer Gordon Mackay. I desperately hoped to find the same spot, and some 50 minutes or so later I was parked up in a small car park by the old mill at Dunbeath, and excitedly preparing to follow the walk up. I had found a walking guide online (www.walkhighlands.co.uk – my new best friend!) that apparently went to the leap, and was hoping to follow that. In theory this should be pretty easy. The walk was lovely, as was the weather! The sun was now beaming down on me as I walked alongside the river flowing down the strath, and the peace was so perfect I couldn’t help but stop and take a few photos on the way. (including the header pic) Before long the path turned into a little track, then into a well trodden trail. It took me over a bridge, past a turn off to a broch, and then through some gorgeous trees, that I now know were Rowan, Hazel and Birch. I don’t know my trees, but together this section was so full of character, that I kind of regret not stopping to take a picture. I have no clue how to shoot woodland effectively though, so just left it for my eyes to enjoy. I continued on, and then the internet suddenly cut out. Thankfully, I had memorised the next bit, but it had me concerned that I might not find the spot I was desperately looking for. As I reached the end of my memorised bit, the internet briefly came back, so I quickly did a couple of screen shots of the instructions to the remainder of the route and ventured on with greater confidence. Eventually the route started a steep climb, and I found myself at the top of the gorge looking at the likely spot of Gunn’s leap. From here I doubted his success.. it looked like quite a stretch!

Prisoners Leap viewpoint from the top, where Gunn is likely to have jumped

I pulled up the photo I hoped to capture for myself, looked down at the river and tried to work out the spot that Mackay had stood, realising to my disappointment that he was likely on the other side of the river. I had two choices, give up, or cross. Like Gunn… I opted to cross. Well… I was here wasn’t I?! Soooo.. Should I jump…??? Errrmmm… maybe not! (well… you now, I had the dog and all…)

I hiked back down, and timidly struggled over to the other side of the river. At points it reached well above my ankles, and was fairly fast moving water, so I was very grateful for the choice of wearing my new hiking wellies. River crossed dutifully behind me, but she didn’t seem altogether confident – once over she was much happier however. We walked for a bit up the other side then realised we couldn’t get any further because of an adjoining river this side, and a deep pool. I looked at River, apologised, then proceeded to cross the river again… then when passed that point.. crossed a third time. I started to struggle a little. It seemed that no matter what I tried, I couldn’t marry up the shot Mackay had taken to the area I was walking in. I eventually found myself back on the original side again, close to the gorge. Whilst here I spotted a gorgeous reflection in the water. I was having a break for a snack, a drink and a think, so I decided to take this photo before trying to continue looking for the other spot – it was rather eye-catching!

We rested a bit longer before I tried the crossing yet again, and made my way up on the other side until I was directly underneath the place where Gunn had likely jumped. It had also started getting to a point where River thought she couldn’t manage the climbs, and was very reluctant to try swimming in other parts, so kept crying until she realised she could do it after all. I chuckled as she overcame her fears, because it was clear she was more than capable! When we found ourselves underneath the leap point, I looked up at the sight. As I did, I thought that perhaps this jump, legend or not, might actually have been possible after all. Not easy – but possible!! The distance across didn’t seem quite as great from down here as it was from the top. For River and I down here however, it became clear I wasn’t going to get any further. Both sides of the gorge were now steep without any chance of walking/climbing points either side, and there were deep, fast moving pools lining the cliff edges of both sides. I couldn’t understand this… where WAS this photo taken then?! I sat for a bit gathering my thoughts, and looked at the picture yet again… and then I spotted it. The water wasn’t coming towards me in the photo… it was going away! This was taken from the other side of the gorge completely!!!! (DUH!!!) I looked up the gorge, following the river with my eyes, and immediately managed to spot where Mackay had stood… a nice, clear, easy spot… but from here, there was no way I was going to get there. I was gutted!!

I remembered that when I had stood at the top looking across, there was a meadow with a clear trodden trail on it. THATS where he must have come from! With no idea where he might have started the trail, I decided to backtrack and head back up the hill to where I had turned around. Maybe I could find a spot round from up there? I climbed it all the way back to the top again, and followed a wire fence along away from the river. This led me to a private road with a huge gate across it and a smaller kissing gate next to that. Going through there I followed the road for a bit, suddenly aware of how exhausted I felt. I tried to cut across the hill, but it seemed to go into some more of the hazel/birch/rowan trees, to another steep drop, and another river. I looked at the distance, and had to stop for a rethink. I could go back to the road and continue following it even more, but I had no idea how far it would go before it led past the second river, a way down, AND all the way back to the gorge. I was already exhausted, could I realistically get all the way down there and back to the camper again easily?? My sensible head took over. No. I was totally on my knees already. I’d (stupidly) brought no food or drinks with me, so had no source to replenish my energy. Very sadly I sat for a bit, and decided that I would have to do this trek another day. For now, I’d had an awesome time, but I was really just TOO tired to keep pushing forward, and I didn’t want to spoil such a great day.

Rather than just go back the way I had come however, I looked on google maps which thankfully had a good signal up here, and it seemed there might be an easy route back following this road. So River and I trudged at a much slower ‘Sandyplod’ speed back along here. I kept checking my position on Google maps, feeling like this road was endless, but eventually I found my turn off, and cut across a field towards Dunbeath Broch, which I knew had a route back to the original path I had taken. When I found myself at the Broch, I was quite taken aback. I had seen some of these in my research, and although interesting, they hadn’t quite caught my imagination enough for me to plot any of them onto my map. To be fair, there are hundreds in Caithness, so I had an inkling I would likely pass some on my routes regardless. I clearly wasn’t wrong. This one however, still had a lot of bricks in place, and had had some repairs done to give a better idea of what I was looking at. The circle of the lower part of this tower was still pretty much clear, and signs of where a second floor might have been, an entry point, a small guard cell, and back chamber were all clearly visible. Given this was an iron age structure (historians seem torn as to their actual purpose) I felt this was really well preserved. It peaked my attention and I had an interesting time exploring the ruin, reading about the changes it had experienced over time, and finding out about the preservation they had been doing to keep what is left, safe enough for people to explore.

Dunbeath Broch, an Iron age round house or tower.

The exploration was pretty restful, so once I had seen enough, I felt energised enough to get myself back to Fred and a well earned cup of tea!! As I sat drinking it, I pondered my next options, and decided that rather than cook, it might be nice to try some local fish and chips. The next port of call for me was Wick Lifeboat house tomorrow, so it seemed sensible for me to go Wick for the takeaway, and for the night, in readiness for a possible dawn shot there. I had no idea where the sun would rise, but it seemed like a good plan at least. The drive was very chilled, and I found the takeaway easily in the harbour, opting to have a ‘fish supper’ and to try one of the rather infamous ‘battered mars bars’ as a desert on top! (Ohhh YUMMY indeed!|!) THAT was interesting… warm and gooey is the best description there… and, rather oddly, the batter complimented the chocolate! The food was really tasty, and the portion huge. Lucky too, because I was ravenous!

After eating, I found a spot for the night, parked up behind another motorhome, and went for a short walk to explore the area I was in. On my return I collapsed into bed for a very well earned sleep!

Today felt amazing.

My Adventures

Noss Head Lighthouse, Geo bay and Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Two

23 July 2020

I woke up at 4am to the sound of rain. Glanced outside. No chance of sunrise. I went back to sleep.

What a good start!! Actually the sound of rain on the camper roof was really, REALLY soothing, so going back to sleep was incredibly easy. Also, without any pretty sunrise sky, I could do so without feeling any guilt. I am prone to inflicting guilt on myself, as are many of us I guess. Its a weird thing we do to ourselves, and I had many conversations with myself about the pointless ideas, ideals and emotions I had unnecessarily forced upon myself over this trip. Hopefully with all that admonishment I have learned a thing or two about being kinder to myself…

Anyway, when I eventually did get up, It looked grim, and visibility was poor, so I was very reluctant. I made myself breakfast, and a cuppa, and having a pretty chill start really. The time came eventually however, when I finally made myself go out. Initially it was just for a walk to look at Noss Lighthouse, which was also on this site… but after one look of the misty light house, I hurried back to get my camera. Why on earth was I being so silly? I should be looking for a shot, not just waiting for one to jump out at me… and if it didn’t work? So what? Its the experience of looking that I was hoping to learn, on top of reminding myself of some of the basics. Here I go again, telling myself off…

What drew my attention, wasn’t just the lighthouse, faded a little in the now rising mist, it was actually the really pretty grasses in front of it, heads hung with the weight of the water droplets that dripped from them. I thought I might try a low shot, taking in the grass as a featured foreground, having the lighthouse, almost as a second thought in the background. I wasn’t altogether sure whether the idea would work, but it was worth a try at least. I was kinda shocked that I was actually thinking this through… that’s not a normal trick of mine! I took several shots, both in Landscape and Portrait orientation, (but I much preferred the portrait ones) then I tried 3 different focal positions, foreground, mid, and background so that I could attempt a Photoshop merging with everything in focus front to back. The merge didn’t come out too bad for a first attempt, although, in future I probably need to make more focal points if there are a group of plants. It didn’t come out 100% sharp in a few areas between the focused areas. but its good enough for a first effort I think!

Mists lifting off the Noss Head Lighthouse

After that I wandered around in the mist, (which had dropped again and reduced visibility quite considerably) looking for a sandy bay that was apparently here. I entered a field, but really struggled to see very far, so abandoned that search for now. I didn’t quite feel up to blindly walking off a cliff this early in my trip! As I headed over towards the castle, I got sidetracked by a little bay I thought might be it after all. It seemed a little steep getting down at first, but in hindsight, I suspect it was just me not used to the outdoors after such a long time in lockdown! There wasn’t much to see down there really, and it certainly wasn’t the bay I was thinking of, with no sand at all and the view narrowing down because of the high cliff edges. The sight in front of me only showed a small rocky area further out in the ocean. It was completely fascinating to see all the layers of rock though, laid down in some long distance past and highlighted by the light hitting all the separated levels. Little critters scuttled in among the crevices, and I spotted what looked to be a giant Woodlouse, about the size of my index finger scurrying to hide as I got near (eek!!!) I also spotted dense spider webs in several areas, which surprised me. I didn’t think they would build those in such a damp area, which may well be under water as the tide came in. Slightly creeped out (not a bug person!!) I decided to focus on trying to get a photo instead.

With such a restricted view, I thought I would try a fine art type of minimalist slow exposure shot. I really like these, I think they are just beautiful, and could hang on any wall without issue. What a dream to be able to perfect that style myself. But it all starts with the landscape of course and I thought that this might possibly work. I took several shots trying to get it right, but was very unsure whether this rock was interesting enough in the end. I vowed to try some other locations as the trip progressed, perhaps I could find the dream rocky outcrop somewhere else if this didn’t work for me. I did chuckle at one shot with two young seagulls just staring at me though, and wondered whether I might be able to merge a shot with them still in. This was also something I hadn’t really had much experience in, but I thought it might be worth considering at the time.

As I finished these photos, I spotted River laying on the boulders behind me, and felt terrible. She was shivering quite heavily, and hadn’t bothered me one bit while I was working. I immediately packed everything up, and we climbed back out. Instead of going to the Castle, I thought she should get in the warm for a bit, so I went back to the camper for a warm cuppa, some lunch, and for both of us to get out of the wet for a bit. To be fair once she got moving she seemed much happier, but I felt much better if I gave her a little break from the cold.

After a bit, the sun started coming out and the mist finally lifted for good, so I changed into dry clothing and ventured out to the castle for a second go. There were quite a few tourists there by now so I decided to just walk along the cliff edge to see the view from there. I met a sweet young Chinese chap and we chatted for a while. Seems he was very well travelled for a man his age, (just about to go to uni in Europe) but his journey had halted here when we went into lockdown and he hadn’t managed to get home, or anywhere else, in months. Like me, Scotland was his bid to get out with a camera. It was this young man that gave me the now familiar ‘ What? You are on your own? That’s quite brave!’ question/statement, only here I was able to express that I was no braver than he was with his global travel, which he understood as a fair comparison. After we had taken a few photos of this viewpoint together, he wandered off to the castle, and I walked over to a nice viewpoint of the Lighthouse, and the rocky stack near it. (see Header Pic)

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe from the cliffs

Once I was done there, I finally wandered back over to the castle. There were still several tourists milling over the site, so I narrowed my vision, taking a photo of an interesting derelict window that really grabbed me. As I continued round the edge, I took several more pictures, patiently waiting for people to clear the frames, and I ended up in a corner surrounded by tall grass. River loved wandering through this, and I was reminded that I needed to keep an eye open for tics, and to treat her with some nice smelly repellent mix before coming out. Perched in the tight corner, I changed lenses to a wide, and somehow lost my lens cap in the process. When I had taken the shot, I searched everywhere, confused how it could have disappeared so easily. In the end I gave up. There was another grey cloud coming, and I really wanted a shot from a further perspective before that cloud decided to relieve itself of its load on top of me! I continued the walk round, and found a nice spot after trudging through lots more tall grass. It occurred to me that during lockdown, without tourists to tread well worn paths, nature had been given a bit of a breather, and as such, many little people paths may well be absent while I continue this adventure. That’s going to be interesting! The shot from my final position was quite nice, but would definitely be better with some interesting light, so I made a mental note of that for future reference for a return trip sometime.

I finally decided to stop there for the evening. The cloud was looking more and more grim, and I didn’t want to get wet again. My drying spaces in Fred were limited, and I had no idea how long drying might take so I definitely didn’t want to add to the problem just yet – instead, lets get these wet socks sorted first….

My Adventures

Achnambeithach Cottage, Corpach and Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part One

22nd July 2020

The adventure begins! A month to tour the highlands, what will it bring?!

With Daughter all settled into her new digs in Glasgow, it was time to leave for the Big Tour! Using the NC500 route as a basic starter for all the locations I was hoping to try and find, all I had to decide was which way to do it. East or West. I actually had no idea, so decided to try and retrace my steps from a family holiday from back in 2012, in the hope of identifying a loch I had photographed that I desperately wanted to re find. I wanted to retake this picture as a RAW file, so that I could enjoy a better quality version. This meant that if I started in Fort William, and drove towards John O’ Groats, I would hopefully recreate the route I took back then and come across it. As it goes, I didn’t, so that mystery remains unsolved, and I am still confused by where it might be! – but at least it gave me a start. East to West, with Caithness being the first Highland county to cover.

Unknown Scottish Loch captured in 2012. I hoped to find this! I didn’t… 🙁

As I got to Fred, I picked up a bit of litter by his front wheel, and saw it was a £20 note (!!) so this felt like a fantastic start to the day… yes it was raining, but it didn’t bother me one bit. Off I headed, with a big happy and excited grin on my face. The drive was easy, with some lovely sights by Loch Lamond (I really need to work out what that big stunning waterfall is that you can see across the Loch between the trees), and before I really knew it, I was driving through Glencoe. I had had a pretty grim time here in January, but I felt no bitterness or reluctance to visit here again, although it didn’t look much different today from how I left it back then!! Only the strong winds were absent. I drove past a little white building I hadn’t notice before, with a gorgeous reflection in the loch next to it, and I imagined the shot in my head, then the edited version, then I stopped myself. Why on earth was I only thinking this?!! I was on no time limit, or restrictions of any kind, so I stopped the camper, turned round, and went back to actually take the photo!

With the weather having been so poor last time, it was probable that I hadn’t noticed this beautiful reflection, so when I stopped at a good parking spot, I took the dog and my kit out, and walked back to it. I found it to be both an enjoyable walk and a very beautiful sight.

I didn’t know it at the time, but this was Achnambeithach Cottage, one of the cottages I had been trying to locate when I first visited Glencoe. I had gotten confused, and mixed the name up with what I now realise was the equally photographic Lagangarbh hut. Achnambeithach Cottage dates back to around the 1900, but I can find nothing else about it! Is it a home? is it a rented holiday cottage? is it a bothy? I will have to see if anyone else knows!! Whatever its history, this area was SO peaceful today, that I took some time to just stand and take the scene in before I picked a couple of spots to take some pictures. As I started to set up the tripod and camera, I framed up and took the scene in again, before turning to River to say ‘isn’t this just the most beautiful sight?’ to find my dog nowhere to be seen. In a slight panic, I strained my eyes looking in every direction, fearful she might have wandered to the road while my attention was diverted. I stopped and really considered the options, then realised I needn’t have worried – I just needed to look at the obvious spot…and sure enough a moment later I saw where she had gone. My perfect flat reflection started to slowly disappear in a growing cascade of ripples coming from one spot. Aha… there’s water – and if this dog loves one thing over anything else… its water.

Hmmnn… I wonder where my dog has gone…??

I snapped the shot quickly before the ripples affected my framing and called her name. A second later her head popped up from behind the reeds and she bounded back to me all happy and dripping. I kept her near me while I took some other shots, and prayed hard that the cloud would lift just a little to reveal a hint of the mountain behind. When it did, just for a couple of minutes, I really felt my luck was in, and finished when both a truck pulled up outside the cottage, and the cloud started descending again. I walked down to the waters edge, and allowed River a proper swim until she was happy. This felt like a good start.

From there I drove to Corpach, just a bit north of Fort William and had a look at 2 shots I hoped to take here. The boat was as boring to me as the photos I had seen, and had lots of people milling around it. However, as a ‘bucket shot collector’ I knew this was one I would need to pick up on. I saw a nice possible shot by the nearby waterfall which I’d not seen before in photos (or hadn’t noticed it) so was pleasantly surprised to see it. As I tried potential shots with my phone, I realised I would need to navigate weeds and chicken wire holding rocks in place, but thought I might be able to make something of it if the light and tide were right. I also found the little lighthouse/pier bit, and worked out how to get the nicest viewpoint. I found the spot but was disappointed to see there was building work going on, so diggers, and fencing, and piles of hard core littered the view. This might spoil the final image I hoped to get in time, but I would just have to work with it, or come back another time completely. I decided I would try again on my way back through at the end, as right now both shots needed a high tide for the best view anyway (or one that wasn’t fully out as it was right now), and the light was looking pretty flat and lacking. I noted it all, along with a good parking spot for them and went back to the camper.

I pointed the sat nav to John O’Groats, and started the drive to Caithness to start the first leg of this trip proper. I hoped to pass the loch I was looking for so drove back through Fort William, around Loch Ness to Inverness, and all the way up the coast road towards Wick. I didn’t see it anywhere along that stretch, but loved the coastal views that I had going this way. The temptation to keep stopping was huge, but I kept going very mindful of the time and my aim to cover each county in turn, rather than darting between several. I hadn’t really thought of a specific location I wanted to start with, and as I approached Wick I saw the time was getting on, so plumped for Castle Sinclair Girnigoe. I picked this simply because it was out of a town, and more likely to have a parking spot where I might be able to rest up after the long drive. I got there easily enough, but it was nearly 9pm by the time I arrived, so after parking up, I decided to just stretch my legs with River, and simply scout the location for this evening. If I was lucky, there may be a nice sunrise that would give the ruin a nice glow in the morning. The castle was very easy to get to, and really nice to look at with several boards showing how it used to look in its day, and giving a good idea of the history of this place. I read each one, and walked all over the location, finding some nice points of view that offered a variety of shots. As I did so, I realised the sun was setting, and that it might actually be visible from under the blanket of clouds, with some colour off to the far horizon. Gutted I hadn’t brought my main camera, I took what I could with my mobile and hoped the file size on this new phone would be good enough to work with. It seems the castle had a warm glow after all!

capturing the last bit of the setting sun at Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Back to the camper for some well earned food and sleep followed and noting a couple of other campers here, I felt safe. With my first night on the road, my latest adventure began.