Highland Wildlife, Applecross and the Bealach Na Ba Viewpoint

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Fourteen

5 August 2020

Another grim day, but I didnt fancy another one in the car park – that might prove a bit TOO depressing..! After a slow start still feeling a little uninspired, I decided instead that I would take another day off being a photographer, and that I would simply be a tourist instead. I was fairly close to a part of the NC500 route that I was thinking of avoiding. Apparently it was, reportedly, a very steep and tricky route with a series of tight hairpin turns – all on a single lane road. The thought of driving this had me feeling quite nervous, but today, I changed my mind, and decided I was going to try and brave it after all and have a bit of excitement instead! I left loch Maree full of enthuasium for my days holiday, headed for Kinlochewe, turned right and drove towards Shieldaig. I had no internet for my sat nav, but the route was easy, being just one road, and I simply followed it with some good music playing.  Despite the grim weather, I was still able to enjoy some of the stunning views along this stretch, and my mood remained fairly chilled.

I passed a spot that had a beautiful mist driven layered view that I really liked, (see the post header pic) so I jumped out at a car parking spot to take some photos of it, leaving River free to pad around me and explore while I worked. Perhaps a little photography was going to be on the cards after all today… After a short while, River suddenly started barking, and I thought that another dog owner had taken their pooch for a walk. River seems to have taken a total dislike to other dogs of late, and this was beginning to cause me some irritation and embarrassment. I waitied for her to calm down, or for the dog owner to appear, or for her to come back when I called, but none of them happened. Eventually I decided to check out what was going on, since she clearly wasnt happy! As I rounded the camper I was greeted by the sight of my dog challenging a young deer with very big antlers (!!!)  He was totally unafraid of my yapping mutt and simply stood his ground as the dog (from a safe distance, I noticed) simply went mad. I immediately called her over again, and dragged her into the camper, where she instantly quietened, and I moved my camera round here instead to shoot this beautiful boy. There was a camper parked next to me, and as I photographed the buck, a lady from it came over, commented on him, and said that she had seen him put his antlers down towards River at one point… so it was just as well that I had hoiked her into the camper I think!

Shortly afterwards a delivery van pulled over and a chap climbed out with several goodies in his hand. The buck headed straight for him and I got the distinct feeling this was a pretty regular thing between the two of them. The driver told us that this buck often came down to the car park if he saw cars or campers parked up, and that he was pretty friendly and confident for a wild deer. Shortly after, he left us, and the deer looked towards us in hope… but I had no carrots or anything to offer a deer, so instead packed everything away, and when he realised we had nothing to offer, he started to wander away too.

I  continue my drive round to Shieldaig and after I drove through the village I took the next turning right, towards Applecross, enjoying some stunning views across lochs Shieldaig and Torridon. I expected this area  to be really pretty, but the grey, rainy weather really didnt do it justice to my eyes today, and the lack of pull over spots between showers meant that, in reality, there were no photos that I was able to take for most of the drive. Even though I had restrictions on my favourite scenes, I did managed to find one spot with a dedicated car park. I took a breather here instead, and snapped the view with my camera before the next downpour, to try and get a feel of the place at least. I suspect my mood with the weather might have stopped me actively looking for some parking spots elsewhere, but I think its certainly an area worth re visiting at some point. I know in the right conditions, this can be an outstanding area for photography.

After I had taken the turn towards Applecross the views towards Skye were lovely. It was all a single lane road, but there were plenty of passing places. As I drove this bit of road, I was beside myself to find Highland Coos just grazing on the sides of the road. I have wanted to get a photo of these for the last couple of years, but have never managed to find one… today there was not just one – but 6!! All were mooching around, and I tried to grab a quick photo of these gorgeous beasties from the drivers seat as I very carefully drove past. Then, on realising that there was noone in front or behind me, I decided to pull over and take a few pictures properly. These cows were awesome, and SO obliging. Clearly they are used to people because even the mum and baby were happy to just stand and let me snap a few quick photos. Of them all though, this one just sitting on the verge was my favourite. She kept her eyes on me the whole time, and even though I was trying this hand held, (and I am not particularly good at handheld) I was able to get some really good clear pictures of her. I couldnt wait here for long though, so I grabbed what I could over the minute or so, and quickly jogged back to the camper.

As I went to pull away, I noticed a large motorhome heading towards me, so, as I was already in the passing place, I decided to just wait with my engine running until they had passed, before pulling out again. Only they didn’t pass me. Instead the driver pulled up at a really daft angle with its nose right in front of me in the passing place, and its back end blocking the whole of the road – and then 6 squealing young women all jumped out with their phones out ready to take selfies with the cows. I couldnt believe it.  They were totally oblivious to any other road users, and it only took another minute before a second car had to just stop and wait in the road behind them. The girls didnt seem to care, and they very inconsiderately stayed for ages taking lots of photos with different arrangements of people, with each of the cows, while the traffic built up in front and behind them. Eventually there were some traffic horns that drew their attention to the road blockage they had caused, and they finished up and climbed back into the motorhome. I tucked Fred over as much as I could while the driver wriggled the huge vehicle straight again, and then squeezed passed all the traffic queued behind me. From the looks on the faces of the drivers that trailed behind them, there were a lot of angry people… and quite rightly so, since the girls had demonstrated no thoughts for anyone but their own little bubble.

The road continued round to Applecross, and I planned to stop here to enjoy some of the food available from the pub here. I had read some good things, and it seemed like the perfect place – until I realised that it was SO packed with holidaymakers, that there was literally nowhere to park. This was the first time I had seen so many people in one spot since I had begun this trip, and it left me with no choice but to keep moving. I was quite disappointed.

It wasnt long after Applecross that the road began to climb, and I started to recognise the route from a video I had seen online. This was it… this was the bit that was going to take me to the hairpin turns, and my excitement began to build… so did my nerves, and I really hoped that I wouldnt stall the van on one of the tight bends! It seemed that fate had other plans for me today though, and as I climbed the road got foggier and foggier until in the end I wasnt thinking of stalling at all, I was really frightened of anyone coming head on at me, and very fearful of having to reverse without clear visibility behind me! In the end that visibility got so bad, that when I spotted a parking spot to my right, I pulled in and finally breathed. This was getting really terrifying!

As I paused for a cuppa to calm my nerves, a man knocked at my window, apologised for disturbing me and asked advice on the condition of the fog from the area I had just come from. It seemed that he was in a motorhome being followed by his sister-in-law in a camper behind him. Her nerves were so shot, she was having a minor breakdown and was a complete wreck. I got out and walked over to reassure her that the drive was only going to get easier from here, since for me, it had only been getting worse. They then told me the full story of their experience so far – apparently as the motorhome had been carefully driving, with the camper behind, and a car behind them, another (single) car had approached them head on, and had point blank refused to reverse to a passing place, despite it being explained that it was easier for him to reverse than 3 vehicles. In the end the oncoming driver just turned off his car and refused to move. and by then there were more vehicles queuing up behind in both directions, and a major arguement errupted with this one driver being stubborn and obstinate about it all. Other oncoming cars eventually reversed up, and the man was basically forced to move back by the words of a lorry driver in the motorhome queue and he finally let the camper, campervan, and all the backed up vehicles through. No wonder she was stressed!! Driving up a single lane road, with little to no visibility was hard enough without an blazing row with an awkward driver, and then be forced to have to edge past other vehicles…

I reassured her even more that the route from here was way better than that sounded, and they headed off again feeling a little more confident. I, however, was feeling quite unnerved so decided to wait for a few hours to see if this mist might lift. I wandered out with River to stretch her legs a bit and found a plaque to the side of the car park. Turns out this spot was the much adored viewpoint that I had been quietly looking forward to as a reward for getting round the hairpins. For me however, the view was lacking a little bit (!!) and I still had to face the hardest bit of the route. On the plus side, this did meant that the hairpins were close. By 5pm nothing had changed weatherwise sadly, although the traffic was greatly reduced – so I decided to brave it!

Here is where my luck changed… firstly, instead of going UP the hairpins, which I was dreading, I went DOWN them… and with no other traffic I managed to do so without stopping at all (YAY!!!) Secondly, as the hairpins finished, the fog started lifting really quickly, and a minute or two later, I managed to see this view. There was another small parking spot to my left luckily, so I was able to get this shot into my camera at least. Not quite the view I was hoping for, but a pleasant reward for my heightened stress levels of the last few hours.

Feeling a massive relief driving from here, I simply continued along the A890, past a couple of small lochs, and headed for the Glen Docherty Viewpoint. I considered that, if he weather was going to continue being so grim, I would at least have a relatively pretty view in the morning…

Ardessie Falls, Gruinard bay, Gairloch Beach, Loch Maree.

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Thirteen

3 and 4 August 2020

Today was an interesting one. It started off really well, then bottomed out. Not entirely sure why, but all the landscapes seemed ‘flat’ and nothing caught my eye. Either I had ‘landscaped out’, or the grey skies really have left everything looking dull and lifeless.

The first stop, Ardessie falls, were gorgeous however. I initially thought they were just twin falls at the top of a big hill, then last night, I realised there was a big one down near the road too. Once I started the hike I discovered there were even more! All were beautiful, (though not all were photogenic) and some were inaccessible from the side I walked up. The hike was a bit tricker than any I had done so far. The ground was very boggy underfoot, and there were points that I had to either make small climbs, or re-route myself so that River could get up. At one point the ledge gave way under my feet too, so I had to be careful for both our safety on this one. I continued to make my way up though, and was in awe of the sight of the falls as I passed each segment. I think I was also fortunate with my timing at this location, as the water level was just about right to wade across a fast moving bit at the top. I found myself on a large open, flat, and rocky section that allowed for a really great angle to view and shoot the top section of the falls. Every photo I took looked a bit flat though, due to the poor light and although the sun did try to flicker out on occasion, it was extremely fleeting. I didnt think I had captured it at all until I rechecked my photos months later at home – where on closer re examination, I discovered a beam of light HAD fallen on the waterfall very briefly while my shutter was open, in one single shot only. I cant say I remember it, and its not in the photos before or after, so I feel it was a very lucky capture! At the time I must have scooted through the photos on the camera, and missed this one, or I stopped looking assuming they were all the same.

As I was photographing this awesome sight, the cloud started building and building and part of me waitied to be totally drenched – I was too exposed to be able to avoid it, so I just carried on while I could. If nothing else I hoped, to capture a moody shot as the clouds were really full and dark. Rather miraculously however, the cloud then decided to blissfully sail over me without so much as a drop being dumped on me. This was very, VERY lucky considering how dark it got…!!!

If I ever do this one again (I think it would be even more beautiful to the other side with blue skies and the small peak behind them) I will go up one side, cross the falls at the top if I am able to again, and see if its possible to come down the other side…well at least to the halfway point where there are a set of falls that I couldnt quite see, and a big stone ledge giving better access to another one I tried to unsuccessfully photograph from this side. Another mistake I made in hindsight, was not sticking to the river on my way down. I followed the trail back to the road instead and I seem to have missed a really pretty set of falls somewhere (that I have subsequently seen online)… very excited for next time!!!

Once finished here, I didnt fancy another waterfall, so I left a planned stop at the pretty falls of Eas Dubh a’Ghlinne Ghairbh, for another time, and instead headed over to Gruinard bay. To my disappointment, there was pretty much only one viewpoint. – having said that it looked stunning, so I took the shot anyway! This is certainly one for the bucket shot collection.  I suspect being down on the actual beach might have given me a variety of nice pictures, but up here the view across to the mountains gave the shot a lovely mediterranean feel, with the water being a beautiful shade of turquoise today. I climbed a little further up the steep hill right by the car parking spot, but the view didnt benefit too much more, so I didnt push myself to climb all the way. Something in me today really wasnt feeling it, despite the sun trying to pop out from time to time. This did help the view here massively too and when the sun hit the beach it really came alive in an even more beautiful way, so I stopped long enough to shoot this and to give myself a nice cuppa before I headed off further. Despite this pause however, I could feel my mood mysteriously dropping.

After this I simply followed the route around the A832/NC500. Everything lacked character to me now… the ocean, the Lochs… All had grey coloured water, covered by wind driven ripples, so nice reflection shots were out of the question. No good dramatic angles leaped out at me either, so I just continued round until I spotted the beach at Gairloch and parked up at the viewpoint here. I got out with River, took in the view across to Skye, and snapped a shot on my phone. It all felt so uninspiring… but I needed a break from the driving so decided that I would just take River out for a stroll instead, without me having to carry a heavy backpack. This turned out to be a very enjoyable few hours. I suspect that was because I had taken the pressure off myself at last, and was just focussing on giving a bit of me time to my dog. We hiked down the hill, found the entrance to the beach (just through another carpark that I could have moved to) and had an hour or so just walking by the waters edge which was gently lapping into the bay. River rather strangely didnt seem too keen on the water, and I found throughout this trip that although she was very willing to jump into a river or lake, the sea was a bit more of a concern for her. Either she didnt like the salt water, or she was worried about the moving water lapping in and out around her feet. I didnt understand it, and to this day, I am confused! Afterwards, I hoped to find somewhere to eat, a take away suited me perfectly right now… but found nothing open in the area I walked, so I simply decided that I would continue on until we reached Loch Maree, ignoring the Victoria Falls on route. I still wasnt feeling another waterfall yet, despite my love for them…

Once at Loch Maree, I was greeted by the same lifeless sight as I had seen all day, and although I did try and capture the well known Lone tree here, I wasnt particularly happy with the shot. It still felt flat, although in comparison to another shot I managed a few days later, I much prefer this composition. Parking to get this shot isnt without its problems, as there’s no layby or even verge near here. I did find a small area I could pull into just on the bend however, so used this spot while I went to investigate the tree. Parking here was tricky to spot initially, and I drove up and down the road a few times before I spotted it nestled in a little copse of trees. It then immediately crosses a little bridge to a single car parking spot, which is a hard right after the bridge. It’s all very tight (as I found when I tried to get Fred out afterwards!!) and if theres another vehicle here – you probably have to forget it!

After this shot was taken, I decided that as the hours had become an aimless wander, I should perhaps just stop here, and give myself a breather. I backtracked up the A832 for a few minutes, looked for and found a nice spot to stay for the night and decided I should just have a recharge. If Ross is largely Lochs and mountains, this might be a short one unless there is a change in the weather… or my mood….

4th August

Today it was drizzling, raining, midgeful and I was tired, so I stopped completely for the whole day. I did nothing but play on my phone, eat Caithness Cookies (omg those were SOOO tasty!!!), clean up, wash clothes, jump out for a bit with River to run around the car park, and just chill. It was the most amazing day! The midges especially were quite interesting to watch. When it rained heavily, they all disappeared for a bit, then a little while after the down pour had finished they slowly started building up again, despite rain still falling. I did try stepping out for a bit to take a photo of another tree that had been seperated from the background by the mist and drizzle, but it was a terrible shot. I had obviously been fried by all the visits I had been doing, because I couldnt think my way through the shot. I was good to myself though and didnt beat myself up over it. I was sad that it hadnt worked out, because for a few minutes it was totally beautiful. I may have missed the moment, but hey, it was worth noting in the back of my head should another similar opportunity crop up another time.

Reset day, roadside snaps and Corrieshalloch Gorge

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Twelve

2 August 2020

Today was a very lazy start to what was going to be another moving/crossover day. My next stop would be the Ross and Cromarty part of the Highlands, but for today it was all about having a reset. I started by washing my hair, a few bits of clothing, had breakfast, a cuppa, swept through the floor area and spent a bit of time playing games on my phone, basically a super chill start just plodding through the routine parts of it all. Finally I headed off to sort Freds water and loo out. On the way I passed a cottage with angry notes in its window telling tourists to ‘Go Home’ and to ‘Stop the NC500’. They claimed that tourism was killing the community – which while I dont live in the area, and therefore dont experience the disruption they may have to suffer, it did leave me feeling very sad to read such an unfriendly sentiment. Whilst they may not want the tourism, it IS happening, and its likely here to stay. Rather than just putting angry notes in their window demonstrating a grumpy demeanour, I feel they would have been better served trying to find effective ways to utalise it, or help control the upsetting parts of it. There is without a doubt an element of scummy, inconsiderate, selfish and dirty people who simply dont care about the actual location that they are holidaying in. These people exist in the world and theres nothing we can do about them. They can see only their wants and cannot stretch themselves beyond their own ignorant little bubbles to see the effect their selfishness might have on people, or the environment, around them. But from my observations, if the things they need are easily accessable to them, people are more likely to use them than to just ignore them. So for instance, are they dumping rubbish?>maybe put a bin there; are they are openly toileting?> perhaps putting a public loo nearby would help them be more hygenic; parking inconsiderately?> how about putting a fence up blocking them, etc. A local shop will encourage people to pay back to the community to help fund some services too. Tourism encourages money, and money can help support the infrastructure. There are many ways to help manage, or benefit from, the situation. Simply putting angry notes up and being negative will stop nothing, and just keep you simmering when its ignored..

Anyway opinionated rant over…

Eventually I drove to Clacktoll campsite to emptied the loo, grey water, rubbish and filled with fresh water. For a lockdown, I was a bit surprised at how packed this campsite was, and found some of the services a bit wanting. I couldnt get the fill up hose to work, even fully unravelled, and tho the guy running the site saw me waiting to ask him about it, he just walked off and ignored me after he finished chatting to the gardener. I ended up just disconnecting their one instead, and putting my own hose in. No idea what was up with theirs, but felt a bit miffed to have been totally ignored like that. All their other services were standard, so nothing complicated or special, and to my mind a little pricey at £10 – next time I will go to Kinlochbervie and just leave this one unless I am desperately in need.

I then drove back to Lochinver to refuel, and from there I just drove towards the Ross and Cromarty part of the Highlands. I took my time, stopping at a few nice viewpoints, one being a gorgeous view that I spotted as I drove over the brow of a hill on the A835, just before Drumrunie. Unusually for me, I reacted quickly, parked up as soon as I could, grabbed my kit, the dog, and quickly hiked up a small hill to capture the downpour just off to the distance. The lighting looked spectacular to my eyes, with a bright glow being diffused by the haze of the weak rain just ahead of the following downpour. The ground underfoot on the hill was a little unsteady with erratic bushes of heather mixed with thin muddy gulleys, but I managed to get to a good viewpoint in time. Catching several images with the light quickly changing, I couldnt leave in time before the rain finally reached me and dumped everything it had. The drenching was well worth it, because the image I ended with made me very happy for one that was SO unplanned – I am not so sure River agreed with me however.

Another brief unplanned stop happened because as I drove past, I recognised the name of the place and thought it was on my list. It wasnt – and I only realised why once I started on the short hike. I recognised the name Corrieshalloch Gorge because it had featured in the last Gary Gough video of the set that brought me to Scotland in the first place (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–igZY4ifNs&t=3s&ab_channel=GaryGough) The reason I had left it off was because I have a fear of heights and this one being a suspension bridge over a deep deep gorge was not one I thought I would like!! I confess I am glad I did stop by – No, I didnt like the suspension bridge, it wobbled as anyone took a step, so badly at one point I wanted to crawl over (!!) and the drop truly was immense… However the view really was worth the quick glance, and I was able to laugh at myself and the stupidity of my fear at least. I walked round to the viewpoint, and again had to stomach terror, as I stood on a metal rung extension platform, sticking out over the gorge below. (WHY do they make these so that you can see the sheer drop directly down under your feet?!!!)  The view back to the suspension bridge was fabulous however, and I managed to ignore the drop long enough to snap this shot quickly.  Although it was pretty when I went, I have since seen that there are sometimes waterfalls pouring over the side edges too. There wern’t any at this time of year, so my fear now is that since they really seem to add to the view here, do I have to return to capture those ???!!

The hike doesnt go any further this side, so I gingerly made my way back over the bridge, and did a short circular walk back around to the car park. I passed a really pretty viewpoint (see the header on this post) and with the gorgeous deep pink flowers as a foreground decided to take this image as well. The midges were beginning to gather here though, so I didnt stop for long, aiming now to just drive to my overnight stop for tomorrow mornings’ location.

My aim for tomorrow was going to be Ardessie falls. However, I found finding a parking spot really hard to find as the layby for the waterfall here was blocked off for some reason (couldnt see anything, just orange cones). After driving along further for several minutes looking for another spot, I turned round, drove back trying to find somewhere and did this a couple of times up and down the road. It seemed that the layby was the ONLY spot nearby. Eventually I found a small spot for one vehicle, and thankfully Fred just just fit. I walked along the road to try and find the start to the hike, and was pleased to see it was just 5 minutes away, not far from a little bridge with the bottom segment of these falls. This was quite pretty in itself, though I felt it would have been really nice to have been able to get the other side of a barrier for a shot lower down. The snap I took on my phone didn’t do it any justice sadly. As it was already half past 6 I reaffirmed to myself that I would do the hike in the morning, despite my excitement at the look of this one and eagerness to get up there to see more! I knew it was going to be a boggy walk, and I didnt want to get stuck in the dark. Sense told me that evening +boggy ground+early August= Midges.. Nope! No thank you!!! I wanted to enjoy this one!!

I walked back to Fred and cooked myself a bit of dinner. As I finished a lady very angrily knocked on my window and told me to move as apparently I had parked on her property. I hadnt realised as it looked like waste land next to a derelict cottage, but I was happy to do so. As we talked, she calmed down, realising I was not going to be a problem. I asked if there was any parking close by so that I could do the walk in the morning, mentioning the bay a bit further up having cones there. She explained that they had been having severe trouble with tourists since the relaxation of the covid rules and how that they had been parking inconsiderately, blocking the road both sides of the bridge. She said this had been causing severe trouble for lorry drivers so the locals had put the cones there to stop people parking in the area. I told her of my plans and she offered me the use of this spot in the morning for just a few hours, so that I could do my photography, and suggested parking at the hotel for the night. I happily thanked her and drove off to try and find the hotel, but must have missed it somehow, coming instead by a lovely layby a little further down from the village. It was a gorgeous spot, so I thought I would simply stay here. As I prepared to settle in for the evening, the heavens opened, and shortly afterwards the sun beamed through and I was blessed with a stunning evening rainbow that arched across the road next to me. I hurridly jumped out and grabbed a photo on my phone, trying again with my main camera, tho half of it had gone by the time I set up.

Looking at the photos back at home, I wasn’t too excited with them as a shot, because they seemed to lack a subject under the rainbow itself. I think Fred parked under it would have been fabulous, so maybe next time I park up in a layby, I might consider how positioning the camper might aid a photograph in the event the weather produces something this beautiful again.

When I finally settled down it was a very comfortable and quiet night.

Ardvrek Castle, Drumbeg, Clashnessie

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Eleven

1 August 2020

Back at Ardvrek Castle and I had another good nights sleep. In the morning I quickly visited the castle again. The history here was pretty graphic. The clan MacLeod built the castle in their Assynt lands around the 1490’s, and spent many years arguing and battling everyone around them, both neighbours and clansmen alike. By the time their most famous prisioner, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose was imprisioned in its dungeons in 1650, the stories of murder, executions and sieges were well known, and the Macleods were a proven quarralsome bunch. According to the board telling its history, The Mackenzies of Wester Ross beseiged the castle in 1672, and after 14 days Ardvrek finally fell, forcing the Macleods to finally loose their lands here.  The story doesnt end there however, In 1726, the then lady of the Assynt, Frances, wife of Kenneth Mackenzie II, didnt care much for the castle, and asked for a grand house to be built instead. Partly using stones from Ardvrek, Calder house was built within sight of the old castle. It had every modern convience, and for its time was a lavish property, boasting a fireplace in EVERY room… an unheard of luxury back then. So much money was spent on the property, supporting the royalist cause, and on the countless parties that were held there afterwards, that within just 10 short years of Frances’s extravagences and Kenneths weaknesses, the depts rose excessively, and the family ended up financially ruined. The lands of the Assynt were transferred to the Sutherlands and on the 12th May 1737 the house was looted and burned. The area remained unoccupied from that point on.

When I first read this history, the castle begged to be photographed in really moody weather, and this morning I finally got it!

As I walked around the castle this morning, I noticed that River was limping so I stopped to see what was up, and was horrified to see blisters on both front paws. She seemed happy walking on the grass so I assumed it was the gravel paths that had caused it but I made the visit to the castle a brief one. I left her in the camper to rest her feet, while I visited Calda house and the small waterfall (Ardvrek waterfall?? – it doesnt appear to actually have a name, but it was really pretty!!) over the road to the castle. I tried whenever I could to just leave River in the camper if I knew gravel was involved, not that she was remotely happy with that idea! I wasnt going to let her feet get any worse however, and I made sure that she took only easy trips with me for a few days. Thankfully her paws healed very quickly and she never complained after that. For now, I walked up and down both sides of the waterfall, managed a sweet shot of it and then walked back towards the Castle to see it from this angle. As I did, I stopped and chatted to a couple having breakfast by their car who had been there the night before, camping. They had plenty to say about the midges of the last noght, which made me feel rather grateful that I hadn’t braved them for a photo after all! They sounded particularly horrific!!!

Thankfully (for River especially) today ended up a largely driving day as I drove gingerly through single lane roads and tight turns all the way up to Drumbeg. The views and sights were stunning, the weather picked up to a lovely sunny day, and I really wanted to jump out everywhere to take photos. Unfortunately there was nowhere to pull over when I saw one though, so had no choice but to keep going. This road was a particularly tricky drive, and at times I really had to fight myself to stop looking at the views. It was important here to watch the road as there were very tight bends on this one lane route, and a continual stream of traffic heading right at me. I think this was the trickiest part of my whole NC500 drive and there was more than one occasion where I had to reverse backwards right by a steep drop. My heart was very much in my mouth at some points.

I also hadnt been paying attention to my fuel guage, and suddenly saw that it was running VERY low. I hoped (well prayed) there might be fuel in Drumbeg when I got there.

There wasnt.

It was just a very small village, with nothing else there but a stunning view. I pulled up at the viewpoint to get a breather, have a cup of tea to calm my now shattered nerves, and to have a think of my options. Though the view was pretty, I have to be honest and say that I felt it wasnt all it was hyped up to be, and much preferred the views on the way up. There was really only one spot that you could take a photo of so I took the obligatory shot just for the sake of it. I have obviously been very spoiled in my travels to think this view was just ‘OK’!!! As I stood  drinking my tea, and taking in the view, I started chatting to a chap and his son who were looking at their NC500 map, which rather cleverly showed all the fuel stops for the route. Together we found the nearest one to here, and I realised that I would have to drive to Lochinver, some 20 minutes away. This made me very nervous, but I just about made it… limping in with Fred surviving on fumes I think!! I would advise people ensure they have a good amount of fuel in their tank before doing this stretch of the route especially, and to pay close attention to their fuel levels as it was really hairy for that last bit!

I had wanted to go to Clashnessie, and passed it as I drove, but thought that I would be more comfortable if I knew I had fuel, so headed to Lochinver first. Once filled with fuel (and cookies and other goodies from the Spar shop opposite!) I headed back to Clashnessie, parked down by the beach and walked up to the falls themselves. River did come with me this time, and seemed quite happy to walk without complaint. We took our time and walked on grass wherever I could, to help her feet. As the path left the road, I met a couple who advised crossing at the stepping stones by the cottage, which whilst confusing me initially, were very clear as I approached. The path was easy, and the stones no issue to cross, allowing me to approach the falls on the left side. It looks like you can also stay on the right side, and get almost as close to the falls, so there are multiple options that I might try next time.

These falls are glorious. I thought Wailing Widow was stunning, but these almost put them to shame with their multiple levels of cascades, and its clear, open approach. You see these a long time before you get close, and you can get up very close on the side I was on. It was a good job I did cross via the stones earlier I feel, as I saw a man struggle to cross up here and a few others tried, but failed completely. The stepping stones were easy, and even though the path afterwards was very muddy and slippery underfoot, I would certainly prefer that route to the one these guys were trying… and I have crossed several rivers in my persuit of these photos. I took loads of pictures while I was here, I mean LOADS, before I very reluctantly wandered back. Its impossible to not want to keep snapping! I felt so at peace here. However, I wanted to take photo of the derelict cottage as well, with the falls in view behind it, so wandered back down and asked the land owner if it was ok to work from his property. He very kindly said yes, telling me a little more about it. – that the property had belonged to his parents and now was shared by him and his sister. He mentioned that the water conditions can get really high when the falls very get full, and that apparently you loose the stepping stones completely. With this news I think picking your timing, and taking care is paramount at some points of the year.

Whilst I had been chatting to the man with the map at Drumbeg, he mentioned that the views at the Stoer lighthouse and the rock formations along the coast there were particularly lovely, and thoroughly recommended stopping by there. Once I had finished at Clashnessie, I thought that maybe this might make another interesting stop, possibly for the night. However, I drove round, and around, and around the area, but I couldnt seem to find the way to the lighthouse as the road had been blocked off to vehicles. I have since examined my route, and it looks like I was heading up towards the Old Man of Stoer rocks via Culkein, instead of the lighthouse (duh!!) , so next time, I need to head more west. At the time however, I was left feeling a little disappointed and the evening was wearing on, so I had to look for a stop for the night and reluctantly started the drive off the penninsular… only to get stuck behind a herd of cows that really didnt want to move off the road. It ended up quite a chuckle point for me as I edged very, VERY slowly through them as they one by one wandered out of my way to let me through. I eventually found myself at a parking spot near Lochan Sgeireach on the B869, and stopping near there for the night. Its the strangest thing, because although I didnt note the position in my diary, it is on my google maps and have a photo of Fred parked up with the mountains behind  – but its the one night that I have absolutely no memory of from the whole trip! Why this has happened at this one place is beyond me…

Wailing Widow Falls, Ardvrek Castle, 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 isnt 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 hurder, 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 couldnt wait!! I got up, quickly snapped the view from where I had stopped the night (more for record, as the shot didnt 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 didnt take long for the falls to come into view… and I was not at all disappointed.

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, practicing 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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 didnt 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.

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 simplier, 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 didnt 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 didnt 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 monroe behind it, and how it sat right at the end of where the winding path turned to make its downhill trek to Inchnadamph. I couldnt 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 mis-route I had turned back with) I dont 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.

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 carpark. 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 didnt come down the side that I had seen others come down on online blogs and videos. No idea why – I didnt notice a further car park over to the eastern side, and neglected to hike up that way to explore either. Thats 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 dont actually know how far up the sea will come, but there is a simple little footbridge crossing the river, so I assume it doesnt get dangerously high. There are lots of images online of the cave front, and although I did explore a little, for some reason I didnt 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 didnt 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 wasnt.

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 hadnt 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 wern’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 wasnt too sure… in the entire hour of my attempts to get a shot I hoped for, it didnt 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 wasnt 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!!

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 wern’t as nice. Since crowd numbers were growing too, it didnt help having people dotted everywhere in the shot so I wasnt worried. The visit first thing was definately 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 practiced 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 couldnt 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 wasnt 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 liklihood 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 dont think he actually took any photos of his own!

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 wasnt 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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 layby 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!!

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 couldnt even walk a few steps in a straight line, so I didnt 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 carpark 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 dont 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 catagorically 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 wasnt 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 dont allow people, other than those staying, any services for a similar fee.  I guess she should know whats 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 doesnt cost them any more… it doesnt make sense’. I didnt 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 didnt understand what I, as a consumer, am 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 didnt blame me for that opinion! It should be worth pointing out here, that an an added problem for me, is that as I dont know where I need to stay more than a day in advance (I guage 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 Invernessshire 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 definately 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 definately 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 didnt 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 wasnt 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 hadnt 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 definately 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 wasnt 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 definately 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 definate 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 disasterous 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 layby. 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 striatians that veer upwards rather than horizally that I had seen around the coastal areas in Caithness. I found all this facinating to read.

This was also spot I had wanted to photograph, but for some reason I hadnt 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 wasnt sure if the shots did the sight any justice, but they have marked the spot in my mind now for a return!

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 utalising. In hindsight, starting here at 7 or 8 am and moving on after that, wouldnt have made any big dent in the day, but I couldnt divert from my decision, mostly because I was unsure of when the high tide at Sango was (no internet connection to check) and I definately didnt 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.