Ardvrek castle – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Ardvrek Castle, Drumbeg, and 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 prisoner, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose was imprisoned in its dungeons in 1650, the stories of murder, executions and sieges were well known, and the Macleods were a proven quarrelsome bunch. According to the board telling its history, The Mackenzies of Wester Ross besieged the castle in 1672, and after 14 days Ardvrek finally fell, forcing the Macleods to finally loose their lands here. The story doesn’t end there however, In 1726, the then lady of the Assynt, Frances, wife of Kenneth Mackenzie II, didn’t 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 convenience, 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’ extravagances and Kenneth’s weaknesses, the debts 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!

The Moody Ardvrek castle shot I had hoped for!

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 doesn’t 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 wasn’t 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 night, which made me feel rather grateful that I hadn’t braved them for a photo after all! They sounded particularly horrific!!!

Unnamed waterfall near Ardvrek castle. Well worth a visit while at the castle!

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 hadn’t been paying attention to my fuel gauge, and suddenly saw that it was running VERY low. I hoped (well prayed) there might be fuel in Drumbeg when I got there.

There wasn’t.

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. Although the view was pretty, I have to be honest and say that I felt it wasn’t 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 to 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 pursuit 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.

I felt these falls were awesomely impressive, and I had never heard of them before!

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 couldn’t 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 peninsular… only to get stuck behind a herd of cows that really didn’t 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 didn’t 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…

My Adventures

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.