Dumbarton castle – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Barr Castle, and Barcraigs Reservoir

South West Scotland 2021: Part Eleven

14 September 2021

Today I went to find Barr Castle. Now, I wont lie, it’s not exactly an inspiring castle by a long shot, but I had seen some nice reflection shots of this one, so I had added it to my county list as a possible plan b location. Since I was sitting nearby in the rain, it seemed only sensible that I should at least go and have a look. As I left the camper with River I couldn’t miss the fact that she was limping. I checked her paw and saw it look a little raw after yesterday’s walk, so I left her in Fred to rest up. I think long walks on tarmaced paths don’t do her paws any good, since I remember something similar happening on my highland trip a year earlier. I must bear this in mind for future. River didn’t object to being left, so I headed off, in the drizzly rain, on this one alone.

The walk was easier than I thought, being flat and much closer than I expected, although as I got near I realised that access to the castle itself wasn’t anywhere near as easy. Since I had seen so many photos I assumed that there should be an entry to this one, but couldn’t find it from this path. Frustrated I ended up doing the naughty thing and climbing over the low fence here and walking up the short hill trying to see if I could find a proper way in. On walking all the way to the front, I realised that the photos I had seen online had likely been taken from the road itself! (although, where on earth did the photographers park?!) I tried as best as I could, but just about every photo was drab in the grey weather so it felt like a struggle to get a nice shot.. and with a pond full of muck, getting a reflection was even worse.

Barr Castle looking pretty drab and grim in the miserable weather

Instead, I tried a shot through a fallen tree, various framing ideas to isolate the castle, all different spots around the pond, but nothing really worked to bring this location to life for me today. I think the cluttered pond really put me off and eventually I just gave up. This needed something that I wasn’t getting today. As I went to leave I spotted an awesome tree growing with a big hole in it. How its managed to survive such an intrusion in its trunk, I have no idea, but the whole tree looked very healthy (see header), I also spotted some amazing mushrooms growing on the floor. They were seriously impressive and HUGE!! I’d never seen anything quite like this one before, and couldn’t just leave without taking a photo to remember it with. Looking at it closely, I found it quite beautiful.

Some serious mushroom growth going on here!

On the way back to Fred I had a think on what I could do today. Ideally, I wanted to redo the temple if there was a sunset, so to bide time, I went back to Barcraigs reservoir to recheck that out. Since it had been a fail the night I tried to park up there, I thought that, if nothing else, it would be a good time to recce the site. In the daylight I found a nice parking spot and took some shots from the window of the van. There was no real need to get any closer, I could tell, since the water level was so low, and the water that WAS there was being heavily distorted in the breeze. I loved some red plants I could see, but beyond this, there was nothing to leave the van for. I sat and contemplated my options instead and checked the weather for tonight. The chances of a nice sunset had dropped considerably. Giving up on a shot here then, I thought that I would just check out a possible parking spot that was closer to the temple for another time, and then maybe move back onto Inverclyde to try the county again.

I drove around the roads near to the Temple and found a spot that was much closer. Marking it on my map, I then started towards, I thought, the M8, only I accidentally made a wrong turn and ended up at Barcraigs reservoir again. Amazingly, this time round, I could instantly see that the water was as still as glass! I re parked up at the spot I’d found before, grabbed the camera and hotfooted it to the waters edge hoping to get there before the next breeze started up. This time the image looked quite a bit nicer, although I am sure with a higher water level and an interesting sky/snow element, this image would be really quite beautiful. I was just glad to get it as it was today! The reflection shot I had been hoping for for the last two days, not of a castle, but this little house (or fishing lodge?) will do me just as well thanks!

Barcraigs Reservoir. The water levels were very low sadly, but a lucky accident found me here a second time, just as the water had stilled.

I didn’t have any set plans for tonight, so found a little spot to park up that would offer views of Dumbarton Castle from across the Firth of Clyde. I drove over and checked that out, finding it pretty easily, although the tide was out so the scene was very messy and drab. It was still fairly early however, so I phoned round a couple of places looking for a gas bottle refill, and found one not too far away at the James Watt Dock Marina in Greenock. This was just a few minutes drive further on, so I headed over there quickly before they closed. The lady there was super helpful, and a little bit of a saviour as I was one bottle down, with my second desperately low. There had been a shortage of gas bottles over the last few months, and I haven’t been able to get a refill, so my relief was quite intense. As I stepped outside, I noticed just how still the water was in the marina. These places don’t usually excite me, but something about this scene encouraged me to reach for the camera and grab some shots.

James Watt Dock Marina. This sight really caught my eye.

With the gas problem sorted, I drove back to my parking spot for the evening, and plotted a few locations to consider over the next couple of days. After I’d had had something to eat I stepped out as the light began to fade, in the vain hope the river might be still as it was nearing high tide. It wasn’t and the breeze was quite consistent here, but the view across to Dumbarton castle was still quite nice so I just took a picture of the sight as it was anyway, hoping to check again in the morning. You never know right?

Dumbarton Castle from across the River Clyde

As I settled for the evening, I noticed a motorhome pull up for the night, and several cars that pulled in, waited ten or fifteen minutes before disappearing off again. I came to realise this was an area for taxi drivers to wait at until a call came in. This quietened by midnight and I found myself sleeping really well.

My Adventures

Dumpling and Dumbarton Castle

South West Scotland 2021: Part Four

5 & 6 September 2021

I woke up in my lovely forest parking spot quite refreshed, but I really struggled to get myself motivated. I had no idea why. I think maybe yesterday had been a bit of a blow, even though I had managed some recovery in the end.

I eventually got myself together, and made my way to the first location in my next county, West Dumbartonshire. Here I found myself at the northernmost location on my list, The Dumpling, a perfectly positioned hill that overlooked the southern end of Loch Lamond. Parking was easy, and the walk, although steep in parts, wasn’t long, and before I realised it, I was standing on top of the hill looking out at the view that was… well, very disappointing. I have seen some cracking shots from here, but today, even though the sun was shining, most of the loch was lost to a very heavy haze. I had a small lunch with me, so I waited some time, just chilling to see if it would lift, and though it did a little, after nearly two hours I gave up. I hoped I might be able to recover whatever shots I had managed to get, in the editing stage, but I don’t think they are too great. I pretty much only saved one of them – sort of – its definitely not of a quality I am happy with. Strangely, my eyes could see more than my camera at the time, which actually quite curious.

View of Loch Lamond from from The Dumpling

On way down my footing slipped on the very dry and dusty ground, and I instinctively reached out to grab something to break my fall. Without looking, my hand found a thick, very thorny bramble, and as I went down it tore through my flesh. I startled (and worried) River as I landed, yelping in pain. My hand instantly poured with blood and I had to stop to pull out a bunch of thorns and try to suppress the bleeding, before I could continue any further. This really dragged me down on top of a whole bunch of things I was already feeling. I gingerly continued down until I got back to the van, managed to clean and dress my hand properly, and made myself a calming cup of tea. I sat for some time, contemplating what to do next. I was now out of milk, and still needed anti histamine for my very itchy face, so went to find a local shop. Unfortunately, they only sold the expensive branded stuff (I won’t pay for a name if I can help it) and no skimmed milk, so I changed my plans a little and went to find a supermarket at Dumbarton instead, aiming to get some fuel at the same time.

Now I was here, I hoped to try Dumbarton Castle – only to find it closed due to Covid restrictions. This just felt so sad on top of everything else. Feeling a little sorry for myself, I settled for a wander instead, with River, my mobile phone, and no weight on my back. I took a snap of the castle from the front and then explored all around the castle rock to as far as I could walk. The last of the blue sky quickly left, turning more and more cloudy until it gradually started raining. I returned without exploring much further, loosing motivation completely for tonight, had some dinner, and just stayed put.

Mobile photo of the front and lower levels of Dumbarton Castle

I did find this castle to be an interesting location to be sitting next to however! It struck me as being a very unusual looking hill, and you could see it from quite a distance as you drove in. It was very steeply sided while there was no other hill close by, and the town of Dumbarton was laying all around the base of it. Curiosity grabbed me as I settled for the evening and I found myself looking up its history, both geological and human. Turns out it was formed by a volcano some 350 million years ago. A lava flow basically hardened in the middle of the volcano, plugging the vent, and after years of weathering, ice erosion and ground movement, the outer, softer layers of rock gradually wore themselves away, leaving just this ‘plug’ of hardened basalt rock. From Iron age times, it has been used by people as a spot for a fortification, being particularly suited to seeing enemies well before they are near, and being fairly impenetrable once they had arrived. It also housed prisoners (like William Wallace) and served to hide monarchy as they waited to flee. (Mary Queen of Scots hid here before fleeing to France) Quite a spot I think!

6 September

It rained all night and quite late into the morning. Eventually it stopped at 11ish, so I took River for a walk just to get her moving and to go to the loo if she needed it. She didn’t want to come out initially, but I made her anyway and she eventually loved it when we got going. I left the camera in the van not thinking I would see much in this miserable weather, hoping simply for an exploratory walk upstream. I had my mobile for any reference shots if I needed it. As it goes, I did end up spotting an interesting view that I hoped would work at high tide – if the water stilled long enough. (see header) I went back to the van, had lunch, and decided to leave again at around 1-ish ready for high tide at 2. River chose to stay, so I headed out alone for the picture I aimed to get. The tide was now fully in, but the water didn’t really still completely as I had hoped. I did manage to get a shot that showed the volcanic dome well though. Now I knew the history, it seemed all the more interesting to me and I really found it fascinating to try and visualise a much bigger volcano in this area.

I tried a couple of other shots of some rotted pier legs (I assumed that was what they were) but the shots didn’t really work here. It gradually started raining again and I didn’t really want to leave River alone for too long so I made my way back to Fred and chilled out for a while.

When the rain stopped, it was much later, but I decided to go out again, this time back to the front of the castle. The light wasn’t great but I hoped that when the tide was fully out I could possibly try a bit of bird spotting as there seem to be quite a few wading birds here. Unfortunately I struggled to photograph or identify any birds, because the tide had already gone so far out, they were impossible to see clearly, even with my 400mm lens! The castle was grey and dull with a heavy black cloud over it, so any pictures there were a bust too.

As I stood aimlessly looking downstream, I noticed some sun rays were trying to break through the dark cloud. They looked really pretty as they danced across the scene at the end of the river. Initially they were quite a distance away, but then I realised the cloud was actually very slowly making its way up towards my position. I watched and hoped they would come up this far for a while, before I realised I should be photographing them!! I hurriedly got the camera out, focused, and snapped a few shots, fearful the beams would fade one last time. They never did come right up to me, but just as a nice one was streaking through, I heard geese behind me. I didn’t dare turn round but kept my eye on the beam as the light strengthened. As soon as they started to dim, I thought, I would press the shutter regardless – but at the same time I prayed that the birds would get into the shot. Please hang on, please hang on, please hang on!!! I held my breath as I prayed, and then, there they were – 4 birds were flying through my frame! I pressed the shutter. Hoping and praying I had a decent shot as the screen went black, I gasped when I saw what I had captured. Those geese couldn’t have been in a more perfect position!!

The beam was just on the turn, so the timing couldn’t possibly be any better either. The shot looked great and I was over the moon! The hole in the cloud closed shortly after this, and in no time it got to a point that there was no light at all and so close to sunset that the cloud effectively presented a prematurely dark and grim night. Nonetheless…it was a happy end to the day!