Glasgow – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Pollok Country Park, Linn Falls and Whitelee Wind Farm

South West Scotland 2021: Part Seven

10 September 2021

After a good nights rest, a reset, and a gentle morning, I left Emily at mid day with a clearer plan of action.

I was hoping to finish Glasgow, but rather than take shots of the city proper, I turned to two country parks just on the city outskirts – still technically in the Glasgow City ‘county’ so these can be counted as valid locations in my county challenge! My first port of call was Pollok country park, recommended by Emily’s flatmate. Parking was easy to find, and free, so I got there quickly, and walked towards the river, gauging a couple of extra shots as I walked along. It was as lovely as I hoped here. The most surprising discovery of all though, was the fact that THIS was the exact spot that I had actually tried to find two days ago!! The river I followed along here was White Cart Water (this river was clearly longer than I checked!), and the spot I had seen in the photo was the weir and old saw mill along the river right here! Clearly the original photo I used for reference had been slightly mis labelled as Renfrew when it wasn’t, or the poster thought that this spot was within the Renfrew boarder. Either way, I was overjoyed, and took no time at all setting up and taking multiple images of this beautiful location. It was still very cloudy, but it didn’t rain so I was really happy. I am determined to come back here at some point, and capture this image in prettier weather. I bet it will look really lovely with a bit of sun to bring this scene alive!

The old Sawmill by White Cart Water at Pollok country park

River entertained herself around me, and decided to rub herself in … muuuddd???. It could have been anything actually, so I didn’t take any chances and took her down to the water to wash it all back off again (much to her annoyance – she’d worked hard at getting that all in there!!) As I did this, I saw a chap taking photos of some bottles with the weir as a backdrop. I had a brief chat with him, and he explained that he was trying to take some advertising shots with his mobile. I asked how they were coming out and he said he was just an amateur and that the photographer he had hired couldn’t do it until October, adding softly ‘are you interested?’ Now, somehow I missed this question, only hearing it later, but I continued the chat, mentioning that I had seen shots like these before, that I bet the box was heavy, and further random conversations. It was only when I walked away a few minutes later, that I heard the question and I wondered if he had been serious, and whether I had missed a chance to earn a few pennies, and try my hand at still life and promo photography. Ahh, when you hear things back in your head after the event right?!

I went on my way, stopping to photograph the weir and old buildings from under the bridge (see header) then looked at Pollok House from the path. It was closed for the day due to covid restrictions, but the view from here was really nice and super symetrical which appealed to my sense of order… well apart from the gate being slightly oddly opened. I darted up the steps and evened the opening out before running back down to grab a quick shot with my phone. The lands here were the family seat of the Stirling-Maxwell family, and they lived here for 700 years in various castles before this house was built in 1752 (with a few extensions since then) In 1931 it was here that the first discussions were had to form a new National Trust for Scotland with the then owner, Sir John Stirling Maxwell 10th Baron of Pollok. He died in 1957, and the property was handed to the City of Glasgow by his daughter Dame Anne Maxwell MacDonald in 1966, and then to the National Trust for Scotland to care for in 1998. The family have retained the rights to still reside in parts of the house when they visit Glasgow, which I was really pleased to hear -it means that its still a living residence for this long line of lords and barons.

Satisfied with what I could get with my limited light for now, I marked Pollok Park as one to come back to at another time of the year or when I am next up here, and I then left and went to Linn Park, not terribly far from here. This was recommended by Emily herself, ‘its gorgeous there Mum, we went last summer, and you’ll love the waterfall…’ I duly listed this, and headed over with some hope that perhaps this waterfall might be as impressive as she suggested… but no, the water here was a fraction of the flow as I had secretly assumed. I sent her a jokey text with a photo, asking if there was more water when she was here (knowing full well there was) and she replied with a shocked face at seeing the levels. I wasn’t put off however. I did what I could, and actually really liked just focusing on one part only. The water that was falling here, had gathered to one side and formed a smaller section of falls that was in its own right, still fairly pretty. I really enjoyed this shoot. The low river levels allowed me to step a little further out into the water so I could get a better view. Photos online I have seen since, suggest that this isnt normally possible! Once this was done, I was pleased to be able to mark yet another county off my list.

From here I decided to go to East Renfrew. I wasn’t sure about doing another park, a waterfall, nor long walk, so decided to go to Whitelee windfarm instead. This was going to be an unusual one to do, and I was very uncertain as to what I could expect here – but as the prediction was for 24% cloud at sunset, I considered that maybe a turbine silhouetted and reflected in some water would look nice…? That was the thinking anyway. I arrived, saw a few spots to park up and then went for a brief walk to guage the place. I totally surprised myself by really enjoying it here. It truly was far more fascinating than I was banking on. Where I was expecting a bit of an eyesore location, with some interesting/different features to possibly photograph, I found myself in a very well thought out location, designed to be practical, preserving of nature, AND a pleasant place to spend some time walking or learning about these rather awesome structures. This place genuinely had it all worked out really well! I only did a short walk to begin with, just to guage the lay of the land… wandering around past turbines 40, 41, 54, 55 and around to turbine 43 (see map below) I spotted a possible sunset spot, and headed back to the van for some supper to wait the cloud’s departure before I aimed to go out a little later.

map of part of the huge Whitelee Wind Farm

The sky however, hadn’t read the same forecast as me, and I watched as the cloud got heavier and heavier until it was clear there wasn’t going to be any sunset, and that instead heavy mizzle would be the order for tonight! I moved the van to a safer spot, after seeing another motorhome move, and spotting a sign mentioning gates being locked. With miserable weather here now, I decided that I would stop for the night , and have a full and proper look at this site tomorrow… this was WAY more interesting than I initially expected it to be, and you never know, perhaps the sunset sky was slightly off by a few hours and the sunRISE would be the glorious chance I hoped for.

My Adventures

Glasgow City and Campsie Glen

South West Scotland 2021: Part Two

2-3 September 2021

This morning I woke to a broken dog, and my feet in severe pain. Poor River could barely walk a few paces, and those were terribly laboured. She, like I, had overdone it yesterday, and we both ached like there was no tomorrow. After a chat with my daughter, we decided that I could leave River with her so the poor pooch could rest for today, and that I could retry the botanics glasshouses again – this time driving and parking outside in the street, and NOT walking! Parking was straight forward, and I was among the first to enter. There were several restrictions to the entry of the glasshouses in place, limited numbers being allowed in, seating barred, and masks having to be worn – nothing too unusual for the current climate, but once in I ended up doing a relatively quick walk round anyway. I found photo opportunities to be pretty limited with the bulk of the plants just grouped together in a fairly uninspiring setting (for my taste). There was really only one area where I could stand far enough back to capture anything fully, but even there, I found the background to be quite distracting with covid posters, signs, barriers and milling people.

As I turned back however, I noticed all the benches that had been grouped together to stop people sitting on them, and was quite taken with the sight. The benches had created an unintentional, albeit unusual, leading line towards a central sculpture and all the plants bahind. I finally reached for my camera and took this shot.

Covid restrictions offering an unusual, but pleasing composition

I tried the second glasshouse next, but it was just a cluttered collection of plants, which for plant lovers was really interesting. For my photography however, the crammed display lacked a point of focus for me. So I left and made my way back to relieve Emily of her dog sitting duties. While she continued with her tasks for the day, organising an art exhibition in Edinburgh, I simply rested. Later in the afternoon I took River for a gentle walk around the park next door, just to get her moving again before her muscles seized up altogether, then we just chilled some more until Emily got back home. We ate very late and chatted till gone midnight, while I carefully monitored the prospects of fog at the Necropolis for tomorrow morning. The chances were looking very promising at first, over 60%, but sadly they gradually dropped to less than 15% as the hours went on. In the end I decided to just leave it, and slept in instead.

3 September

Because of the late night, and the disappointing fog watch, my plans didn’t quite go as I hoped and I ended up leaving Glasgow at 11. My original intention was to get to the Necropolis at 5 ish, and leave by 7 to start the next leg of the trip. Oh well, there was no harm done, and now I was on my way! The first county I hoped to capture was East Dumbartonshire, and to start, I had a lovely location to visit. Campsie Glen Waterfall. Waterfalls are by far my favourite subject, and I drove to this one with great excitement, but once I had parked up in the car park, I was a little unsure on which way to walk from here – I couldn’t see any signage directing me the correct way.

Eventually I plumped for the hike downhill. The route up looked to be getting flatter, and there was only a slim dirt track to follow. Down was a much clearer path, and it looked steeper… there might be a better chance of finding a waterfall where the route was steeper I mused, and headed down. The walk went downwards for quite a way without signs of any waterfalls however, and finally I got concerned, turned round and started the walk back uphill again. Just after I started, I bumped into an older couple, and they told me that there were actually two falls here, not just one. The woman pointed further down hill, saying it was the easier one, and that there was a delightful coffee shop at the bottom, adding that the second fall wouldn’t be easily accessible with a dog. The lady didnt direct me to that one seperately, so I assumed it was in the same direction. Thanking them, I turned round again, and headed back down.

I walked most of the way down the hill, until it was clear the water just turned into a flat river, and stood very confused. Pretty much all I had seen was a small cascade. Was that the waterfall she meant? Assuming it was, I went back to the cascade, and photographed that (see header) hoping that this wasn’t all there was here. It was a really peaceful spot though, and I could see some rather beautiful detail was achieveable, so relaxed and simply enjoyed the experience of being out photographing the tumbling water. River loved being here too, and she paddled happily next to me, dipping her belly and nose into the gentle flow of stream as it continued away from us.

Once I was done here, and feeling like the trip had started proper, we started the 140 metre climb back up and arrived back at Fred some 2 hours after I had left. I stopped for a rest, had a cup of tea and something to eat, while River went and hid. I didn’t blame her, she was still working through her stiffness from 2 days earlier, and I realised that she would have a limit on how much excersise she would be happy to do right now. The walk we had just done was probably more than enough for today! I was determined to find this flipping waterfall though, so eventually left the comfort of the van, allowing River to stay and rest, and I went to find it! This time I headed upstream – and sure enough, there it was – 5 mins from the carpark…🤣

The couple were right here though – I found a slack line tied to a tree to help you get down some very large boulders, as it was steep with some sheer rocks at one point. A smaller dog would find this a struggle for sure, unless it was being carried. Clearly I had made the right call leaving River in the van. I got myself down and was delighted to see a people free waterfall that also had a ledge leading to a shallow cave behind it. I explored all behind, taking photos from this viewpoint, and posting an image to my story on instagam. Then I continued behind, and made my way right around to the far side.

Watching the water fall from the small cave behind

I went to take some pics from here, but found I had to clear litter as I went. Thankfully someone had left a plastic bag with their lunch lefovers (really?! is it that hard to bring your rubbish away?!) so I used that to pick up everything I found and started to take shots from the front. It was a lovely location, but I bet it would look gorgeous with a bit of sun on it. The light was coming from behind me, but the cloud obscured the sun from view. I tried waiting, for a fair while, but eventually gave up, packed up and crossed the river to start the climb out. As I was halfway up the boulders, the flipping sun briefly made an appearance, and it did indeed look stunning. But as I paused to consider going back, it disappeared again. Effing tease!!!

I gave up the idea of going back feeling unwilling to play this game (!) and continued up, then noticed the path went on a little further upstream. I left the bag of rubbish at this point, aiming to collect it on my way out (no point carrying it everywhere) and followed the path. It wasnt long before I spotted a second fall. These must have been the two the lady was talking about after all. So where was she directing me to, when she pointed downstream I wonder? This waterfall wasn’t particularly dramatic, but it did have an incredible stoic presence to it. Calm, and simplistic, no drama, it was what it was, and had no pretence to it. What an entirely different character this one had. It fell into a simple pool without fuss, and simply continued going straight from there down a boulder ridden but flat stream bed. It was very easy to cross, and I found myself a comfortable spot to settle into to compose my pictures. As I sat taking my photos, I was joined by a group of teens who subsequently found themselves on top of it, forcing me to stop taking longer shots and look at more intimate compositions. I wasn’t too worried, and waited when I needed to. I had the photos I wanted of the whole fall and was very happy with them.

After a while, they all climbed back down and left with mum, but curious, I followed their idea, climbing big rocks and boulders until I too reached the top. From there I saw the path still continued but it was unclear if it led to anywhere in particular. Unperturbed, I followed it anyway, clambering over further boulders (bit of a determined old granny when I want to be!!) until I eventually spotted a third fall! This one was beautiful and yet another, different, character! Sweet and far more delicate than the previous two, this one stole my heart as it tumbled gently to a pool that was so still, the water mirrored each of the cascades that formed on its journey. Time was getting on by now however, so I did what I could in the failing light, frantically firing shots with a variety of shutter speeds to hopefully capture this beauty well. As I did so, midges and mossies came out for their evening meal, and I could feel them tickling my flesh. I tried my hardest to hang on but eventually they became quite unbearable. I was being eaten alive here! I felt this was the prettiest of the 3 falls but I had definately reached it at the worst time of the day. I packed everything away, quickly looking upstream further on. I didn’t spot any obvious path from here, but in this light, it was entirely possible that I might have missed one if there was. Oh but what a lovely surprise to find 3 falls rather than two… and each one was so different. Today finally felt like it was a real winner, and what a cracking start to this trip!

I finished up, went back to Fred, sliding down some bits of rocks on my bum, and happily collected the bag of rubbish en route. The walk back felt really quick compared to the trip upstream, but I guess that was due to my exploring, rather than going straight to the top. I put the rubbish in the bin in the car park, and settled in to Fred to have some dinner, and stayed for the night. Where to tomorrow I wondered?

Postscript: Most of that was written the night I stayed over, and I have since looked to see if anyone has any names for any of these three falls. Turns out that the first two I saw, are the main two that you see on google, no-one has named them though unfortunately. I haven’t seen any photos of the third I saw (yet…)

HOWEVER… there is an another frequently photographed fall/cascade that I TOTALLY missed!! I have no idea where it is exactly, but it looks amazing, with water coming from multiple directions… I can see that I am going to have to go back and find it! WHAT an amazing area!!

My Adventures

Glasgow City

South West Scotland 2021: Part One

31 August- 1 September 2021

After yesterday’s all day drive up to Scotland, I didn’t plan too much for today, chilling mostly and only venturing out when my daughter had a job interview. River and I walked to Glasgow Necropolis on Emily’s suggestion and looked to spend a couple of hours out exploring. Wow, WHAT a location! The Necropolis is a huge Victorian graveyard built in 1835 on a hill next to the Cathedral. With a monument to John Knox (Scottish minister and religious reformer) already in position, the graveyard grew to have around 50,000 people buried here, many without headstones, but the area is still home to over 3,500 memorials that visitors can wander through. It was amazing here, although where it was warm and sunny, it created a far too happy atmosphere for a location I felt would suit some incredible moody photos. I was really excited at the prospect of coming back though, when the atmosphere suited my impression of the place – dark, grim or foggy please! The warm happy sunshine brought too much joy here for today though so I simply I wandered through the characterful graveyard, and snapped some pictures on my phone for ideas.

Once she was done, Emily phoned to say she was heading home so I headed back too and we passed the rest of the day with me assisting her moving and picking up several items she needed a larger vehicle for.

1 September

Oh dear what an awful day today would end up. I took River and we walked all the way to the botanical gardens. I had overestimated the distance – and the weather. The sun beamed down and the heat was quite blistering, consequently we were knackered by the time we got there so we just sat in the sunshine, had fluids, and rested for some time. I bought a wrap to eat and looked around at the packed park. There seemed no point trying to take any pictures here, since it looked like any old park on a packed sunny day. After we rested a bit, I looked at going into the glass houses instead, but dogs weren’t allowed in. This felt so very disappointing here!

Feeling a little despondent over this location, I thought I would try the Squinty Bridge instead, 40 minutes walk away… It seemed do-able, but took me much longer than I expected. My feet were getting really sore, and I walked at a super plod speed, trying to find as many shaded areas as I could for River to walk in. As I neared the spot I had plotted on Google maps, I realised I had clicked on ‘Squiggly bridge’ – and this was clearly the wrong one! Frustrated with myself, I re routed, only to walk 10 mins in the wrong direction. Agh!! I turned back to Squiggly bridge (actual name is Tradeston bridge, but the locals have named it Squiggly) and aimed to continue in that direction towards the Clyde Arc (also known as the Squinty Bridge – the one I was after – can you see why the mistake occurred?!). We paused at Squiggly and saw that its actually got a very apt name. It isn’t a straight bridge, it curves in a gentle S shape as it crosses the River Clyde. I took some photos of it with my phone before we crossed it, since I was really taken with the reflection in the still water of the river. It showed that this bridge had an equally attractive underside, visible only when the water stilled enough I guess!

Tradeston bridge, better known to locals (and Google!) as Squiggly bridge

As we plodded over the bridge, looking out over the water, we were stopped by a young man who asked to stroke River. I said yes, seeing no problem with this, and as he petted her he started to tell me that his dog had been stolen and that he was really sad. He kept talking, and I found it very hard to leave, feeling terribly rude to do so, since he was clearly getting some solace stroking my dog. As he continued talking and petting River however, I noticed his hands kept going to her collar, gripping it, then letting go. I ended up a little unnerved, but before I could take my leave, a second (seemingly drunk) man came up and also started petting her, with similar movements around the collar. I wasn’t at all comfortable with this, but really couldn’t get away, with a man now either side of me, blocking me and both effectively holding onto my seated dog. Then the ‘drunk’ man asked ‘how much does one of these cost?’. At this, the younger man answered £1000. I felt terribly unsettled by now but saw an opportunity. I laughed lightly and said ‘well, while you two discuss how much MY dog will sell for, we really need to be on our way’ and I immediately pushed through them and left. Thankfully their grip on Rivers collar had loosened at my sudden movement and she slipped through their hands. Sore feet or not, we both walked at pace off the bridge and kept going until I was sure we weren’t followed.

We walked all the way to the correct bridge, sat for a short while to rest my feet, and then continued down to the next one to get a better vantage point. As it was nearing sunset, I decided to stay for that. The sky was pure blue, so nothing but a dirty pink happened from my position but I took a photo anyway… After all, I’d been carrying my whole kit with me all day, I should get it out once at least! The water was still pretty flat as I snapped the photo, but it changed a few minutes, later, so that was something anyway. Another photographer there, with his back to me, was frantically firing shots in the opposite direction, but for the life of me, I couldn’t quite see what was exciting him. Yes, the sun was setting that side, and I did snap a couple of pictures for the sake of it, but I genuinely felt there was no focal point to the image and ‘just the sun setting’ really didn’t do it for me. Even looking at the pictures these months later, I am asking ‘…but what did I take a photo OF??!’ Looking back upriver, I realised that the best time for a photo here would be at sunrise. I suspect the sun will rise behind this bridge. Now I bet THAT looks wonderful!

Squinty bridge (otherwise known as the Clyde Arc)

From here I went to get an uber home. My first time trying to catch one of these, but I was SO exhausted that I really couldn’t face taking another step. Today had felt highly frustrating, and like Glasgow was against me, but at least being driven back would feel like a treat. That was until the guy pulled up, saw River and waved ‘No Dogs! No Dogs!!’ pulling away before I had even gotten close. But I had PUT that in a message before you even accepted the job you @$#!@!! I nearly cried I was so tired. I waited a moment to gather myself and tried again. The second uber driver responded with ‘absolutely! No problem!’, and arrived a few minutes later. He happily chatted about his own pooch, and telling me all about his life here since coming from Eastern Europe a couple of years ago. He was genuinely lovely, and restored my faith in the service. Not that I have used it since…

On reviewing the day, I saw I had walked 11 miles in the blistering heat. Not a good day for the total lack of inspiration I felt… But I was happy to take the hit, because my daughter had already been told that she had landed her dream job, and if it offset the balance in the universe, it was well and truly worth the pain!