landscape – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Southerness Lighthouse, Rockliffe and Balcary Bay

South West Scotland 2021: Part Twenty One

25 September 2021

I awoke to more grim weather, but trotted around the car park with River just so she could go to the loo, and stretch her legs a bit. They had a chemical toilet disposal area here, fresh water, and grey water disposal. I didn’t need any of these, but what I did need was a bin… was there a bin? Nope! So I had to put Rivers’ morning poop in the camper bin – and as I drove, it fragranced the van in a not too pleasant way. *gag*(!!) Oh the pleasures of travelling with a dog eh?! LOL

After this delightful start, I drove to Southerness. This wasn’t originally on my map, but I had spotted a curious looking lighthouse and I had to investigate! It is listed as the second oldest lighthouse in Scotland, being commissioned back in 1748, and was built to an unusual square shape. I had high hopes of getting a nice reflection shot of this one!

It was Sunday, so I expected it to be pretty busy, but as I arrived here, I saw that it wasn’t too bad. There were several dogwalkers, and a few people dotted here and there, but not busy by any standards. Pretty much all that was here, was a golf club and a caravan/holiday park. I guessed there were a fair few bits to occupy most of the remaining holidaymakers that were still there, now the school holidays were over. I found space in the car park easily, and parked up next to a public loo with a doggy bin nearby. (You can pretty much guarantee I made a beeline for that!)

River happily plodded with me down the road to investigate the lighthouse and we were standing looking at it from the beach very soon after. Sadly, the sky was much the same colour as the lighthouse itself, which I immediately realised would hamper separating it from the sky. On top of this, the wind was quite strong – I could see this was going to be a bit of a challenge today. I had arrived at a good time with the tide though. This is definitely a spot for a lower tide, as it reveals the awesome rocks that form incredible jagged lines leading to the lighthouse. This is the spot to practice using the photographic ‘leading lines’ rule, for sure!! I wandered all over, looking at the tiny rock pool creatures, and loving all the different coloured rocks and algae. The reflection shots were very hard with the wind refusing to back down long enough to still the puddles, but I got one eventually and it did look quite good against the moody sky. Perhaps next time I would try and time it with less of a breeze and the tide slightly higher to give more water to the puddles. It would look much better and make for some incredible pictures I imagine. For today though, it was almost perfect, and totally fun to explore. This spot definitely surprised me. How did I miss this one off my original list?!!

I had a bit of lunch, then went to find a random spot, that I had just loved when I spotted someone’s painting (?) of it. OK. I knew it would be hard to find, but with careful scouring of the maps, landscape, and Google maps, I thought I might have a vague idea on where I might find it. I drove to the area I’d discovered, and just walked off in the rough direction praying I was right.

On the way, I passed some cows that had the same colouring as River, and the whole herd seemed to come over to a gate to explore this mini version of themselves. It was quite sweet to see the innocent and gentle curiosity from both sides. (see header) I continued the walk, rounding the headland and seeing the distant coastline gradually disappear into a mizzle cloud. Despite this, I pressed on, after all this was just going to be a recce mission, and if I was wrong then it would be a nice walk regardless. A few minutes later I excitedly found the spot I was after, and was over the moon that all the research had worked out! The view to the distance was pretty much obliterated by now however. All the same, I still felt that it was a good time to capture this photo because the bracken was all in bloom. I decided that now I knew exactly where this spot was, it was definitely one to come back to. It was going to need to be on this trip though – any other time of the year, and this beautiful yellow might not be here! A few minutes later and the mizzle hit my spot, so I quickly packed up and made my way back before it turned into full on rain..

After this, I aimed to try Balcary Bay to photograph the view across the bay with the castle in the background. Well.. what a disappointment this place was! I hoped to stay overnight to get a sunset and a dawn shot, but the car park clearly said no overnight camping. I was also sad to realise that there was very little here but a small beach (with a tide that was way too far out) and no castle at all. What I took to be a castle was in fact, a private house, and the only way to see it wasn’t at this spot anyway. I stayed less than fifteen minutes before I left. A little way up the road, I found a pull in spot instead, and the view from this angle was vastly improved.

Sadly, although the rain had eased off again, the evening had a heavy cloud overhead which obliterated any chance of a nice sunset. Similarly, although the tide was creeping in, it did so very slowly adding to my disappointment. There was no chance that it would get high enough before it fell too dark for me to get either, a hoped for reflection, or a smooth ethereal water effect. The whole scene just felt flat and grim. Another shot for another time I supposed, although, perhaps, there might be a nice sunrise?… I stayed there for the night full of hope…

What a naive wally.

Sunrise?! On THIS trip?!! 😂😂

My Adventures

Gourock, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, and Cloch Lighthouse

South West Scotland 2021: Part Thirteen

16 September 2021

I woke up early after what ended up as a poor night of sleep. There was no particular reason for it but it meant I was easily awake for a possible dawn shot. Sadly, although I got out to photograph it, the sky remained cloudy and nothing exciting happened to take a photograph OF. Instead, I decided to attempt a little more sleep and tried to get another hour. That didn’t work either, so feeling a little grotty and grumpy, I just had breakfast and took my time this morning. As the early hours progressed, the sky cleared a fair bit, and the view over Gourock looked really pretty, with broken sun patches drifting across the scene. Watching this from the van window, I decided to take another shot before I left, while it looked this nice. I jumped out and as I stood taking my photos I couldn’t miss the number of other people also here with cameras out. (OK, this sight is pretty, but I didn’t think it was that pretty!) It turned out that while a couple were here just for the view – they simply snapped with their phones and left really quickly, quite a few were here just watching and waiting. One guy had a scope type camera… was it a rare bird they were watching out for? A short while passed and I finally saw what these guys were waiting for – a large cruise ship came into view and gently sailed down the firth. All of a sudden they bustled into life and started snapping like mad. It seems that much like train spotters, there are also ship spotters. (who knew?!) As I spoke to one man, he explained that this particular one was not often here, and quite anticipated. This was quite clear by the number of people that gathered to watch. Once the ship had gone, all the photographers vanished along with it, and I had the location all to myself.

Once I had taken my shot, I had a think on what else I could do here in Inverclyde. Yesterday had taken it out of me a little, and the poor night didn’t help, so I thought I would take things fairly easy today, and maybe just have a little explore of the Clyde Muirshiel park area. Yesterday, I had spotted a possible abandoned house near my ancestors one, so on a whim, I decided to start there and have a little explore. The pressure was off finishing Inverclyde, as I had effectively visited 3 different locations yesterday, and already had two in the bag from a few days earlier (Cloch Lighthouse and the James Watt marina), so this was a bonus trip. I got to the spot fairly quickly, and went for an initial look before I decided to come back for my camera. The weather was holding up for me perfectly for a little project idea that I’d had in mind since the highlands. When I was there, I had spotted a number of abandoned buildings. These were always interesting to visit, especially those that still had a variety of belongings scattered everywhere, despite being abandoned for quite some years.

My idea was to try getting a photo from one of the windows… basically ‘a room with a view’, but from a now unloved, ex home. I’d already picked up an old bottle from jaw reservoir, so I thought I might put it to a bit of use and collected that up from the van with my camera. On the walk back to the house (see header) I picked a few wild flowers from the area that were in bloom today -garlic, buttercup, hebe, dandelion(?) and mint, along with a few early autumn leaves, and a handful of wild mushrooms. Once inside, the idea was to arrange these in or with the old bottle and take a shot from my chosen window. It worked out OK, except that I forgot to take multiple shots to focus stack correctly. (GAGH!! * Slaps forehead in frustration) Ahh, lesson learned. For a first try though, I wasn’t too disappointed, and totally in awe of the stunning view from this one. I wonder if the previous owners and workers from this small holding ever really appreciated it as much as I did today. After taking my photos, I had a little explore. It was a single story house with what appeared to be two animal barns/holding areas to either side. I don’t know much about farming, so I couldn’t be exactly sure what use they might have been put to. What I could tell was that there was a LOT of animal poop in one of them though, so it was clearly still somewhat in use!

After this gentle and slow explore, I thought I might head back to Cloch Lighthouse. I was disappointed with the water levels on my last visit, so rather than aim for sunset, I decided to get there for high tide. The water lapping in might make a nice shot I mused. High tide wasn’t for a while however, so instead I thought I would take a very slow drive over and through the park area and just enjoy the views. It was a beautiful drive, sun shining intermittently as the cloud slowly started building. This, I felt, might be perfect for my lighthouse shot later, so I was content to take my time, stopping at a number of spots to have a gentle walk or explore. Part of my drive took me through North Ayrshire, and although I was, in my head still ‘doing’ Inverclyde, I couldn’t resist taking the odd photo from up here.

I slowly carried on to Cloch Lighthouse and on arriving just after half past 3, I could see that the conditions were going to be perfect. The cloud had chased the blue away, and the shot was going to look a fair bit moodier than last time. I found the only parking spot I knew of quickly, and didn’t faff about this time trying to find anything better. Once on the stoney beach, I saw the tide was much higher than last time, and that it was still ebbing in, so I had plenty of time to experiment with a few varying spots along the short beach here. This session felt much calmer this time, and I enjoyed myself much more. Without any added stress, I found myself taking a number of shots that worked for me as I hoped, and I was done well within time.

Cloch Lighthouse. Moodier this time, and a much less stressed photo session

Once the tide turned and started to make its way back out, I decided to simply drive up to Greenock, fill up with fuel, and do a quick shop, before heading down to an overnight spot in North Ayrshire. I would then be ready for my next county to start in the morning. There were three other vans here tonight, and although by the road, it was quiet enough for me to sleep pretty well.

My Adventures

Kenmure Hill Temple, Castle Semple Collegiate Church, Calder Mill…

South West Scotland 2021: Part Ten

13 September 2021

Having driven until late and stopping in the dead of night, the parking I managed to find at Castle Semple was a complete unknown to me before I woke up. When I eventually rose and looked out of the window, I found myself beside a loch, with another van parked up a couple of spaces to my right. Loads of ducks, geese and swans gathered noisily by the waters edge and vehicles were arriving with both dog walkers and parents dropping off older children for what was apparently going to be a water sports day. This area looked like it was going to be pretty interesting!

Today I hoped to capture a picture of Kenmure ‘castle’, only on further investigation, there was no castle as such, just a small tower (mislabelled on the Web, although corrected today). This was actually called Kenmure Hill Temple, and although built in late 1700’s, no one seems to know its actual purpose. It may have been an actual temple, a folly or a hunting lodge for the gamekeeper to keep watch over the white deer they had here at the time. However it’s also been suggested that it might have been a nursery for sick children, or a ladies room for taking tea and enjoying the view. Basically, with so many suggestions bouncing around, it could have been pretty much anything, or a place used over time for a variety of uses. Who knows eh?! These days its an empty ruin/folly for tourists and photographers like me to hike to instead so I’m not complaining!

River and I took the long walk to it, with River stopping, as she always does, at every puddle for a mud bath. When we approached the last bit of the hill, the sun beamed down on it, and really picked the tower out on the lonely landscape. I grabbed a couple of shots from where I stood (see header), then continued up the hill, finally stopping at the top for lunch – without re checking the sky. When I was nearly finished, I suddenly noticed the looming cloud about to engulf the sun. I quickly grabbed my camera and managed one shot of the temple in sunlight before it dimmed and the view went flat (Gagh!!! Why did I eat first?!!) Fortunately it looked like it might be temporary as I saw a big patch of blue behind and to the side of me, so I decided to just wait it out, hoping…. Sadly, the blue came 3 quarters of the way to the sun’s position, then changed direction, the cloud winning out and growing instead. Clearly there would be no more pretty light today. I explored the top nonetheless, and had a good look around the structure both inside and out, noting a probable fireplace up on what seemed to be a first floor area. It was quite intriguing, and blessed with a wonderful view regardless of what the weather decided to do.

Kenmure Hill Temple, no one seems to really know what it was built for.

As I came back to my camera bag I spotted River rolling around in, and thoroughly enjoying, a huge fresh cow pat next to me… She was covered! I yelled at her to stop, and with a happy grin she came back to me, tail wagging – but I could smell her well before she got close. This wasn’t good, and it was clear that this young lady was definitely going to need a wash down!

After it was clear the cloud was building and not receding, I decided on a different route back, this one via the old church that gives the name of the area here, Castle Semple Collegiate church. The church was interesting to visit, although I found it hard to photograph. Part of its curiosity was not simply that it was a derelict building, but that it has gravestones INSIDE the nave. The outside was a small grassy area, without any further tombstones, and sadly, to one end, I found barriers around parts of the building due to dangerous masonry in the windows. The church was founded in 1504, but beyond this fact, there is very little information available on it. I have no idea when it fell out of use. The roof was apparently removed sometime in the 1800’s so I assume it was well before that. I didn’t get my main camera out where I failed to see any pleasant viewpoints, but I did snap a few images on my phone just for memories sake. River and I went back to the main path, and continued the walk back to the visitor centre.

I have no idea what caught her attention, but on the route River kept diving nose first into several gaps/holes in the tall grass. A dog came past and for the first time she didn’t seem worried by it where she was so absorbed in whatever she was sniffing here. Instead she dived nose first into yet another leafy area. I called her over to tell her what a good girl she had been for not barking, and she came back straight away, with a leaf over one eye. She didn’t even seem to notice it as she looked up at me with the happiest expression. I laughed, took some photos, and we eventually moved on. When we got back to the lochs edge, I gave her as best a rinse as I could, but she turned green with the staining from the cow pat. I wasn’t altogether sure this was an improvement at all, and when other people walked passed, I had no option but to smile apologetically about my stinky green dog.

Covered in cow poo, muddy puddle debris and now a leaf – Happy River!

I decided that as we were here, I would check out the waterfall nearby. I wasn’t full of high hopes given the low water situation during this trip so far however. On the other hand, it did occur to me that as I had a bar of 100% natural ingredient shampoo soap in the van, maybe the running river water might help wash my stinky dog a little better. Even though I wasn’t expecting too much, when I turned up at the fall, I was SOOO disappointed!! This was as much a dribble as Blairskaith had been, and although I tried to take a few photos, it was really quite pathetic. I KNOW it can look so much better, so I decided that I would mark this waterfall as one to come back to. I sat instead at the waters edge, and gave River a proper wash. She was most disgruntled that all that ‘lovely scent’ she had worked so hard to get into her coat, was now gone, but there was no way I was going to let her anywhere near the van smelling the way she did!!

Looking pretty pathetic today, Calder Mill Waterfall

Finished here for now, we then left to have a little drive past nearby Barr Castle to see if there was any parking to explore here. There was none, so disappointed, I continued driving round to the other side of the Loch to see if it was a possible reflection location. Nope. There wasn’t a good reflection view either. This left me a little frustrated and disappointed so I continued round to the RSPB bird place at Lochwinnoch, parked up and went for a short walk to try a bit of bird watching instead. My app told me there were a large number of birds here.. But could I see any?!! Clearly I was too inexperienced at this so I gave up and went back to Castle Semple. Interestingly, the loop I had driven took me through a small town by the name of Beith. This was my grandmothers maiden name, and through her is my blood link to Scotland. I regret not pulling over and having a look here, although the family, as far as I am aware, came from Ayrshire rather than here. It might have been interesting to see the town though.

As soon as I pulled up back at the car park, it started raining and it didn’t stop all night. Looking at the map as I waited, I could see there was a walking route to Barr Castle from here. Maybe I could do this one tomorrow. For now, I could do little but settle for the evening listening to the rain pattering on the roof. It was such a relaxing sound, sleep came easily.

UPDATE. I did indeed return to this location after attending Emily’s Graduation in December and boy, oh boy, was this now worth it, and MUCH more what I had originally hoped for! I was able to find the park up quickly, and the walk to the falls told me straight away that there was a major difference here. I could hear the thunder clearly from the road, well before I descended down through the trees to the waters edge. When I arrived I was greeted with the awesome sight of water crashing over the edge to the rocks below and and flowing away with an incredibly strong current. No way was I able to stand anywhere near where I had washed River just a couple of months earlier! What an amazing revisit, and so worth retrying. I was over the moon capturing the fall this time!

What a difference some rain makes! Calder Mill Waterfall in the December

My Adventures

Lossiemouth, Duffus Castle, and Findhorn

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Nineteen

10 and 11 August 2020

I was a real grump bag today.

No idea why. I slept really well, although I woke up several times, finally waking at 4am and looking out to see the sky was full of cloud. Dawn wasn’t worth getting up for this morning, and I went back to sleep for a few more hours. Maybe it was the broken sleep, maybe I had physically done enough, but everything was getting really hard. Bending/crouching was really hard, just getting motivated was hard, my back ached, my foot hurt, and I really couldn’t focus properly. I felt like both my body and brain were ceasing up.

Saying all that, I started off chill and just taking my time cleaning up, doing some laundry and so on, so I wasn’t feeling particularly stressed. Once ready, Lossiemouth and Duffus castle were on my list for today, and I hoped to end at Findhorn for the evening, so I headed off feeling fairly good. I arrived at Lossiemouth and started off by taking River for a long walk near the harbour, and onto a beach there (East Beach) It was quite pretty here and I devoted all my time to her, rather than to some photography, although in hindsight I wish I had gone back with my camera, as the view was nice enough to get some shots I think. (Phone snap in header) Once River had enjoyed a good walk, I popped into a few shops, got a few gifts, treated myself to an ice cream, (Yum!) and then went back to the camper to continue my day. From here things seemed to start deviating from the plan… and a debilitating downward turn soon took hold.

I hoped to find some awesome looking caves that photographer Kim Grant had mentioned in her video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sCLEkupBrI&t=563s&ab_channel=KimGrant (8.40 minutes in) and I think near there were also some stunning rock formations that I had seen in some photos (possibly from above the cave section). This should have been quite lovely, but no matter how I tried, I just couldn’t find the caves I liked, nor the rock formations. All I found was one long sandy beach. This left me very disappointed and confused. I tried to park at the lighthouse to get a shot of that at least, but their car park was closed off today and nearby land was owned by the RAF and a touring park, so I struggled to find anywhere else to park. Instead, I went back to Lossiemouth and decided to walk to the Lighthouse from there, to check out the caves that were apparently underneath it. I had the gut feeling they weren’t the ones I wanted, so I left all my kit behind and just walked the route. I am so glad I did because not only were they NOT the ones I hoped for, with all the beautiful colours and lines in the varying rock shapes, but the walk took over an hour. Just there. And the same back. Don’t get me wrong, this beach was great for holidaymakers, absolutely beautiful. There were no rocks to hurt feet, its a huge expanse of gorgeous gentle sand, and the water was lapping so gently in the sun, it was a perfect holiday day out. There was little to my eye to photograph though, although I did find a curious looking purple jellyfish just at the waters edge. I sent a snap to the family WhatsApp group, because I had only ever seen clear jelly fish before and I thought this one looked really pretty!

My grand daughter replied with one she found on google, a Pelagia noctiluca, also known as mauve stinger purple stinger, purple people eater or nightlight jellyfish. (On reading ‘Purple People eater’, I confess I did step back a little…LOL!!!) I looked it up myself later and this is more likely to be a Cyanea Lamarckii or ‘Blue jellyfish’ which likes the colder waters off the Scottish coasts apparently. Although I confess, the idea of a jellyfish that glows in the dark sounded absolutely beautiful so maybe its a shame it wasn’t the purple people eater! With little else to see or do for the two hour walk, all I could do was think – which in part was nice, but it also gave me far too much time to mull over the frustrations I had struggled with today. By the time I got back to Fred, I had lost all my focus, and had no clue where to look or go to next. I tried to think of a different location to get me excited but none took my fancy. So, I went back to my original plan, settled back on Duffus Castle and full of disappointment, completely gave up on Lossiemouth.

The drive was quick, the location easy to get to, free to enter and open for anyone to go in, any time of day. This all picked me up a little bit. It was so nice to visit a complication free location today! From the car park, it looked really nice with the sun now out, and beaming on one side. I took a walk around with River, and found several boards telling me all about it, and some of its history that was so interesting I sent a video back to the kids to watch. It was the first motte and bailey castle I had seen, having learned about them from when my children were young and having to make multiple models for their homeworks.

River, however, was being very badly behaved and was extremely distracting. I got highly irritated by her constant barking at other people, and especially, other dogs, and where there were quite a few visitors here today, it got to be a little too much! Eventually I snapped and left her in the camper where she would offend no one. This time out, I took the camera. There was one spot in particular that I really hoped to get a photo from. One of the first images I saw of this location, was actually a painting, with the Castle in the back, and a small bridge in the foreground. I found the spot, but the moat was so overgrown with huge reeds and algae, that it was totally impossible to capture a photograph from the same position. That was disappointing enough, but when trying to take an image from the cobbled hump of the bridge instead, a whole bunch of people turned up and just kept getting into my shots. Eventually I gave up there, frustrated with my efforts. The sky wasn’t very pleasing anyway, with the sun directly in my eyes, just to add more agitation to the situation. I continued wandering around the edge of the moat where I captured a token image that, at the time, didn’t particularly excite me. (no idea why to be fair, I quite like the image now!) Seconds later, even that view was crawling with the bus load of visitors. In a completely disheartened mood by now, I just gave up and went back to the camper, trying to work out what was going wrong with me today. As I sat there I suddenly felt exhausted, and I decided that it might be best if I didn’t push it. I would see if I could go out for a nice sunset shot here, and perhaps just stay the night. After I settled on that plan, I completely flaked out.

Duffus Castle. My mood at the time left me dissatisfied with this shot, but I am not unhappy with it now.

When I awoke an hour or so later it felt quiet enough for River to come out, and I thought I might retry the cobbled bridge with a possible sunset. Unfortunately as each negative thing happened today, I’d felt more and more beaten, and even as I was setting up, I couldn’t get things to go right. The castle was still in a warm evening sunlight, but the sky was just really bland, with just a flat blue cloudless view. The sunset was clearly just going to be a pink strip on the horizon, as there were no clouds for it to bounce off. In my head all I could hear was ‘Why am I even bothering with this?!!’ A family appeared, walking with their two dogs, and River kept barking every time she caught sight of them. It was really hard to work with her constantly trying to run at them. Then, just as I was nearing the end of my tether, she decided that a dip in the stinky moat would be a good idea, and just wouldn’t listen when I called her to stop. Frustrated with everything, I was feeling like I was about to snap, so I packed everything away, hauled her out and made my way back to the camper totally dejected with today. When we got back, I was just packing the camera bag inside, when she barked nastily and went to lunge at a little kiddie on a scooter. She had NEVER behaved like that before, and in a mix of complete horror and despair, I grabbed her and threw her into the camper, shut the door behind us, and burst into tears. This had been the final straw today, and I was totally confused as to what was wrong with me, and everything.

I didn’t set foot outside again until long into the next day.

11 August 2020

I woke up this morning totally without aim. Thinking proved to be the most difficult thing, so I did what I needed to do. Absolutely nothing. The sky was a flat cloud, so there was no chance of a sunrise or dramatic shot here. When I looked at the map, nothing excited or drew me. So I left it all, and just chilled in Fred. I looked up why dogs bark in the way that River was, and read how to help control it. I then decided that today I would simply try to practice the techniques they suggested, and maybe try a simple shot at Findhorn later. Nothing more than that. I knew I needed a high tide for the shot I wanted of the tidal breaker – water moving around it, a long exposure, and a minimalist shot. Nothing too hard, a photo that had been done numerous times before, by other photographers, but a good practice for me for the minimal technique that I so loved. At 3, I left Duffus without having touched my camera, and by 4.30 I was parked up at Findhorn beach, having had a quick stop off at a small local store for a couple of supplies. High tide was in an hour, so I explored the beach a little and practiced the dog training ideas I had read, with River. If I saw a dog, I simply stood between her and the other dog, made her sit, and made her look at me until the other dog had passed. When she did as she was told, she got a treat. We did this continually with every dog, for the hour and she gradually got the hang of it, and stopped barking. By 6, she happily walked by the other dogs, with barely a sniff in their direction! (YAY!! Progress!) At high tide, I got myself back on the beach, and my heart sank yet again. The water was so low it didn’t even reach the wave breaker that I had come to photograph. (So much for ‘high‘ tide!) I snapped the pitiful scene with my phone, feeling complete and utter resignation. ‘Yep, that’s about right!’ I thought.

The final finger up from Fate on this day. High tide barely even touched the breaker, never mind cover it!

I turned around and walked right back to the camper. This was my only photo at Findhorn.

My Adventures

Highland Wildlife, Applecross and the Bealach Na Ba Viewpoint

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Fourteen

5 August 2020

Another grim day, but I didn’t 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 enthusiasm 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 waited 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 wasn’t 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!

This beautiful Red Deer buck came head to head with River.

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 continued 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 didn’t 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.

One of the many stunning views I drove past, this was one of the few with a parking spot

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 no-one 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 couldn’t wait here for long though, so I grabbed what I could over the minute or so, and quickly jogged back to the camper.

YAY!!! I finally got a Highland Coo photograph of my own.. and she even tried to smile for the camera…

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 couldn’t 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 didn’t 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 wasn’t 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 wouldn’t 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 wasn’t 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!

Bealach Na Ba Viewpoint… minus the view..(!!)

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 argument erupted 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 morothome, 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 weather-wise sadly, although the traffic was greatly reduced – so I decided to brave it!

The view coming away from the Bealach na ba viewpoint

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 the weather was going to continue being so grim, I would at least have a relatively pretty view in the morning…

My Adventures

Whaligoe Steps, Keiss Castle and Bucholie Castle

Scotland Highlands 2020: Part Five

26 July 2020

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

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

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

The Whaligoe waterfall looking like it could be somewhere tropical!

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

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

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

when you are happy to share your seaweed bed…

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Adventures

Noss Head Lighthouse, Geo bay and Castle Sinclair Girnigoe

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Two

23 July 2020

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

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

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

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

Mists lifting off the Noss Head Lighthouse

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

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

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

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

Castle Sinclair Girnigoe from the cliffs

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

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