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My Adventures

Glen Docherty Viewpoint, 3 Lochs, Blackwater Falls and Fyrish…


Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Fifteen

6 August 2020

I didn’t know it in the morning as I awoke, but today was going to be a bumper day of energy, beautiful sights and renewed enthusiasm.

It started off cloudy, but was dry, and held a bit of promise in the air. I took my time getting sorted and as I did, I saw the skies clearing, and then spotted patches of sunlight begin to dance across the landscape. It looked stunning… and these patches of light gradually increased in duration until eventually, I found myself jumping out of the camper, camera in hand, to capture the view properly. I was so glad I did, because the shots were incredibly pretty and totally varied depending on where the light was dancing.

Glen Docherty Viewpoint, looking perfect this morning

I managed to get several photographs of the viewpoint before a tour guide stopped by with a mini bus full of excited Japanese girls. I heard him tell them that Queen Victoria had visited here, that it was used in an advert and had been in several films, so was a very popular spot for tourists. I can’t say I would disagree, and today was a particularly pretty demonstration on how it can look here. They snapped loads of photos, petted River and photographed themselves with her too, before they all moved on. I eventually left too, revisited Loch Maree quickly to try and capture some shots that I had wanted, although I didn’t feel they were especially good, and then headed off to find more of my Ross and Cromarty locations.

First stop was Loch Clair. There was a nice easy hike along the side of the Loch, and after I found a good parking spot River and I headed out for the first long walk I’d had in days. By now the temperature had increased, and the day was proving to be a glorious sunny one. It was one that my spirits desperately needed, but not one that was quite so good for photography, as the strong sun simply washed a lot of the shots out or left me with harsh shadows. Regardless of the photo opportunities, the hike was really peaceful and enjoyable, and I was just so happy to be able to soak up the calm gentle beauty here. I walked by the side of Loch Clair, and then the path continued on to go alongside Loch Coulin. A two in one hike, bonus!! This loch had a different character to it, and was filled with plants. It wasn’t quite as clean a sight as I had hoped for, but it was really pretty nonetheless. I found myself a small rocky outcrop and sat with River for a while, and took a shot from there. I wondered if the greenery would be in the water over the winter/early spring. This one would definitely be worth coming back to to check, as it would be really nice if it was possible to get a reflection in the water of the white house with the stunning Beinn Eighe behind it. There’s no bridge here for a better angle, so it might not be possible, but a return trip would answer that question I guess…

Loch Coulin. I would have loved a much cleaner reflection, but it wasn’t to happen today.

 

The walk (or the boots I was using today) had began to hurt my feet giving me a blister, so I had to turn back from here rather than investigate the route further. I love it when you go back on yourself on a route though, you see everything differently, and by the time I got back to Loch Clair, I spotted a small boat house with some perfectly still water in front of it. I have been dreaming of a shot with a glass like reflection, and though this wasn’t the ‘mountain in the water’ shot I dreamed of, it looked really nice. (header pic) Loch Clair itself would also have had the shot I hoped for, but the light breeze kept sending random patches of ripples across different sections of the water, so I couldn’t get it all in one on this visit. Another time right?!

I hobbled back to the camper when I was done, and stripped everything off my feet. Luckily I have a good supply of blister plasters, so I put one on, some nice soft socks, and popped my super comfy sketchers trainers on to ease the foot a little. Next it was cup of tea time, and then I looked at my list for a nearby location that wouldn’t involve me walking for miles. On the map, I spotted Blackwater falls, so decided that this would be my next stop. I had forgotten what these looked like, so I drove in the direction without knowing exactly what I was looking for and was really surprised to find it right on the side of the road. This meant that it would be very easy on my foot, as the walk was minimal.

It was so beautiful here! The car park was quite spacious, and free so I was able to just park up and come out for a walk first without the weight of a camera bag. What a treat met my eyes when I got to the falls!!

Blackwater falls. An absolutely gorgeous location. I could have stayed for hours here!

Here was a fall that was quite open and accessible. There was a purpose built platform, a bridge, and all down the side were rocky flat outcrops so you can get right down to the water. Spots to take photos here were plentiful, and with the sunlight now easing a little behind blobs of cloud, I found myself like a child in a candy shop stopping every few feet to take photos from a slightly different perspective. My favourite spot by far was along a huge slab of rock where the water formed two amazing whorls in the water. They changed constantly, spinning and undulating, growing and shrinking in both size and character, non stop. With the sun popping in and out over the scene I found my self chilling here for an age just watching the pattern, and happily snapping to get a bunch of constantly changing views.

When I eventually finished here, my foot felt considerably better, it was still only 4.30, and I wondered if I might be able to catch a nice sunset somewhere. Once again I consulted my map and decided to head for Fyrish monument. This had intrigued me massively, because it looked different, and had a lovely history/myth about it. In 1783, The highland clearances were underway, and the local land owner Sir Hector Munro felt some pity for the poor and starving villagers who had been moved off the land for sheep farming. When they refused his charity, he commissioned them to build this Folly instead. It was a representation of the Gates of Negapatam, in Madras, India which Munro had, as a General for the British army, successfully seized from the Dutch in 1781. As the villagers toiled in their work, the myth has it that Munro would roll the boulders back down the hill, so that they would have to do double the work to bring them back up again… therefore earning double the pay.

What I hadn’t read about, was the walk to get there.

When I arrived I found that the car park was a good 2 miles earlier than the sat nav was telling me, so I parked in this spot. Then I read on the board that the walk to the monument was 2 miles. 2 hours to go, I am sure I can make this, I thought. Chatting to a man coming down, this was the only car park, so no idea what Google maps had marked up..! 2 Miles was OK I thought, I had a blister plaster on by now, and different footwear, so I headed off into the woods with River… to hike 2 miles completely uphill – with all my kit on my back(!) Maybe the gradient was really hard, maybe it was because this was a second big hike in one day, maybe it was the weight I was carrying or maybe there WAS a second car park closer, but no matter what, I found this walk extremely hard work. Halfway up, I paused by a small pond, and River, herself very hot by this climb, immediately ran for it for her now obligatory swim. I couldn’t stop her getting in, but I had to call her out quickly, as it was thick with a green black algae. When I got her back, I had a hilarious looking half black, half white dog. Chuckling at the sight, I snapped a quick photo and sent it to the children, but to avoid the temptation of River getting back in, I no choice but to push on. When I finally got to the top, my angst at the walk melted away because the view was gorgeous and the monument bathed in a lovely evening light. I got my camera out and immediately started taking pictures. Within 6 and a half minutes the sun disappeared, but I had just about managed to take 5 good shots from 2 positions… this was the last, and my favourite.

Fyrish Monument. Much harder to get to than I realised!!

When I looked skywards, a huge black cloud had blotted the sun out to my total disappointment. I waited a while, then had a wander around the top of the hill, which was pretty flat and had little else to look at other than the view behind the monument. River on the other hand, found herself another puddle, and full of bold enthusiasm, didn’t just step in, she full on jumped – and disappeared completely (!!!!) A pair of girls who had just arrived, had been watching and burst into laughter at the dog, but it took several (frantic and endless for me!!) seconds for her to resurface, bobbing up and looking completely shocked. She frantically paddled to the edge, and couldn’t get a footing out, so I quickly grabbed her collar and gave a quick hoick so she could get her paws on the ground again. My heart was pounding, but she just shook herself down, gave the pool a disdainful look and happily wandered off to explore a different area. I waited 45 minutes until the sun set, but the cloud didn’t move. There wasn’t a single breeze to get it moving. The sun set behind me which didn’t alight any of the cloud either, to my disappointment, but I felt that perhaps a sunrise silhouette shot might look much nicer, especially if the sky was on fire. The way I felt right now however, there was no way I was gonna attempt this hike again anytime soon!

Full of sadness, River and I took another full hour to get all the way back down again and at 10.15, it was far too late to cook, so we both had something to drink, and settled into bed instead, totally exhausted.

…only… I couldn’t sleep…

My Adventures

Ardessie Falls, Gruinard Bay, Gairloch Beach and Loch Maree


Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Thirteen

3 and 4 August 2020

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

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

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

Very moody Ardessie Falls

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

Once finished here, I didn’t fancy another waterfall, so I left a planned stop at the pretty falls of Eas Dubh a’Ghlinne Ghairbh, for another time, and instead headed over to Gruinard bay. To my disappointment, there was pretty much only one viewpoint – having said that it looked stunning, so I took the shot anyway! This is certainly one for the bucket shot collection. I suspect being down on the actual beach might have given me a variety of nice pictures, but up here the view across to the mountains gave the shot a lovely Mediterranean feel, with the water being a beautiful shade of turquoise today. I climbed a little further up the steep hill right by the car parking spot, but the view didn’t benefit too much more, so I didn’t push myself to climb all the way. Something in me today really wasn’t feeling it, despite the sun trying to pop out from time to time. This did help the view here massively too and when the sun hit the beach it really came alive in an even more beautiful way, so I stopped long enough to shoot this and to give myself a nice cuppa before I headed off further. Despite this pause however, I could feel my mood mysteriously dropping.

Gruinard Bay, looking like somewhere Mediterranean rather than Scotland!

After this I simply followed the route around the A832/NC500. Everything lacked character to me now… the ocean, the Lochs… All had grey coloured water, covered by wind driven ripples, so nice reflection shots were out of the question. No good dramatic angles leaped out at me either, so I just continued round until I spotted the beach at Gairloch and parked up at the viewpoint here. I got out with River, took in the view across to Skye, and snapped a shot on my phone. It all felt so uninspiring… but I needed a break from the driving so decided that I would just take River out for a stroll instead, without me having to carry a heavy backpack. This turned out to be a very enjoyable few hours. I suspect that was because I had taken the pressure off myself at last, and was just focussing on giving a bit of me time to my dog. We hiked down the hill, found the entrance to the beach (just through another car park that I could have moved to) and had an hour or so just walking by the waters edge which was gently lapping into the bay. River rather strangely didn’t seem too keen on the water, and I found throughout this trip that although she was very willing to jump into a river or lake, the sea was a bit more of a concern for her. Either she didn’t like the salt water, or she was worried about the moving water lapping in and out around her feet. I didn’t understand it, and to this day, I am confused! Afterwards, I hoped to find somewhere to eat, a take away suited me perfectly right now… but found nothing open in the area I walked, so I simply decided that I would continue on until we reached Loch Maree, ignoring the Victoria Falls on route. I still wasn’t feeling another waterfall yet, despite my love for them…

Once at Loch Maree, I was greeted by the same lifeless sight as I had seen all day, and although I did try and capture the well known Lone tree here, I wasn’t particularly happy with the shot. It still felt flat, although in comparison to another shot I managed a few days later, I much prefer this composition. Parking to get this shot isn’t without its problems, as there’s no lay by or even verge near here. I did find a small area I could pull into just on the bend however, so used this spot while I went to investigate the tree. Parking here was tricky to spot initially, and I drove up and down the road a few times before I spotted it nestled in a little copse of trees. It then immediately crosses a little bridge to a single car parking spot, which is a hard right after the bridge. It’s all very tight (as I found when I tried to get Fred out afterwards!!) and if there’s another vehicle here – you probably have to forget it!

Lone Pine tree at Loch Maree… gotta love a loan tree shot right?!

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

 

4th August

Today it was drizzling, raining, midgeful and I was tired, so I stopped completely for the whole day. I did nothing but play on my phone, eat Caithness Cookies (OMG those were SOOO tasty!!!), clean up, wash clothes, jump out for a bit with River to run around the car park, and just chill. It was the most amazing day! The midges especially were quite interesting to watch. When it rained heavily, they all disappeared for a bit, then a little while after the down pour had finished they slowly started building up again, despite rain still falling. I did try stepping out for a bit to take a photo of another tree that had been separated from the background by the mist and drizzle, but it was a terrible shot. I had obviously been fried by all the visits I had been doing, because I couldn’t think my way through the shot. I was good to myself though and didn’t beat myself up over it. I was sad that it hadn’t worked out, because for a few minutes it was totally beautiful. I may have missed the moment, but hey, it was worth noting in the back of my head should another similar opportunity crop up another time.

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