photographic tour – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Whitelee Wind Farm, Balgray Reservoir, Woulkmill Glen, Littleton and…

South West Scotland 2021: Part Nine

12 September 2021

Today was so still that none of the wind pumps were working… and after the two nights seeing and hearing them moving constantly, it was really, REALLY eerie! As I got ready to leave Whitelee, I had every intention of making a second trip back here one day. There was so much potential here, it was so interesting, and so incredibly peaceful.

It ended as being a very reluctant departure, but eventually I did, and I started the day by going to Balgray Reservoir. As I approached the reservoir I was met by a gorgeous, pure glass like reflection when I drove past. Perfect!! This got me really excited. Unfortunately, I struggled to find a parking spot here, since the few provided were already taken. I ended driving up and down the road several times before finding a singular spot just big enough for Fred – much further down the road, but at least I did find somewhere eventually.

River and I walked all the way back up to the pumping house on the reservoir where I hoped to take some photos, but I could immediately tell I had missed the optimum moment. The breeze was just beginning to pick up, and the reflection started to disappear in small bursts – in hindsight I wished I had come here a little earlier than I had. With the sky back to cloud cover, I hadn’t felt the need to rush out though. Silly girl!! Note to self… early mornings aren’t just for sunrise – they are also really good for still water and parking spots! River and I walked around the reservoir anyway – well I was here right?! I tried to take pictures from both sides of the pumping house. Although the dream reflection was now gone, I managed a fairly decent moody shot here, using a 5 second long exposure to still the water enough. It was almost perfect. Almost. Maybe a bit of light on the pumping house, with perfectly still water? Maybe a little light mist to soften the background and separate it better? Maybe even some… yes, yes… I know, there’s always something else we would like to make any photo ‘the dream one’ right??

Balgray Pumping House, not quite as glassy a reflection as 10 minutes earlier, but a nice moody shot anyway..

We walked back to the road, crossed and then headed to the other reservoirs in this area. Right at the start of the walk there was a really pretty waterfall on Brock Burn, and it had enough water in it to actually bother shooting – Woo hoo! Little did I realise how lucky I was with this one! River kept barking at all the other dogs that came past though, so I started getting really irritated with her. I tried what I could, but with her being so annoying, I ended up abandoning the spot to get her moving and focussed on varying views and scents rather than any other doogies coming into ‘our’ space.

Waterfall on Brock Burn, at the start of the Ryat Linn reservoir walk

As we walked around I found some other spots that looked quite nice, although the light was really naff in them all. The join between Ryat Linn and Woulkmill Glen Reservoirs was supposed to have a spillway waterfall, but the water levels were very low and there wasn’t even a dribble today. Rivers angst was not easing up, and I found my frustrations really getting the better of me with every dog she went for. I struggled to focus and enjoy myself, and found myself wandering aimlessly between the rest of Woulkmill Glen, and Littleton Reservoirs. With the light being so poor I found my mood really dropping big time. I kept trying anyway, since these would be memory photos if nothing else. Because the light so flat, I even tried attempting some hand held photos of some bees, and gorgeous butterflies that were enjoying the flowers here. Handheld was clearly a terrible idea too, as every photo was awful, which just frustrated me all the more on top of everything else. My mobile did a far superior job! (see header) Eventually, everything seemed to get the better of me. Today felt like one of those ‘nothing is working!’ days, and frustration just built to a peak. Even though in theory this spot had some lovely opportunities that could have opened up to me, I really struggled to find them.

We left when I couldn’t cope any more, and as I got to Fred I realised that part of my problem was where I hadn’t eaten anything yet. I was obviously very tired because my inner fuel level was just far too low! So I made myself a ham, cheese and onion toastie in my Ridgemonkey, and soaked each side in egg. Yum! I felt much better after that. As I ate, I looked at map to see where my last location for East Renfrew was – Harelaw Dam. Looking at the location I felt very uninspired due to today’s visit being much the same subject, so I scoured the map that Google was showing me, to see what else might be in the area instead. In doing so, I spotted an iron age hill Fort that looked far more interesting. It looked to be near some water too so I felt there might be some possibilities here and drove to that location instead.

River and I at the trig point on the top of Duncarnock Fort

As it goes, it was a much better choice, I managed both reflection and viewpoint shots here. The short but steep hike up the hill that the fort originally stood on, was enjoyable enough in itself, and made for a really pleasant last visit in this area. It completely lifted my spirits above the grumpy morning that I had experienced. The view was really gorgeous, and although I could see sunshine dancing across the hills in the distance, they never came any closer towards my position. It seems this area was just destined for grey flat light for the day but I counted my blessings that at least I didn’t get rained on! When we descended, River and I were accosted by a small herd of cows. They were only curious about us, and not at all aggressive, but them all coming at us at once was a little nerve-racking, before they then wandered off to the waters edge. A short walk further and I found and fell in love with some very small gnarly red berried trees, that stood at the bottom. I am not well informed about trees, but these were really gorgeous, so I took a small leaf and berry sample to identify them later on. I found out they were Hawthorn trees, and considered one might make a lovely feature in my garden back home…

As we were edging to later in the day, I hoped for a sunset reflection shot here, but it didn’t really happen. The dappled grey cloud cover was just that little bit too heavy, going a soft peachy pink on the edges of the clouds instead. It was still quite pretty. On top of this a bunch of swans keep swimming across my reflection, rippling up the water forcing me to wait longer. I swear they were doing it on purpose in the end! I waited for ages trying different shots with the water as still as possible, and praying for something before the sky lost its colour. In the end I managed to capture one image that will at least work as a good record to remind me of future possibilities.

Duncarnock Hill Fort. Thank you Google for helping me find this spot!

After that I decided East Renfrew was done, so headed for the Barr reservoir in West Renfrew ready for the early morning shot I hoped for there. I arrived in the dark, but as far as I could tell, there was no parking anywhere nearby, except for members of the fishing club, that I guess, owned the land. So I drove on to Castle Semple, my next location on the West Renfrewshire list, arriving in the pitch black, very tired and very relieved to have somewhere to stop!

Sleep this night came swiftly and easily!

My Adventures

Grey Mare’s Tail Waterfall, Jaw Reservoir, Lady Linn Falls

South West Scotland 2021: Part Five

7 September 2021

Today I decided to try to find Grey Mare’s Tail waterfall, and nearby Jaw Reservoir. I had read that this one had a walking trail that would take me right passed it, so I hunted for, and found it, on the All Trails App. First instructions were for a small car park nearby, so I happily headed over to that. Frustration hit right at the start however, when I pulled up to a height barrier preventing me from parking there. I carefully turned round and drove up and down the narrow road for a bit until I found a spot on a verge just big enough for one or two vehicles. Although not the best start, I felt very lucky to have found that at least, or I suspect I would have had to abandon this walk, since I didn’t think there was anywhere else to park. The walk from here looked easy, simply following a small road, but then I missed my turn off to the right and ended up walking all the way along until I hit a private house. Just laughing at my poor luck today, I turned round and retraced my steps until I found the correct route, and from here it was easier to follow.

The walk to the Jaw Reservoir was not hard, it was a bit boggy in places and I did indeed pass the waterfall. It looked like getting down to the base of it might be a bit tricky though, since the sides looked very steep, and were largely covered in huge thick ferns. I briefly tried one open grassy bit of the hill, but gave up thinking I might retry on my return journey. Looking downstream, I thought I could see a possible route to try. River loved it though and bounded on ahead, confused when I couldn’t follow. It’s easy if you have 4 legs, obviously!

For now, I continued on up to the reservoir and when I got there, the water was very still with a light mist over the trees, giving a beautiful vibe to an area that might otherwise be just a bit flat and boring. I snapped a few photos before I took a gentle walk along the edge for a while, simply soaking up the incredible peace here.

A beautiful and calm Jaw Reservoir

With the exception of one man tidying his fishing rod away, some distance ahead, no one else was here, so this peace was very much just for me to enjoy. I ambled along the stony edge of the water until River got all caught up in some fishing wire. As I was untangling her, the fisherman came past explaining to me that it was probably lost here after the line or weight had broken. He went on to say that the water was the lowest he had seen in 30 years, and he genuinely seemed amazed at this level at the moment. As I looked closer, I could see a lot of broken bits of fishing line and where the water level might normally sit. I understood then, just why he was astounded at this – the grass line (which I assume sat just above the regular fill line) was actually quite a few feet higher than where I stood. It was hard to imagine so much extra water here, and how much it might change what I was seeing today. We chatted a while as I worked to untangle the line, and once River was freed, he went on his way. I found myself just walking the rest of the circuit around the reservoir without taking any further photographs, and only once I got back to my starting point, did I encounter anyone else.

On the way back down, I tried again to get to the bottom of the Grey Mares Tail, this time attempting the route that I had spotted earlier. Despite a huge battle through thick ferns, that had me feeling a little unnerved about what might be hiding in there (I’ve clearly been watching too many jungle movies!) this route proved to be no good after all. It stopped by a wall above the river, and had no way to get down from there. Disappointed, I retraced my steps back and then attempted a third route, a little closer to the falls. This nearly ended in disaster when River lost her footing and rolled down what evidently revealed itself to be the steep edges of a gorge! I stopped breathing for a second as she tumbled, but then her fall was broken by a tight mass of ferns and nettles. Though shocked, she was clearly unhurt, thankfully. I paused for a second to breathe again. She remained still in her shallow hammock of plants, and although I could see fear in her eyes, she trusted me totally as I then attempted to guide her back up the steep sides. As soon as she had gotten close enough, I grabbed her by the collar and gave a quick sharp hoick up the last unclimbable portion. Apologising profusely for nearly choking her, I hugged her hard and she licked me frantically as we perched where we were for a moment, not moving another step. I quickly took a handful of photos from there, which weren’t particularly good ones, and we left as soon as we could, retracing our steps back out, so as to avoid any further accidents. We were both a bit shaken but these falls, and the pictures, were not worth loosing my dog over!! I abandoned any other thoughts of further attempts at photographing this one… I think its my least favourite waterfall ever.

This was as close as we got to this without getting into any further danger

We carried on walking down feeling a huge relief to be back on an established and safe route, and River walked with a happy wag to her tail. Feeling a little fed up with this today, I looked at the map again and noticed that there appeared to be another set of falls that I hadn’t spotted before, and that no-one had written about. They even had a name – Lady Linn Falls. I debated about whether to bother, assuming that no-one had written about them because they were a bit pants, but since these looked to be close to the road and in the woods I was currently walking past, I decided to make the detour. I had been so disappointed at the Grey Mare’s Tail falls, that a chance for a second one seemed promising.

I was so very glad I did! These were really pretty, and the walk in the woods very pleasant!! River loved it, and as I worked I spotted her rolling in mud, paddling in the stream and back in the mud again until she was largely just a muddy ball. It was lovely seeing her unfazed about her fall earlier and so happy. I took photos from the top of the falls (see header), the front, and then down a step of boulders that revealed a secondary part to the fall. This spot was really gorgeous with some early autumnal leaf fall on a lush green moss covered rock. I couldn’t understand why this wasn’t mentioned anywhere.. it was WAYYY prettier than the Grey Mare’s Tail ones, and dead easy to get to!! The colours around me were stunning, and it all got helped with the occasional dash of sunlight on the scene as the sun popped out to play intermittently. Now this felt a little more like it, and I had an absolute ball here.

Dappled sunlight over the Lady Linn Falls

Once I was finished, I washed River down in the water until she was clean again, and thought that on our way back to Dumbarton, I might try and find a dog brush so I could de tangle her once she was dry again. I had forgotten to bring one, although I had brought everything else for her.

I got back to camper, drove to Dumbarton, where I found a pet store without any trouble, picked up a nice brush, and some special dog treats. Then I parked up back at my spot from the last two nights, to a nice sunny evening. I took River over to the castle and we sat in the warm sun where she was able to fully dry off. She loved the hands on attention as I gave her a thorough brush through, and complete inch by inch tick check. Going through those ferns earlier, I felt sure she would have picked up at least one of these hitch-hikers, but I found nothing on her at all. Clearly the spray I used intermittently on her, WAS doing its job, and the smell of the geranium oil and vinegar mix was not to their taste!

After an hour just chilling in the park, I took her back to camper, and decided to come back to quickly photograph the castle while there was nice light on it. Of course, as soon as I got back with the camera, the last bit of sunlight actually shining on the castle went, but it still looked nicer than it had so far in my trip, so I took a proper shot of it anyway.

Dumbarton Castle looking a little nicer with blue sky instead of grey!

I felt it was time to leave this place, although I felt very comfortable and safe being here. West Dumbartonshire had been completed for now, with The Dumpling, Jaw Reservoir, Dumbarton castle, and the two waterfalls, but before I thought of heading off, I looked to the left, and realised how I would very much like to photograph the castle from that side. Again, I hoped for high tide, so I looked at the timings. The next one would be in the middle of the night, but the one after was at 2pm tomorrow. Armed with these details I decided to stop another night and take the morning to scout the best position to shoot, before coming back to photograph it proper. Then I could head off to my next county on this trip. I wasn’t altogether sure where to go next either, but I had my list, and the best I could tell myself was that it would be the first of the counties south of the Clyde.

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 botanic 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 behind. 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 didn’t direct me to that one separately, 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 achievable, 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 excercise 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 car park…🤣

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 left overs (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 wasn’t 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 definitely 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 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 taxi 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!

My Adventures

Bamburgh, Newbiggin, Tynemouth and Newcastle

Northumberland 2021: Part Fourteen

17 June 2021

After the excitement of the night at Berwick Upon Tweed, I was happy to begin my drive south, and I thought I would stop at my favourite spot, Bamburgh Castle for my last night. I secretly hoped the sky might clear so I might try an Astro shot here, but that didn’t happen, so I aimed to simply have a relaxing night and start to the day, before I said goodbye to the castle for this trip. Dawn revealed a light mist, but no further photos were worth doing here, the tide wasn’t where I wanted it, and the film crew at the castle had built all manner of bits around the grounds that spoiled the features. Instead, I had a slow breakfast, and pondered ideas on what to do today. The mist might help the Newbiggin Couple photo I had wanted to get, as this time it wasn’t too thick, but possibly enough to cover any other features I didn’t want in the shot… so I decided this might be worth checking out for my first stop.

It must have been a very localised mist, because even though Newbiggin is a relatively short drive away, by the time I arrived, there was no mist to be seen, and even the overcast sky was beginning to clear. Since I was here though, I thought I may as well give the shot a try. There might still be enough grey left to pull my vision off. It didn’t work as I hoped however, so I guessed another attempt at another time would be in order. I could still try to get either a full on sunrise, or a smooth, flat, misty background, minimal type of shot here – so prospects are plentiful. Whilst here today however, I also thought to have another go at the sand again. I have never played enough with the tripod to see of I can get a vertical shot with it though – and that became an annoying fact as I felt that it was actually needed for the shot here. Because of this, it wasn’t a great shot, but I tried anyway. Seems this particular location still needs some work for me to get into…

The Couple Sculpture, weather wasn’t quite what I wanted… but this is getting closer…

With no set plans for today, I thought I would continue south, and give the river Tynemouth lighthouses a try. These had been mentioned by Alan Blakey the other photographer I had met at St Marys Lighthouse earlier in my trip, as another favourite of his.

The mouth of the river Tyne is marked by 3 lighthouses, although I only found two, being, at the time, unaware of the third. I found parking very easily, and wandered on down to the first spot, The Tynemouth Lighthouse. It had a long walk down a harbour wall (called the pier, tho its not technically a pier, as its a solid structure), and the walk was really pleasant in the sunshine that was now beginning to bathe this area. At the start of the walk were warnings that this pier would be closed in bad weather. Indeed in 1897, a couple of years after the completion of the initial build, a large section had been severely damaged in one of the terrible storms that can hit here. They ended up starting the build from scratch in the end, the destruction was that bad. At the end is the taller of the two lighthouses, and you can easily see across to the South Shields Lighthouse and the pier that that one stands on, marking the southern entrance to the river. South Shields Lighthouse is a much smaller, dinky little thing in comparison to Tynemouth, and it was, like its sister, built in 1895.

It was so nice today that I just took my time and simply had a good explore of the lighthouse and its view, before ambling back down and having a scout of the small beach area near the beginning of the pier. The tide was fully out, but I could see it was coming in, so I snapped a couple of pictures of the pier to gauge a shot for later. The foreground here was very messy and too distracting at the moment. To kill a little time afterwards I went for a short walk. I wandered from here to the top of the hill where the rest of the car park was, hoping to find a sculpture I was looking for, but it seemed I had the wrong location for that particular one. I then walked around to the edge of the Priory, which stood on the hill at the base of the Tynemouth pier. As I checked that out, I found I had to make an appointment to go and visit due to the Covid regulations, so left here too and simply had myself an ice cream from the van parked here instead. It had been a while since I had treated myself to a whippy ice cream with a flake in it, so thoroughly enjoyed tucking into that!

After 45 minutes I wandered back to the beach and was pleased to see the water had come in enough to cover the rocky foreground to help simplify the scene. I took some nice long exposure shots, and was really happy with the reflections in the water where the tide was coming in so gently. Whilst down here I chatted to several people. One lady walking her dog had moved here from down south, and had not regretted her move north, to the slower pace that she was now living here. She suggested some other locations I could try, several were further over into Sunderland, however, at that point, I mistakenly thought the city was in Durham county and hadn’t considered locations there. Ultimately, since I had tacked the upper Tyne and Wear area onto the Northumberland county tour this time round. I can simply tack the lower Tyne and Wear areas onto the Durham one next time.

After the water shots were taken, I took a second wander up to Tynemouth Lighthouse. The crowds had thinned a bit, so it looked much clearer, and the sky was a happy blue without being solid in colour. It was almost a picture postcard kinda sky, but for the slight haze on the horizon. I wasn’t about to complain though – back home they were apparently having torrential rain! As I stood composing the shot, I felt that, ideally, I wanted to get down to the lower section of the pier (which members of the public are not allowed to get down to) On the lower level are rails and I imagine a camera placed low down to one of those would give a fantastic dynamic shot. From the top of some steps, a similar, less dramatic view could be had however, and I managed this one at least. This would have to do me, I sighed. I went back to Fred and wondered what to do next.

Since I had the Covid test tomorrow, I decided that I might try Newcastle quayside again, and leave really early in the morning to drive directly to the test, before going home… so I headed there. With plenty of time to dusk, I settled myself down and had some tea before heading out at 9 to see how the water looked today. Remarkably – it looked pretty flat. Now how was that possible? This is a river!! As on my previous trip, this fact confused me considerably. I went to the prime position I had found last time to see another photographer here trying some shots with his drone. Ian was waiting for another photographic friend, but happily chatted to me and explained the water. At the turn of the tide, he told me, you have around 20 minutes or so, where the water goes really still…’its like glass sometimes’ he explained. Its something to do with the meeting of the sea water with the fresh river water I seem to recall him explaining. Well that certainly helped me understand what went wrong the last time I was here! It had been nowhere near the tide turning time back then, but more to the point, I had by pure luck timed it almost perfectly this time. He happily chatted, and introduced his friend Andy, and then they invited me to join them in their walk along the quayside this evening, so I, rather shyly, tagged along.

I couldn’t help but get captivated by Ian’s enthusiasm and excitement, and despite not knowing either man, by evenings end I had enjoyed a really pleasant time, had moments of excitement, and some points of real laughter. As we walked further upstream towards the bridges, the water was even more still, and some stunning reflections were to be had (see header) The men pointed out some good spots worth photographing, demonstrated new ideas, positions and techniques. Ian literally stood in the road at one point, and quickly snapped a view of a church reflected in a puddle by putting his camera right down to the floor and roughly aiming it in the correct direction. This was an interesting technique for me to observe – especially as someone who has to see the image through the viewfinder, focus carefully and adjust everything accordingly BEFORE taking a shot. Not this one. Down, snap, up, step back to safety, and only then see whether it worked. Ian was clearly an adventurous and experimental photographer, willing to try and see what happened. I found it highly refreshing and rather awe inspiring to watch him. Andy seemed a little more like me, more traditional and conservative in our approaches, although he wasn’t at all as shy at getting his camera out, as I was feeling. (Why was I feeling like that?! – I remembered I was the same when I went on a few photowalks a few years ago. How very odd!!) At another point we spotted another beautiful shot, and we all desperately wanted to take it. The problem was that the obvious, and likely best position, was on a boardwalk along the waters edge, but there were notices banning people from crossing the barrier to get there. Ian, being the excitable and adventurous one, tried his luck however, climbed up and stepped half and half to take his shot, before a disembodied voice from nowhere asked for ‘the man straddling the barrier to please step back!’. We all had a good laugh and then each leaned as far as we could to get the shot, ahhh well… I thought I was gonna get pulled up with my tripod leg over the other side, but I was left alone, and managed this one.

We all desperately wanted to get down to the boardwalk, but what a lovely spot – even from the roadside

After several hours chatting and photographing everything, it grew closer to midnight. Andy had to leave while Ian wanted to stay a little longer. Since I had to get up early to drive home, I too had to say my goodbyes to them both, and received encouraging ‘when you get back here, drop us a line and we will meet up and show you the city proper”. This was such a lovely warm welcome to a city I had never seen in my life before this trip and I waved a happy goodbye as I started my wander back towards the camper. As I got back to my original ‘prime spot’ I saw that the water was, rather remarkably, still almost glass like down at this point, so I grabbed my camera and set up to take the shot here. With the moon lighting the back of the clouds, and the midsummer hint of daylight still lighting the sky a fraction, it looked wonderful to my eye, and much more the classic vision I had hoped for back on 10th June.

Iconic view of the Bridges crossing the Tyne at Newcastle

Now this evening proved to be the perfect end to this trip, and as I walked back to Fred, I was super happy.

As I drove home early next morning, The sun still beamed until about 1/4 of the way into the drive.. from here I hit a wall of rain that didn’t stop all the way to the Covid test, and then home – can I please turn round and go back?

My Adventures

Hadrians Wall

Northumberland 2021: Part Twelve

15 June 2021

After the rush of last night’s photo, I stayed near to Hadrian’s wall, thinking I would try an adventurous hike (for me) and aimed go from Steel Rigg to Housteads and back again. I left at 9 carrying everything I might want, leaving the big lens and binoculars behind. With snacks and fluids, I didn’t want to struggle carrying extra weight. Today wasn’t as much about the photography (looking at the flat grey sky) or the birds, I wanted it to be about the hike. Although I wasn’t expecting anything too great photography wise, as the cloud wasn’t predicted to lighten until later in the afternoon, I still wanted as much with me as was sensible, just in case a shot presented itself – (which they did of course, have you seen how amazing it looks along here?!!) Other than a brief visit the other week, this was my first time to Hadrian’s wall, so I really wanted to soak up the atmosphere of this striking and fascinating place!

Sycamore gap as seen from what I later understood to be the ‘barbarians’ side

I met several people along the route and everyone was happy for a chat it seemed. A couple of guys I saw were doing a cross country challenge to walk the whole of the Hadrian’s wall path (84 Miles) all the way from Wallsend in Newcastle to Bowness-on-Solway in Cumbria. They had given themselves 3 days to do this(!) and were walking to raise money for a sick little girl. I loved chatting to them, and was dead proud of their efforts, but I kicked myself after they moved on, because I, very shamefully, didn’t note the Just Giving page that I could have donated to. I then met a sweet couple who shared their route with me. Their printed out guide called it the barbarians way walk, and I subsequently found it on my All Trails app. Half the walk wasn’t along the wall itself, but more on the side that the Scots would have been, and it aimed to give us an idea of the view they might have faced as they approached this formidable barrier. I took a photo of their print out and decided I would give that ago as well, since it looked a bit more varied than the straight across and back route I’d had in mind. The couple were doing it clockwise, where I was going in the opposite direction… I wondered if we might meet up later?

Despite the intention to just walk, I found myself stopping frequently to grab photos despite the flat sky. The house by Lough Crag was one I hoped to get a better photo of, after my visit here from the 29th June. Although still not quite the dream shot, I was blessed with some of the early light starting to break through, and the view here was a marked improvement on the sight I’d had on the 29th. As the day progressed I found the sun starting to poke out more and more, and then within a very short space of time, the sky had pretty much cleared completely, giving me a totally clear blue sky. This, of course, produced an equally flat and uninspiring landscape (very hard to please arnt I?!!) It also became very detrimental weather for the hike. My walking slowed considerably, I drank all my fluids quickly, and basically became very fatigued and overheated carrying the load on my back. Things didn’t go very well from here on in, and as the hours passed, everything became considerably harder in my unfit state.

By the time I arrived at Housteads, I was physically quite exhausted. It was 3pm, my feet were painful, and I was ridiculously hungry for something to eat! I stopped by the first shop up near the Housteads fort ruins and picked up a bottle of rhubarb lemonade sold here. I adore the flavour of rhubarb, so guzzled the bottle down eagerly, instantly finding myself really disappointed in the taste, as it didn’t taste much of rhubarb at all. Looking on the back at the ingredients I noted there was only 3% rhubarb (and 40% apple!!) in it. I felt very cheated, and vowed never to buy anything by Franklin and sons again. They clearly mis-represent their drinks, and you pay premium for the pleasure. Feeling very disgruntled, I walked down to the cafe a little further down the hill, and was rewarded with there being only a singular hot pasty left. I say rewarded without sarcasm, because it was the most delicious curried cauliflower flavour! I couldn’t believe my luck at this one being the last option because it was SO tasty, and I only wish they’ve had two left so I could also have one for later! As well as the pasty I treated myself to a scone with clotted cream, and a cup of tea. (I am the biggest sucker for a cream tea!) I sat outside to eat, and kicked off my shoes for a bit to ease the stinging on my feet. The rest was a most welcome break! Whilst here, a tiny bug crawled its way across the table in front of me. I’d not seen one quite like this before, it had the prettiest colour and shimmer of green, was really small and quite delicately featured. I later discovered this to be a pale green weevil beetle, not a rare bug, so I am clearly not too observant with these!

Looking back over the walk I had just done before dropping down to the flat, and making my way back again.

After half an hour, the cloud was beginning to return and I was ready to continue (well, OK, I wasn’t, but I had to get back to Fred at some point today – preferably before midnight!) As I walked up the hill, I met the couple I had bumped into earlier. They told me all about their hike, and expressed some disappointment at having gone wrong somewhere, missing a chunk off their walk with something they wanted to see. I looked at their map, my All Trails app, and together we managed to identify the spot they’d gone off their route, so they resolved to re do it again at some point. After a short casual chat, we said our cheery goodbyes and I started onto the second leg of my trip. I carried on to Kings Wicket, which is a gate way through the wall a little further east, (see header pic) and then turned to the Barbarians route to get back to Fred. This part of the route was considerably easier as it was largely on the flat – but my feet were in a great deal of pain by now, and the exhaustion was also still simmering angrily. It all felt like a hard slog. I pushed on however, and once I got wide I looked back towards the wall. It was amazing how intimidating it actually looked from down here. I could imagine how threatened the Scottish ‘barbarians’ might have felt seeing these huge crags topped with a 16-20 foot high wall!

I continued the walk, stubbornly pressing on through all my discomforts and spotted birds my birdsong app identified as Eurasian Skylark, and a Northern Wheatear. Both birds looked like the pictures the app gave me, so I was a little disappointed to not have my long lens now! I’ve never photographed either of these before. It was a nice diversion to stop occasionally though, just to watch and try to identify them. My bird spotting skills are not at all good, but this app was a big help.

By the time I got back to Sycamore Gap and saw the tree from this side, I decided to take one last shot that I had left earlier. Now it was bathed in sunlight the image was far more what I had hoped it might be. Neither the Romans nor the Barbarians would have seen this back in the day, with the tree being a few hundred years old, yes, but not THAT many! I also believe that when this tree was younger, there were several others here, all taken down at some point or other for reasons unknown today. I am just glad this one was left – every visit has been a photographic treat so far! I was terribly exhausted by now so I didn’t bother waiting around for a sunset – I had my shot of that anyway. The plod back to Fred continued on…

One final visit to The Tree. I think this looks good form just about every angle I’ve seen it at!

Exhausted, the walk back from here took double the length of time it had on previous days, and I got back to the camper just before 9. I had completed 11.7 miles and over 28,500 steps.

Boy didn’t my feet let me know about that!!

My Adventures

Corpach Boat and Lighthouse and Back to Glasgow

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Twenty Six

17 & 18 August 2020

So my last location was finally here!

After I ate my food, and checked the weather, I looked out to see big looming clouds building. It didn’t bode well, but at the same time, the sun was still trying to flick in and out. I ended up having a massive debate with myself… Should I try the boat shot after all – or not. I really don’t want to – but this might be your last chance – but I am SOOO tired! – but you might regret it if you don’t, but … and on and on it went for about 10 minutes… full on arguing with myself (!!!) and then, as if some unseen spirit took over my body, I just grabbed my bag and left the camper. Once out I felt the full power of the exhaustion, but told myself that it was just a 5 minute walk, and at least I would have tried to get a classic shot off the bucket list.. even if I didn’t find boats exciting to photograph. The walk wasn’t hard, but I found myself plodding laboriously through the tiredness, and when I got to the boat, I took position and framed up without much enthusiasm. Then suddenly, out of the grim clouds, one beam of light broke through and hit just the boat, nothing else! I couldn’t believe my eyes at the sight. Something boring and drab, suddenly looked magical! I took the shot instantly, and a second, by the third the light was noticeably less, and by the 4th it was gone.

The Corpach Boat. Often photographed, and a definite bucket shot collectors piece for me

At the same time, rather randomly, thoughts of my dad jumped into my head, which I felt very comforted by. Part of me felt he was giving me this – having been a sailor he would have loved this place. Yes I know, that’s probably just me being an emotional softie, looking for meaning in unusual moments, but I have to say, the whole thing suddenly energised me, and I was able to continue working the scene for another hour without any problems… well, that’s not quite true…

The light may have gone, but there was still a great, moody feel about the scene, which I loved. As the clouds behind the boat split further, revealing more of the mountain (which incidently is Ben Nevis), I got all excited and fired off several shots before realising that there was a large family of people that had walked into the scene. I stopped and waited, hoping they would leave quickly, as the higher clouds were beginning to go a gorgeous peachy colour.. ‘this might just kick off!’ I quietly thought/hoped. Half the group split off and climbed onto the boat, and for the next 20 minutes the family took their time venturing all over it (with torches at some points) and all over the shore, while the cloud was doing beautiful things around the mountain. When the party on the boat finally climbed down, I noticed the cloud really picking up colour, glowing incredibly, with the lower cloud staying grey. It looked amazing, but wait… Now the group is posing in front of the boat for photos, this way, that way, and another… lets all look at the photos… lets take some more… this way, that way… and again, and again… I nearly cried as I watched the amazing colour start to fade away, and decided to fire a shot anyway, and just prayed that I could remove each person in the editing stage. The light finally went altogether, and the group left the beach… but wait… what’s that?!! 2 of the group gave me a hearty wave showing me they knew I was there all along…(#@$&#!!!) At the time, I was so frustrated at the inconsiderate way they had just stayed there (when they could have stepped aside while checking their photos at least)… but they had every right to be there of course, and in all honesty, they probably had NO idea that the sky was doing something stunning that I had been desperate to capture. It was one of those great frustrations you occasionally experience being a photographer.

Corpach Boat, just as the colour in the sky was fading.

Shortly after, I too left, as now the light was ebbing away quickly into blackness with the mix of night and building clouds. The promised storm however, never happened thankfully, and I ended up with a really pleasant light rain on the camper for the large part of the night.

The next morning I was up bright and early for the dawn, with my fingers crossed that the tide was high, and the water still. The rain had stopped, the worst of the cloud cover had passed, and it no longer looked angry. There was cloud, but it didn’t heavily blanket the sky any more, so I felt hopeful that I might be a bit lucky. When I turned up, the water was the perfect height, and although not perfectly still, there were continuing moments when calm just crept over the surface in patches. It was fascinating watching this happen, it was almost as if it had a life of its own, breathing in and out across the water. I stood embodying the full levels of emotions in this scene, hope rising and falling with the growing stillness, breathing when a breeze shattered it, holding my breath when the still patches grew, and suddenly, there it was… the scene still and beautiful, and by some miracle it coincided with a glow in the sky and my pressing the trigger on the camera.

Corpach Marina. This was my one and only chance to get this shot. The amazing view doesn’t exist now!

Much as this looked beautiful, I felt a little heartbroken that it wasn’t perfect. (don’t want much do I?!! LOL) There were mounds of soil spoiling it, metal fencing, bright orange diggers and cones all well within the shot. I didn’t have a clue as to what was going on there. I initially thought they were doing some repair work, but I looked it up yesterday, and have seen that they have built a whole new marina here. The only photo I have seen to date, is an aerial one, so I am not totally sure what it might look like now, from the position that I had used. From the air though it looks like the reflection of the two buildings has now been obliterated, as the new bit of marina seems to come out as far as those. That’s not to say it won’t be a beautiful view when they are done – I understand they hope to build a cafe and marina facilities building, which may, or may not, make an awesome reflection for future photographic ventures. As it stands though, this does mean that I will never be able to capture this shot looking like this ever again… and nor will anyone else.

*update… apparently the bit I have seen online, is just phase one… the car park and shop part… they have yet to build a further floating section for up to 45 boats, which, looking at the diagrams, will cover this entire area.

Photo done, this morning left me feeling extremely satisfied and that my journey for this trip, was complete.

I left and drove back to my daughter in Glasgow. I bought a takeaway for us all with the £20 note I had found outside on the very first day, and we chatted about the adventure. We looked River over and found one singular tic on her, which we gently removed, but other than that she had fared extremely well I felt. I enjoyed my first full bath, slept in a real bed and drove home the next day fully rested and ready for home, singing happy songs pretty much all the way.

My Adventures

Reset day, Roadside snaps and Corrieshalloch Gorge

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Twelve

2 August 2020

Today was a very lazy start to what was going to be another moving/crossover day. My next stop would be the Ross and Cromarty part of the Highlands, but for today it was all about having a reset. I started by washing my hair, a few bits of clothing, had breakfast, a cuppa, swept through the floor area and spent a bit of time playing games on my phone, basically a super chill start just plodding through the routine parts of it all. Finally I headed off to sort Freds water and loo out. On the way I passed a cottage with angry notes in its window telling tourists to ‘Go Home’ and to ‘Stop the NC500’. They claimed that tourism was killing the community – which while I don’t live in the area, and therefore don’t experience the disruption they may have to suffer, it did leave me feeling very sad to read such an unfriendly sentiment. Whilst they may not want the tourism, it IS happening, and its likely here to stay. Rather than just putting angry notes in their window demonstrating a grumpy demeanour, I feel they would have been better served trying to find effective ways to utilise it, or help control the upsetting parts of it. There is without a doubt an element of scummy, inconsiderate, selfish and dirty people who simply don’t care about the actual location that they are holidaying in. These people exist in the world and there’s nothing we can do about them. They can see only their wants and cannot stretch themselves beyond their own ignorant little bubbles to see the effect their selfishness might have on people, or the environment, around them. But from my observations, if the things they need are easily accessible to them, people are more likely to use them than to just ignore them. So for instance, are they dumping rubbish?>maybe put a bin there; are they are openly toileting?> perhaps putting a public loo nearby would help them be more hygienic; parking inconsiderately?> how about putting a fence up blocking them, etc. A local shop will encourage people to pay back to the community to help fund some services too. Tourism encourages money, and money can help support the infrastructure. There are many ways to help manage, or benefit from, the situation. Simply putting angry notes up and being negative will stop nothing, and just keep you simmering when its ignored..

Anyway opinionated rant over…

Is it worth pasting these notes up when the only people who will see them are the tourists who are already here…?

Eventually I drove to Clacktoll campsite to emptied the loo, grey water, rubbish and filled with fresh water. For a lockdown, I was a bit surprised at how packed this campsite was, and found some of the services a bit wanting. I couldn’t get the fill up hose to work, even fully unravelled, and although the guy running the site saw me waiting to ask him about it, he just walked off and ignored me after he finished chatting to the gardener. I ended up just disconnecting their one instead, and putting my own hose in. No idea what was up with theirs, but felt a bit miffed to have been totally ignored like that. All their other services were standard, so nothing complicated or special, and to my mind a little pricey at £10 – next time I will go to Kinlochbervie and just leave this one unless I am desperately in need.

I then drove back to Lochinver to refuel, and from there I just drove towards the Ross and Cromarty part of the Highlands. I took my time, stopping at a few nice viewpoints, one being a gorgeous view that I spotted as I drove over the brow of a hill on the A835, just before Drumrunie. Unusually for me, I reacted quickly, parked up as soon as I could, grabbed my kit, the dog, and quickly hiked up a small hill to capture the downpour just off to the distance. The lighting looked spectacular to my eyes, with a bright glow being diffused by the haze of the weak rain just ahead of the following downpour. The ground underfoot on the hill was a little unsteady with erratic bushes of heather mixed with thin muddy gulleys, but I managed to get to a good viewpoint in time. Catching several images with the light quickly changing, I couldn’t leave in time before the rain finally reached me and dumped everything it had. The drenching was well worth it, because the image I ended with made me very happy for one that was SO unplanned – I am not so sure River agreed with me however.

Another brief unplanned stop happened because as I drove past, I recognised the name of the place and thought it was on my list. It wasn’t – and I only realised why once I started on the short hike. I recognised the name Corrieshalloch Gorge because it had featured in the last Gary Gough video of the set that brought me to Scotland in the first place (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=–igZY4ifNs&t=3s&ab_channel=GaryGough) The reason I had left it off was because I have a fear of heights and this one being a suspension bridge over a deep deep gorge was not one I thought I would like!! I confess I am glad I did stop by – No, I didn’t like the suspension bridge, it wobbled as anyone took a step, so badly at one point I wanted to crawl over (!!) and the drop truly was immense… However the view really was worth the quick glance, and I was able to laugh at myself and the stupidity of my fear at least. I walked round to the viewpoint, and again had to stomach terror, as I stood on a metal rung extension platform, sticking out over the gorge below. (WHY do they make these so that you can see the sheer drop directly down under your feet?!!!) The view back to the suspension bridge was fabulous however, and I managed to ignore the drop long enough to snap this shot quickly. Although it was pretty when I went, I have since seen that there are sometimes waterfalls pouring over the side edges too. There weren’t any at this time of year, so my fear now is that since they really seem to add to the view here, do I have to return to capture those ???!!

The hike doesn’t go any further this side, so I gingerly made my way back over the bridge, and did a short circular walk back around to the car park. I passed a really pretty viewpoint (see the header on this post) and with the gorgeous deep pink flowers as a foreground decided to take this image as well. The midges were beginning to gather here though, so I didn’t stop for long, aiming now to just drive to my overnight stop for tomorrow mornings’ location.

My aim for tomorrow was going to be Ardessie falls. However, I found finding a parking spot really hard to find as the lay-by for the waterfall here was blocked off for some reason (couldn’t see anything, just orange cones). After driving along further for several minutes looking for another spot, I turned round, drove back trying to find somewhere and did this a couple of times up and down the road. It seemed that the lay-by was the ONLY spot nearby. Eventually I found a small spot for one vehicle, and thankfully Fred just just fit. I walked along the road to try and find the start to the hike, and was pleased to see it was just 5 minutes away, not far from a little bridge with the bottom segment of these falls. This was quite pretty in itself, though I felt it would have been really nice to have been able to get the other side of a barrier for a shot lower down. The snap I took on my phone didn’t do it any justice sadly. As it was already half past 6 I reaffirmed to myself that I would do the hike in the morning, despite my excitement at the look of this one and eagerness to get up there to see more! I knew it was going to be a boggy walk, and I didn’t want to get stuck in the dark. Sense told me that evening +boggy ground+early August= Midges.. Nope! No thank you!!! I wanted to enjoy this one!!

I walked back to Fred and cooked myself a bit of dinner. As I finished a lady very angrily knocked on my window and told me to move as apparently I had parked on her property. I hadn’t realised as it looked like waste land next to a derelict cottage, but I was happy to do so. As we talked, she calmed down, realising I was not going to be a problem. I asked if there was any parking close by so that I could do the walk in the morning, mentioning the bay a bit further up having cones there. She explained that they had been having severe trouble with tourists since the relaxation of the Covid rules and how that they had been parking inconsiderately, blocking the road both sides of the bridge. She said this had been causing severe trouble for lorry drivers so the locals had put the cones there to stop people parking in the area. I told her of my plans and she offered me the use of this spot in the morning for just a few hours, so that I could do my photography, and suggested parking at the hotel for the night. I happily thanked her and drove off to try and find the hotel, but must have missed it somehow, coming instead by a lovely lay-by a little further down from the village. It was a gorgeous spot, so I thought I would simply stay here. As I prepared to settle in for the evening, the heavens opened, and shortly afterwards the sun beamed through and I was blessed with a stunning evening rainbow that arched across the road next to me. I hurriedly jumped out and grabbed a photo on my phone, trying again with my main camera, although half of it had gone by the time I set up.

Looking at the photos back at home, I wasn’t too excited with them as a shot, because they seemed to lack a subject under the rainbow itself. I think Fred parked under it would have been fabulous, so maybe next time I park up in a lay-by, I might consider how positioning the camper might aid a photograph in the event the weather produces something this beautiful again.

When I finally settled down it was a very comfortable and quiet night.

My Adventures

Ardvrek Castle, Drumbeg, and Clashnessie

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Eleven

1 August 2020

Back at Ardvrek Castle and I had another good nights sleep. In the morning I quickly visited the castle again. The history here was pretty graphic. The clan MacLeod built the castle in their Assynt lands around the 1490’s, and spent many years arguing and battling everyone around them, both neighbours and clansmen alike. By the time their most famous prisoner, James Graham, Marquis of Montrose was imprisoned in its dungeons in 1650, the stories of murder, executions and sieges were well known, and the Macleods were a proven quarrelsome bunch. According to the board telling its history, The Mackenzies of Wester Ross besieged the castle in 1672, and after 14 days Ardvrek finally fell, forcing the Macleods to finally loose their lands here. The story doesn’t end there however, In 1726, the then lady of the Assynt, Frances, wife of Kenneth Mackenzie II, didn’t care much for the castle, and asked for a grand house to be built instead. Partly using stones from Ardvrek, Calder house was built within sight of the old castle. It had every modern convenience, and for its time was a lavish property, boasting a fireplace in EVERY room… an unheard of luxury back then. So much money was spent on the property, supporting the royalist cause, and on the countless parties that were held there afterwards, that within just 10 short years of Frances’ extravagances and Kenneth’s weaknesses, the debts rose excessively, and the family ended up financially ruined. The lands of the Assynt were transferred to the Sutherlands and on the 12th May 1737 the house was looted and burned. The area remained unoccupied from that point on.

When I first read this history, the castle begged to be photographed in really moody weather, and this morning I finally got it!

The Moody Ardvrek castle shot I had hoped for!

As I walked around the castle this morning, I noticed that River was limping so I stopped to see what was up, and was horrified to see blisters on both front paws. She seemed happy walking on the grass so I assumed it was the gravel paths that had caused it but I made the visit to the castle a brief one. I left her in the camper to rest her feet, while I visited Calda house and the small waterfall (Ardvrek waterfall?? – it doesn’t appear to actually have a name, but it was really pretty!!) over the road to the castle. I tried whenever I could to just leave River in the camper if I knew gravel was involved, not that she was remotely happy with that idea! I wasn’t going to let her feet get any worse however, and I made sure that she took only easy trips with me for a few days. Thankfully her paws healed very quickly and she never complained after that. For now, I walked up and down both sides of the waterfall, managed a sweet shot of it and then walked back towards the Castle to see it from this angle. As I did, I stopped and chatted to a couple having breakfast by their car who had been there the night before, camping. They had plenty to say about the midges of the last night, which made me feel rather grateful that I hadn’t braved them for a photo after all! They sounded particularly horrific!!!

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

Thankfully (for River especially) today ended up a largely driving day as I drove gingerly through single lane roads and tight turns all the way up to Drumbeg. The views and sights were stunning, the weather picked up to a lovely sunny day, and I really wanted to jump out everywhere to take photos. Unfortunately there was nowhere to pull over when I saw one though, so had no choice but to keep going. This road was a particularly tricky drive, and at times I really had to fight myself to stop looking at the views. It was important here to watch the road as there were very tight bends on this one lane route, and a continual stream of traffic heading right at me. I think this was the trickiest part of my whole NC500 drive and there was more than one occasion where I had to reverse backwards right by a steep drop. My heart was very much in my mouth at some points.

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

There wasn’t.

It was just a very small village, with nothing else there but a stunning view. I pulled up at the viewpoint to get a breather, have a cup of tea to calm my now shattered nerves, and to have a think of my options. Although the view was pretty, I have to be honest and say that I felt it wasn’t all it was hyped up to be, and much preferred the views on the way up. There was really only one spot that you could take a photo of so I took the obligatory shot just for the sake of it. I have obviously been very spoiled in my travels to think this view was just ‘OK’!!! As I stood drinking my tea, and taking in the view, I started chatting to a chap and his son who were looking at their NC500 map, which rather cleverly showed all the fuel stops for the route. Together we found the nearest one to here, and I realised that I would have to drive to Lochinver, some 20 minutes away. This made me very nervous, but I just about made it… limping in with Fred surviving on fumes I think!! I would advise people to ensure they have a good amount of fuel in their tank before doing this stretch of the route especially, and to pay close attention to their fuel levels as it was really hairy for that last bit!

I had wanted to go to Clashnessie, and passed it as I drove, but thought that I would be more comfortable if I knew I had fuel, so headed to Lochinver first. Once filled with fuel (and cookies and other goodies from the Spar shop opposite!) I headed back to Clashnessie, parked down by the beach and walked up to the falls themselves. River did come with me this time, and seemed quite happy to walk without complaint. We took our time and walked on grass wherever I could, to help her feet. As the path left the road, I met a couple who advised crossing at the stepping stones by the cottage, which whilst confusing me initially, were very clear as I approached. The path was easy, and the stones no issue to cross, allowing me to approach the falls on the left side. It looks like you can also stay on the right side, and get almost as close to the falls, so there are multiple options that I might try next time.

These falls are glorious. I thought Wailing Widow was stunning, but these almost put them to shame with their multiple levels of cascades, and its clear, open approach. You see these a long time before you get close, and you can get up very close on the side I was on. It was a good job I did cross via the stones earlier I feel, as I saw a man struggle to cross up here and a few others tried, but failed completely. The stepping stones were easy, and even though the path afterwards was very muddy and slippery underfoot, I would certainly prefer that route to the one these guys were trying… and I have crossed several rivers in my pursuit of these photos. I took loads of pictures while I was here, I mean LOADS, before I very reluctantly wandered back. Its impossible to not want to keep snapping! I felt so at peace here. However, I wanted to take photo of the derelict cottage as well, with the falls in view behind it, so wandered back down and asked the land owner if it was OK to work from his property. He very kindly said yes, telling me a little more about it. – that the property had belonged to his parents and now was shared by him and his sister. He mentioned that the water conditions can get really high when the falls very get full, and that apparently you loose the stepping stones completely. With this news I think picking your timing, and taking care is paramount at some points of the year.

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

Whilst I had been chatting to the man with the map at Drumbeg, he mentioned that the views at the Stoer lighthouse and the rock formations along the coast there were particularly lovely, and thoroughly recommended stopping by there. Once I had finished at Clashnessie, I thought that maybe this might make another interesting stop, possibly for the night. However, I drove round, and around, and around the area, but I couldn’t seem to find the way to the lighthouse as the road had been blocked off to vehicles. I have since examined my route, and it looks like I was heading up towards the Old Man of Stoer rocks via Culkein, instead of the lighthouse (duh!!) , so next time, I need to head more west. At the time however, I was left feeling a little disappointed and the evening was wearing on, so I had to look for a stop for the night and reluctantly started the drive off the peninsular… only to get stuck behind a herd of cows that really didn’t want to move off the road. It ended up quite a chuckle point for me as I edged very, VERY slowly through them as they one by one wandered out of my way to let me through. I eventually found myself at a parking spot near Lochan Sgeireach on the B869, and stopping near there for the night. Its the strangest thing, because although I didn’t note the position in my diary, it is on my google maps and have a photo of Fred parked up with the mountains behind – but its the one night that I have absolutely no memory of from the whole trip! Why this has happened at this one place is beyond me…

My Adventures

Ardvrek Castle, Wee Hoose, Sputie Burn and Big Burn…

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Ten

31 July 2020

I started the day at Ardvrek castle, and tried an early shoot but I missed the dawn and the sun was now washing out half the shots I hoped for. I did have a go, and in one spot the shots came out fairly nicely, although I felt there was a definate need to come back and try again when the light reflected the mood of the castle itself. This castle, and its awesome history, needed, in my opinion, a good moody threatening sky. This would reflect its grim and bloody history well, I thought. Since this clearly wasnt going to be right now, I decided to have a retry tonight when the sun or light would be behind me for my prefferred shot and I had a rethink for today over breakfast.

I decided to take a leisurely drive down the A837/A836/A839/A9 to pick up on the southern part of Sutherland that I had driven through on my way to Caithness. There were a few locations I hoped to photograph down there and I didnt want to miss them. My first choice of location was the Sputie Burn waterfall at Golspie, a really sweet waterfall that was right on a beach apparently. The drive was easy, only an hour, and on the way I happened across the Wee Hoose in Loch Shin. I only grabbed a quick shot, as there was pretty much only one spot to shoot it from. Cloud had begun to set in, but the Hoose was still in full sun, so the shots here were a bit too harsh for my liking. I forgot to bring over my long lens too, so I couldnt zoom in more to get the shot I would have preferred, but I consoled myself with being able to get this better at another time. It was fun reading about the fake history of this house however, it was so convincing, it almost had me, even though I knew it wasnt real. The ‘legend’ has it, that a poacher named Jock Broon taught the local Laird how to distil whisky, and as a way of showing his gratitude, the Laird gave Broon a small piece of land of his own. It was said that Jock wanted to proudly mark his territory and his new status as a landowner, so build a house of his own and the Wee Hoose was born. The story then continues, stating that he didnt live there long, as he accidentally shot himself in the foot and died shortly after. Fun story, and there’s even a board nearby showing photos of the house in olden years… however, as I already noted, it is all fake, having been build some 20-25 years ago as a float for the local Lairg Gala. It was put on the island after the gala, purely as a bit of fun, and it took off and became so popular with not just the locals, but tourists, that it has since stayed. Bad weather had destroyed it a couple of times, but it has been rebuilt and apparently even has lighting that comes on at the same time as the street lights. Wish I had been there in the evening now…bet it looks lovely!!! Next time!

I continued down to the waterfall, found the spot fairly easily and had to park up on a verge as I wasnt sure whether I could get down the small road after the bridge here. I gathered my kit, the dog and my wellingtons and started off down the road, wading through water that flooded the road under the bridge, finding a spot for two cars at the end. I could have parked here after all. I heard the falls from here so followed through a small gate, and along the little footpath down to the beach. The waterfall was really easy to find, as it was indeed pretty much right on the beach where the path ended. When I arrived, it was bathed in beautiful sunlight, and looked amazing so I snapped a quick shot with my phone, and set the camera up. Once the camera was up however, the sun had gone behind a cloud. I waited for a while, and when it looked like a no show, just took what I could and packed my camera away when I couldnt really get much more. As I packed the camera away, the sun came out, so I quickly set up again, only to have the darned thing duck behind a cloud again. I waited, but nope, nothing, so packed away again. It continued to tease me like this for the whole time I was there. It was SO frustrating!!

I waited for a little longer just in case the sun was willing to make a re appearance, and even wandered down to the beach for a bit, but it clearly had no intention of coming out for any length of time. Eventually I had had enough of the wait, and the clouds were definately gathering rather than dispersing, so since it clearly wasnt going to happen for me today, I travelled the 5 minutes to get to Big Burn falls instead. These were also easy to find, as the Big Burn walk is marked from the roadside. Parking was plentiful, with a few car parks dotted along a narrow road and a nice 10-15 minute woodland walk from the end car park.

When I got there, I fell in love with these falls. They felt totally different in character. Where Sputie Burn was light, airy, fresh and open, Big Burn falls were dark, brooding and far more oppressive, in a good way if thats possible. They were in a small gorge that rounded and cupped the falls making them feel very intimate, private and peaceful. Sadly, these falls had pretty much only one position to shoot from, a ready built wooden viewing platform on the left side. Because of this, I didnt have a lot of options for alternative viewpoints so I tried several different exposures and ISO settings instead. I hoped that when I got home I might see the differences in each setting on the PC. I would have liked to have gotten a shot from the other side of the river, but the falls and water had cut a fairly deep riverbed so crossing today looked pretty impossible. I might try again at another date and see if its possible further down river, tho the walls of the gorge might make it impossible to walk up on the other side sadly. Of the two waterfall visits today however, this one was definately my favourite.

I loved how peaceful and intimate the Big Burn waterfall was

I stayed quite a while here, mostly just standing and soaking up the peace, but eventually I had to leave to do the drive back to Ardvrek Castle for a second night, and hopefully my moody castle shot. By the time I got back there, it was also in cloud cover so I got quite excited by the shot I was hoping to get. However, I had neglected to remember where I was, and the time of day, and the second I stepped out of the camper I was mobbed by evening midges that swarmed into the camper. I slammed the door shut as soon as I realised and spend the next 10 minutes doing my now impressive (and frantic) clapping dance to the still curious and confused gaze of the dog. Despite this not being my first ‘dance’ she still seemed totally perplexed. Within the hour, I was very sadly watching a stunning sunset swathed in the wee biteys from the window – but I was too scared to set foot outside. What a shite nancy of a photographer I was that night! 🙁