scotland – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Dundrennan Abbey, Threave Castle and Feeding Red Kites

South West Scotland 2021: Part Twenty Two

26 September 2021

I woke up to realise I wasn’t going to get lucky with the bay this morning either. I had totally missed high tide, and the sky was covered with cloud again. A little disappointed, I basically just packed up and left.

My first aim was going to be Dundrennan Abbey. I arrived just before they opened, but as I looked at it, I realised it wasn’t going to be a shot for me today. Not only was it a pay to get into monument – which I don’t generally do unless its a site I’m really keen to visit – (I’d be super poor If I did them all!) but there didn’t seem to be a clear shot of it from any direction. With high walls, trees, and private land to one side. I took one cursory snap on the phone from the only spot with a clear view, then moved on to my next location. In hindsight, I could probably have gotten a formal shot from here, but to be honest, it didn’t really captivate me, and there’s nothing really wrong with my phone photo that my Canon would have made different.

Dundrenan Abbey, a very brief visit, and this is the only photograph I took.

My next spot was Threave Castle. This one was a really a nice location and had a lot of promise. For me today however, a strong breeze continually blew the small boat into a poor position, the sky looked grey – flattening everything and River barked endlessly at every passing pedestrian. This last one stressed me out terribly. My attention was so split, I missed a really gorgeous shot, which frustrated me even more. Hauling the dog in and making her look at me to curb her distraction, I sat and just waited for the boat to bob back from behind the tree, and the sun to try again…please?!. I tried hard for an hour to stop the frustration and stress getting worse, and eventually decided that I had waited long enough. I stood up to pack everything away when a brief glimmer of sun appeared, swept across the scene and was then gone for good. I barely caught it in two shots (one with light on the boat, and a second as it wiped across to, and over, the castle behind) This site needed something prettier going on in the sky I felt, a long exposure perhaps, to smooth an otherwise distracting water and definately a visit without River getting angsty! I left disappointed, but once I managed to blend the two photos I had, I think I feel a little better about this one.

Threave Castle. A sudden burst of sunshine really helped this shot!

On the day however, sadened, frustrated and getting fed up of the continual grey and a ratty dog, I left to go to the kite feeding station. There were bird hides at Threave, but I couldn’t visit those with River being this way, so perhaps seeing Kites in a controlled situation might offer a bit of bird spotting and a chance at trying bird photography. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but everyone here was lovely which helped my mood greatly. I paid my £5 entry and settled into a position outside to wait until the birds were hungry, while River settled under my coffee table staying relatively settled.

The people who run the farm, coffee shop and kite feeding sessions, put chunks of raw meet out at 2ish, and at first the kites didn’t seem interested. 20 minutes later I noticed that they had all started gathering above my head. There were so many it was almost scary! (see header) Watching Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’ as a child, clearly has me traumatised to this day! As we waited, one suddenly dipped down to the raw meat, grabbing a bit in his talons and flying off somewhere to eat it. Then another…. and a third! Once the first few started, the others went for it and soon they all started swooping to the table and floor.

What a spectacular display!!!

I tried my hardest to capture these beautiful birds, filling my memory card right up, but I knew that nearly every shot failed due to my inadequacy as a bird photographer. I didn’t care though, I was just loving every second! When other spectators had their bird watching appetite sated, they slowly drifted away. But I stayed put, mesmorised by these magnificent creatures. Three hours flew past (literally!) and despite dropping temperatures and bouts of rain and I found myself staying until the coffee shop was nearly closed and I was the only one left.

Flying over my head, I managed one fairly decent shot of this Red Kite

As I packed up, the coffee shop lady came out and told me I could stay as long as I wanted, as several birds were still feeding. I was cold by now though and needed to be indoors for a few minutes. I bought a last chance cup of tea, and a slice of cake, and watched from the window for a short while. Then as the shop closed proper, I went for a brief walk around the hill next to the farm, not really wanting to leave these beauties, before I eventually left for the Dhoon.

I wanted a picture of a boat wreck that is apparently here, but when I arrived, the tide was very high. So high, I couldn’t see the boat at all. I made myself some tea, thinking to wait it out, but an hour later I realised that the tide seemed to go out much slower than at other areas around here. The boat could only really be gotten to when the tide was fully out… and that was now clearly unlikely to happen until after dark. I considered staying the night, but there were big posters everywhere asking people not to. Despite the Park for Night App having comments from people flagarently and boastfully ignoring them, I considered it a lack of respect since I knew I could find parking elsewhere for the night. Instead, I started my drive towards tomorrow’s locations.

Eventually finding myself tiring, I settled myself in a quiet lay by until I could continue in the morning.

My Adventures

Southerness Lighthouse, Rockliffe and Balcary Bay

South West Scotland 2021: Part Twenty One

25 September 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a naive wally.

Sunrise?! On THIS trip?!! 😂😂

My Adventures

Mennock Pass, Morton Castle, Crichope Burn, and Caerlaverock Castle

South West Scotland 2021: Part Twenty

24 September 2021

I have no idea when the rain stopped, but when I woke up in the morning, it was all very quiet. Waking up gently was an absolute pleasure after last nights hugely stressful trip. I washed and dressed and stepped out, finding myself in the most beautiful surroundings. My mind was a little blown I wont lie! Of everything that could have been around me, I wasn’t expecting THIS!

Waking up to this spot was a real surprise!

I quickly jumped back in Fred, turned him around and went outside again with my phone. I wanted to grab a quick photo to send to the family (well, I didn’t really want a pic of his backside for this lovely portrait did I?!) Whilst standing in awe of the position I was parked in, a couple of fleeting bits of sunshine shone down on Fred, luckily I caught one with my mobile phone. There was no real blue in the sky, it was still very grim looking, so this felt like a little nod from above as an apology for last nights trauma.

After this, the drizzle inevitably started. Despite the miserable weather I thought this area was worth having a good look at. I had ended up in the Mennock Pass, and as I drove down the winding road, I didn’t know where to look first- it was a real struggle to keep my eyes on the road! I spotted bike randomly on one of the hills, so stopped to try and take a photo of it (see header). It was no good though, the drizzle was so heavy that I simply couldn’t keep the lens clean and every photo looked awful.

I decided this was too beautiful here to miss out however, so made plans to come back on a better weather day. Looking at my map I decided to try and find Morton Castle to check that out instead, since it was not too far from here and very near another location I was dying to see.

Morton Castle as you first see it on the approach.

Morton Castle was a little tricky to find, but once there I really enjoyed my visit. The drizzle had eased off, but it was very, very breezy, and I was intermittently lucky to have a few bursts of light sweep across the location when I first arrived.

As I thoroughly looked over the site, I read that there was little known about its build. There are lots of discussions and debates, but the overall assumption seems to be that it was built in the 12th century. According to the infoboard, an agreement in 1357 stated that in return for the release of the Scottish King David III, the English expected a selection of castles on the southern border with England, to be ruined. Morton was one. Whatever date it was built, the castle went on be inherited or bought by quite a few Lairds for several centuries more, so there was still use here.

Had it been rebuilt or repaired to replace the ruined version? I couldn’t tell. Looking online, apparently archetectural evidence supports a build date of around the 1300’s. I wont lie, this leaves me as confused as all the authorities on the matter. It goes on to say that Morton was in disrepair by 1714, which is how we see it today. Oh, to be a time traveller and watch its history. It really is a lovely place, and if not a fortress, cetrtainly a wonderful area to set up home.

I wandered around the back of the castle where there is a small lake. I was hoping for a nice reflection shot here and I really think it has the potential to look nice, but today it was so windy and grey that a shot like this was definitely out of the question!

Tha back of Morton Castle, sadly wind and grim sky didn’t assist on my hoped for photo here.

I finally left Morton when the wind made it clear I wouldn’t get anything better than what I had in the bag, and I excitedly drove to a much anticipated location… marked in big letters and underlined on my map.

Crichope Burn.

This is a little saught after destination, and although a once popular Victorian hotspot, it seems to have fallen out of favour today. Its now visited mostly by photographers and vloggers only. Has that increased its popularity I wondered, but looking at the empty car park today, I guessed not! I found the car park here fairly easily, and then hunted for the path to the burn. That was not as obvious as you would imagine, but I did find the entrance to the walk after walking past it once. The sign post was very faded, but visible when I actually bothered to look closely.

The walk was fascnating. The first bit was a nice little wooded section, the path, although overgrown and not used in a while, was still fairly clear. I followed it and found myself near a rockface with grafitti on. As I looked, I realised the grafitti was all from the 1800’s! I spent ages looking at the names and dates, surprised and oddly reassured that our need to let others know we were here, was not just a modern vandalism. It is said Robbie Burns had visited this area, althouigh I couldn’t see his name among the other young men and women who scrawled their presence here.

Two of the most noticeable pieces of grafitti. Interestingly, I found a William W. Clarke, a commercial traveller born in Scotland, and his wife Charlotte E Clarke, living in Oswestry in the 1881 census… I wonder if they are the pair from the right piece…

Why this place had fallen out of favour was a surprise to me, and I mused on the thought as I followed the track further, and up a set of stone steps. When I found the spot I’d been excitedly looking for, I was both amazed and just a little disappointed. The path led up, and then thinned around a rocky prominentry. Curving round, the path then revealed a natural arch and a short gorge beyond. As I stood in the space under the arch, I just stared at the view. My amazement came because I was looking at what appeared to be a totally prehistoric landscape, with high moss covered rocks untouched by people, and looking very ancient.

My disappointment came because the much anticipated waterfall that should be here, was nowhere to be seen.

I still took some time taking photos though, because the lush green of the gorge here, just looked amazing. Then I had a bit of an explore a little further up and behind, to try and find the watercourse that should have led to the falls. There was nothing up there so I finally called it and decided to leave. This one was a definate location to come back to, and since it was only a little off route on the way up to my daughter in Glasgow, I was absolutely sure that I would get back here easily.

The ancient looking gorge at Crickhope Burn

Caerlaverock Castle was next, a beautiful red brick triangular castle that I was also keen to visit. The wind had eased and blue skies were appearing, so I had my fingers crossed for a pretty sunset at last, and drove to the location with a few hopes in my pocket. I parked up easily enough, but on getting to the gorgeous ruin, I found the water was covered in algae. The photos I had seen of this castle had a lovely reflection, but with this nasty green covering, no reflection was possible. I walked round the outside anyway, and found to my surprise that where the back had collapsed you could see there was a secondary brick building inside that looked pretty intact. I don’t think I had ever seen something like this taking up such a large area inside a castle before, and it looked very intreguing. I really wanted to go and have a proper look, but of course it was closed due to Covid, and the lateness of the day would have hampered a visit anyway. Such a shame! – but a good reason to come back.

On my return home, I couldn’t help but try and have an online ‘visit’ to find out about this one. To my joy, I found this site, with a link on the page that pretty much takes you in and around the castle! https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/caerlaverock-castle/overview/ Big YAY for modern technology right?!!!

Curious brick building taking up a chunk of space inside the castle.

As I completed my circuit, the sun set with the sky doing nothing exciting, so I could do little else but leave. Down the road, their overflow car park was allowing campers to stay for a donation. Since they had a toilet disposal point, this had been my intended stop for the night anyway, although I didn’t need this service tonight. When I arrived it was fairly full, and I struggled to find a spot where some had parked inconsiderately. Since I was just a small van though, I managed to squeeze into one last spot. There was nothing for a bigger motorhome, so I was thankful for my size! Despite the other vans here (at least 6), it was still a quiet night with everyone sticking to their own private spaces, and noone spreading out. It felt perfect here and I slept very well.

Dec 2021

I returned to Crickhope Burn just before my daughters graduation. It was going to be my first port of call and my impatience meant this was going to be a visit on my way up before I even got to hers! I drove up through a vicious storm the day before, and got to the car park late into the evening, deciding to stop here in the cover of the trees, for protection against the weather.

First thing in the morning, with the storm now gone, I jumped out and went straight over to see if the falls were here this time. Signs were good as I advanced, a boggy path, sizeable puddles to dodge around and the steps up to the last bit running with water almost like a small river. I climbed through the rocky arch to the precipice and was greeted with the roaring of falling water and this incredible view

This was EXACTLY what I had hoped to find, and the view took my breath away! I spent ages here taking photos. Although the space was quite restrictive, the small ledge still had a little movement to the left and right. Its pretty impossible to get any other angle, as the gorge was very slippery, and covered in damp leaves, but I did try what I could without being too silly. Taking a dunk off the edge was definitely not on the plan for today! Ohhh, what a happy bunny I was when I eventually pulled myself away.

My Adventures

Loch Doon Castle, shopping and Sanquhar castle

South West Scotland 2021: Part Nineteen

23 September 2021

The sleep was hard again last night. The wind was really picking up, and although no where near as windy as some nights I have spent in Fred, I could hear banging where the flap covering my electric connection was blowing hard. There were other banging noises outside too, where the wind caught the caravan awning next to me. I had very few plans for today and to be fair, it wouldn’t do River nor I any harm to have an easy day. I didn’t stress, and eventually fell asleep after 2. I awoke again at 7, and despite trying to make myself go back to sleep, it didn’t happen, so I just dozed and stayed lazily in bed trying not to do anything but rest. At 8 I was forced up when I heard the flap give up, and go clattering away. I got dressed, dived out, and recovered the flap after a riotous film comedy moment, chasing it around the site.

Now here’s an interesting thing – today I found myself being surprised by things I didn’t realise before. For instance, I had hot running water. (Whaaaat?!!) I checked the gas hadn’t accidentally turned on, but no, everything was as it should be. I put it down to being hooked up to electric – it must automatically activate the boiler without the gas. Bonus!! My ‘cowboy’ strip wash went on to become a full on hair wash and complete clean up in Fred. Well, I wasn’t going anywhere, and certainly wasn’t going to waste this opportunity! It was still very windy, and the (driving) mizzle was literally sitting on top of us so that visibility was practically zero. My second discovery was that I could deactivate the immobiliser whilst the keys were in the ignition – WITHOUT having to turn everything off and back on again. For 2 fecking years it’s been a real pain, but where no-one had ever explained the alarm system, I guess I would never have learned BUT by an accident. I chilled, sorted everything out and fixed the flap with a reel of fishing line I had found abandoned on my journey. Finally, at about half 2, the weather began to break and I was able to think about visiting Loch Doon Castle. Since I was at a location where I had services, I emptied the loo again, filled up with water, and disposed of the grey waste. I had no chemicals left for the loo however so had to ask for advice on that. The site had no shop, but the owner advised me that the closest shop supplying it, was in Cumnock, shutting at 5pm. I prepped everything anyway ready for the chemicals (so I just had to add it), then headed off to Loch Doon Castle.

I arrived some 15 mins later, took a few photos, but it wasn’t at all photogenic today and I really struggled.

Miserable views, and no luck finding a nice viewpoint at Doon castle

I tried some external shots without too much luck, and then some internal ones which really didn’t do it for me either. Eventually I settled on my poor patient dog who was simply laying on a broken bit of wall watching me. Turns out she can be a really calm model when she wants to!

Realising that this location was really a bit of a bust for me today, I decided that I should probably leave and head off to find the shop in Cumnock to get my toilet chemical. I arrived with 25 mins to closing, picking up some dog treats for River, and some double sided tape to fix a cigarette lighter extender module down – the only little job left for me to do.

I looked at where to go next, and decided that Dumfries and Galloway could start tonight after all. I settled on Sanquhar Castle first. It was another ruin, but I hoped the evening light might help give it atmosphere. It was an odd site really, right by a housing estate and I literally parked outside someone’s house, needing just 2 minutes to walk over. The castle itself was heavily fenced off, but looking at all the angles of the remains, and the warning notices pinned in several places, it was clearly a dangerous structure, and so overgrown that I think its been fenced off for quite a while. This was a shame really, as it might have looked good in the light that was presenting itself.

Instead my attention was drawn to a white cottage that looked amazing sitting below a very low and moody cloud that was a gorgeous pinky shade in the dying light. I stood in what I assumed was an old moat for the castle, and took what images I could. A dead tree was a major irritation here, but the colours and dying light still gave it a nice dramatic feel for me.

Cottage to the side looking really nice in the evening light

I finished when the rain started coming down again, hurrying back to the van before I got too wet. It got very heavy, very quickly! I decided to find somewhere else to settle for the night instead, since it was obvious I couldn’t stay outside someone’s house. As I left, the road out of the village towards my chosen stopover, was closed, and there were no directions on how to get around the blockage. With an erratic phone signal, I began to feel unsettled, and it took a bit of time to find an alternative route round. The situation didn’t get much better either – it got dark quickly, it was pouring with rain and then my sat nav lost connection completely. In my head, a mini voice began to have a huge panic attack until eventually the grown up, sensible me, calmed it a little. My nerves were really shot, and I was also very tired, but I had to drive on – I found myself on a narrow, winding road with no verges or space to make a permanent stop. Eventually, some 20 minutes later, I saw a big layby, and I decided to pull in to wait the night out here, before I got myself into a deeper pickle. The relief at being able to just stop safely, was immense!

Even though the van was plugged into the electrical hook up last night at the campsite, I was unsure what was draining the leisure batteries so heavily, so I planned on preserving them as much as I could. I took the small push button light out of cupboard, and used the double sided tape I’d bought to stick it to the ceiling. Viola! Lights, without using leisure batteries! That was it. I stopped all the problem solving and worries, ate a quick meal and climbed into bed.

I’d absolutely had enough of today now!

My Adventures

Craigengillan, Ness Glen and Dalcairney Falls

South West Scotland 2021: Part Eighteen

22 September 2021

Last night I’d driven until I realised that by driving in the dark I was missing the chance to see new places, and I got really tired. So when I pulled in to where the two other motorhomes were, I settled and fell asleep quickly without having a single idea of where I really was. When I looked out of my window in the morning, I was parked up in a concrete area nestled in among the trees, the sky was filled with cloud and one of the motorhomes had already left. I couldn’t see anything else. I could have been anywhere! I again took my time getting ready and looked at my map for today. While the aim was to visit Doon Castle, I noticed that Ness Glen was on the way, so decided that it might be more fitting to do that first. If it was going to rain today I would be less in the open and I’d have part cover under the trees in the glen. I also considered Dalcairney Falls, a good walk from the glen, but do-able if the weather stayed dry. I readjusted plans a little and headed off down the single lane road with my ideas for today looking like they might be quite promising.

As I was driving I noticed the sun break through the cloud a little, and when I rounded a bend on a hill, it beamed down on a white house in the distance. It looked SO beautiful, I pulled over when I could and took some photos before the sun vanished again. This, it turned out, was called Craigengillan, and a lot of the land in this area belongs to its estate. Although the house has been here since the 1600’s, it, and its lands, fell into disrepair over the years. The people who bought it in 2000 have since invested into its preservation and conservation, turning the whole area into a beautiful site for tourists and wildlife alike. They seem to have done a fantastic job. I really loved how this chance photo turned out, and that it gave me a good reason to look into what it was and what they have been doing.

Craigengillan Estate, a chance photo as I drove.

I continued my drive to the Roundhouse takeaway down by Loch Doon, and parked up. The hope was to pop back in there on my return for something as a treat for my tea this evening – nice idea, surely?? Only I didn’t quite make it back before closing time.. missing by just 5 fecking minutes…5!!!! Grrr. Anyway, for now it was a nice positive idea and as I got ready, I decided that I would add the second walk to take in Dalcairney falls after all. I didn’t think they would have much water to ‘fall’ with, but still felt it might be worth checking out. I could walk it from here, and I couldn’t find clear instructions on any parking closer than this anyway so I may as well make a big ol’ hiking day of it, right? I packed myself a lunch, some drink, and headed off.

Ness Glen was beautiful, and it was a very easy walk alongside the River Doon. I stopped to take a few photos on the way, seeing some beautiful dappled light by a small waterside bridge. I thought to take more on the way back when I would be walking towards the water flow to save myself keep looking back as well as forwards, and so, just took my time enjoying this walk. Start at the end and work in the photos on the way back, it seemed like a great idea, although as it turned out, I was once again taking the current weather for granted, and not considering that it might change. Thank goodness I’d turned to capture this scene, because of course, that’s exactly what happened!

Ness Glen and the River Doon. When the sun broke through it looked magical.

I got to a large wooden bridge, walked over the river and then took the extended route towards Dalcairney falls. The walk to Dalcairney was a little tougher, being a further 2 miles, and going uphill. At a few points it rained lightly, and one other I went slightly off track, going higher than I needed. I rerouted myself however, and tried to follow google to correct myself. We passed a derelict building, and then entered an open hilly area. River had been off the lead for most of the walk by this point, but on spotting some sheep, she started to run towards them. When I realised what had caught her attention, I immediately called her name sharply, followed by a stern ‘Here!’ She stopped in her tracks coming straight back to my side, and seconds later a farmer appeared in the field. He gave me a little curt nod of approval, and said nothing as I walked passed with River close by my heels. I was never prouder of my little dog than I was at that moment.

Not long after that, I descended to a proper path again, and finally, 3 hours after I started my walk, I reached the falls… Well.. The dribbles. (see header) I don’t think I have ever seen any photo of these falls that showed a flow as poor as this one! But, well, I had this for my visit, so decided to work with what I was given. The location was still beautiful, so before anything, I rested with River for a while – soaking in the peace and tranquillity here. She thoroughly loved paddling in the calm pool beneath the dribble, so I let her enjoy that while I ate my lunch. I really struggled to see much to photograph, so settled on the solitary log in the middle of the water, with the thin stream of falling water as an afterthought behind it. To be fair there wasn’t much else to focus on!

Dalcairney main falls – normally considerably more impressive than this!!

As I was shooting this, River started splashing in the water next to me, which she never does… And when I looked, she seemed to be having the same issue as she had yesterday. I hastily left the camera in the middle of the water and encouraged/carried her out as best as I could, so that whatever this was, she wouldn’t collapse and drown. Her face showed the same fear, but she clearly trusted me and let me carry her part of the way (she hates being lifted up), recovering again with no after effects, very quickly. This had me very confused. I went and got the camera, and we left this side of the falls. Ultimately, I didn’t know what else to do, but carry on. I felt horrible being torn between giving up, and wanting to continue here today, but there was nothing else I could do but book in to see the vet as soon as I could after my return in a few days. (they were amazing, and made a space for her the morning after my return) From here on in though, meantime, I kept such a close eye on her, I wouldn’t let her get much further than a step or two away from me. Thankfully she didn’t have any more episodes while I was away, having just one minor one a day after seeing the vet. It turned out she had an ear infection, and it was causing her to have seizures. I was asked to keep an eye on her just in case she was going to have them more regularly, in which case further treatment was available and advisable. Thank God it wasn’t anything worse, and my mind was put at ease with the reassurance these were not unusual, and often disappeared after the underlying cause was treated. Apparently I’d acted exactly the way I needed to on both occasions, remaining calm, and reassuring, but making sure she was safe in her environment. Since then, River has been fine, and we haven’t seen a repeat episode.

Back to today though, as I got to the top of these falls, I crossed the little bridge, and then descended back down the opposite side to see if we could capture the lower falls as well as the main falls. The lower falls seemed to be stealing the show over the main ones today. It was tricky getting to the best spot, but we made it, crossing the river, and basically coming back to the first side but much lower down. I am sure that in full spate this would have been impossible, but I struck lucky today. I took my pictures, and we climbed back out to the starting point on the first side.

Climbing out was actually a challenge in itself, with a large tree that had fallen over a now obvious path in such a way that I literally had to manoeuvrer in and out and around branches that had completely covered the route. Have you ever tried climbing a tree horizontally? Me neither, it was…interesting, and quite fun. Without this in the way, it would have been a much easier shot from my original side, but I hadn’t noticed this path from above it earlier.

We then started the long walk back. My feet were painful, but today felt like it was a success, and River was very much back to her normal self, sniffing just about every hole she could find. I took a few shots on Ness Glen once we reached there again, but without the sun casting small dapples of light in the area, it all looked very flat in the camera. I’d been very lucky getting the earlier shot I now realised! By the time I got back to the camper my feet were too painful to do much, with two days of over 7 miles each were taking their toll on my plantar fasciitis. With the roundhouse having just closed, and the rain trying its hardest to stay off as best as it could, I decided to stop off in a campsite here, just so I could recharge Fred, and hopefully have a shower. Sadly there was no shower or toilet block of any kind, although there was electricity, so I was very happy for that and decided to stay anyway! As I picked out a spot to park up in, a cloud of mizzle finally settled on the area for good. It was very grim and wet, so I was just thankful to have a place to stay without having to look any further!

For some reason, I struggled to sleep though, even with the sound of the rain that eventually established a wonderful soothing sound throughout the night. It was a good thing that I only had Doon Castle to do tomorrow!

My Adventures

Girvan, Turnberry Lighthouse, and Greenan Castle

South West Scotland 2021: Part Seventeen

21 September 2021

When I awoke I felt a bit more refreshed, but didn’t want to push myself too hard to start, so I took River for a short walk to have a look around and a bit of an explore. Although Girvan was a stopover location, it wasn’t marked as a photographic one, so I wasn’t too sure what else might be here. We were parked right by the beach, so it was a really pleasant start listening to the sounds of the sea! I looked first to see if there was fresh or waste water service points, but couldn’t find anything but another loo disposal. I didn’t need that sadly, so just left it and took River down to the beach. She liked it here (as did I to be fair!) but she still didn’t venture into the water. This pooch loves a river or lake, but hates going into the sea. Fussy or what?! As we walked, I noticed some lovely light on the harbour arm, that also hit two houses way off in the background, so I went back for my camera and decided to try my first photos of the day right here.

River and I walked the length of the concrete bit of harbour, aiming for the lighthouse at the end, but I didn’t find it too pretty and the sun refused to hit it to help any chance of an image. I turned round to face back towards the rocky arm and the view that had first caught my eye. The sun was now only on the two white houses, but I took a number of photos here, waiting for the light – which flatly refused to move back to my subject. Eventually I gave up. The breeze was a little too much and I got cold, so I packed everything away, and started back towards the van. It was a real bonus seeing the view walking from the opposite direction, as I realised that the composition of my scene started looking better, and then as if to prove a point, the sun suddenly hit the arm again! I quickly got everything out and managed to capture a much better image. This not only had the sun on it, but where the framing was much better, I was over the moon! What I’d realised was that by walking back halfway down the concrete arm, the end position of the stone one moved more out in the open compared to it being cluttered and lost in with the rest of the land. Perspective. Not a thing I consider usually. How many other shots might I have missed?! By the time I got back to the van I felt a little chuffed, since this was a location I had stumbled on by accident. What a start to today!

From here I decided to check out Turnberry lighthouse. I knew I wanted this for a sunset shot, but right now it was fairly close so worth checking out for the parking, if nothing else. The parking was easy, and as I walked over to the lighthouse itself, the sky cleared and offered a warm start to the day. Walking in the sunshine felt lovely and calming so I took my time really enjoying myself as I checked out some nice positions for later. To get to this lighthouse, you have to walk through the Turnberry golf course, but River was very good and didn’t venture near the golfers, choosing to sniff the edges of the paths and the rocky outcrops near the beach area instead. Where the weather was so nice, I dropped back to the camper and picked up my camera. River didn’t want to come back out so I left her in there while I ventured back to get a shot of the lighthouse in the sunshine. It looked quite nice, though it definitely would have benefited from some side light to give the building some shading. As it was, my timing, and its position meant you either had it in full light, or total shadow by photographing from the other side into the sun. I knew I was aiming to come back later anyway, so wasn’t too worried.

Once back at the camper, I had a lunch, and headed back to Greenan, just for one last chance, and found myself there at almost the right time for the tides. I was still slightly late, but watching the water recede at such a pace, I realised it would take some fine timing to get it perfect, and quite likely, a need to walk out into the water before it receded too much. I set up nonetheless, with the weather flicking between sun and cloud in just a short time. As soon as the wind dropped, I managed some pretty reflections, which satisfied my hopes for this location a little. Yes, I could think of better conditions, but on my third attempt, I was happy to get this much! I noticed the light hitting the curve in the rock base really nicely, so I took shots from a different angle until I was happy that I had done all that I could today.

The breeze was still a bit of a pain, and the tide just a tad bit low, but I almost managed the reflection shot I hoped for.

With 2 hours to sunset, I headed back to Turnberry, and couldn’t resist taking a simple shot of a golfing green in a burst of sunshine (see header). The green looked incredibly lush against the growing black clouds in the sky. Then I realised that the clouds were building where the sun was going to set, and my sunset hopes were being dashed again. I went straight one spot I had checked out earlier, and set up anyway, grabbing a nice shot of sunbeams over a fisherman. He wasn’t there for long after I took this, and I often wonder if he was as in awe of this light as I was, or whether he was too engaged in his own hobby to even notice.

What gorgeous sun rays tonight. and the fisherman just finished this one off perfectly

I hadn’t checked out the tide level so was disappointed to find that the water was totally out when I got back to my final position of the day. However, I was really pleased to notice that the volcanic plug turned island, Ailsa Craig, could be seen really clearly in the background from here. I moved a little left and right, up on a rock, and lower to the ground until I managed to position it nicely in shot… then one thin bit of light hit the lighthouse… I had to shoot right now!

Turnberry Lighthouse just as the sun was setting. Would love to retry this with a higher tide.

As I was taking the photo I heard River crying a little, over to the side of me. Concerned she was stuck on a rock, I called her over only to notice her acting a little strange. I immediately left my camera and dashed over to her talking calmly, and trying to encourage her down, but I noticed her moving a little oddly. She seemed fixed in place, and on one side, one front leg and one back leg seemed to be doing their own thing. The look in her eyes showed absolute fear. Concerned I gently stroked and reassured her, checking to see if she had hurt herself or was caught on anything. Eventually, after finding nothing obviously wrong, I was terrified she was having some kind of stroke. However, within a minute, whatever was happening passed, and she began moving normally again, acting like nothing had happened. I just brushed it off in the end, keeping her much closer to me so I could keep an eye on her. She carried on as normal after that, and on seeing her happy wagging tail, the worry fell to the back of my mind.

Once it became clear there was not going to be any colour in the sky, I packed up and intended to drive down to Loch Doon ready for my East Ayrshire stint. I hadn’t really wanted to do that drive in the dark, but today felt like a such a success I wanted to leave on a high note. I hadn’t actually plotted anywhere to stop the night, so I began the drive as the last of the light faded, trusting to chance at finding somewhere en route. I stopped a fair bit later when I spotted some motorhomes nestled in among some trees nearer my location. I had no idea where I was, but I was too tired to continue driving safely, and I knew I wasn’t too far from where I hoped to be tomorrow. This seemed like a good enough spot for sure, and once bedded down, I was asleep in minutes!

My Adventures

Clean up day, the Irving Dragon, Greenan Castle, and…

South West Scotland 2021: Part Sixteen

19 September 2021

I had a glorious nights sleep… Possibly the best in ages, and I seriously did NOT want to get out of bed. Lazing until gone 9.30, I finally got up and just did a slow potter, cleaning myself and the van at a very gentle pace. I took a short walk out with River to give her a chance to stretch her legs and spotted a small rainbow over Hunterston Pier, before wandering back to the camper. It was all very chill!

I was very mindful of needing to empty the portaloo, and get some water, and even though I was tempted to retry the castle later, I decided that these items were getting to be a priority. I looked at Ayr, where the council were trying a scheme allowing motorhomes overnight parking, and services for £5. I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay a night there however, (it wasn’t near any of my photographic locations) but I had no objection to just paying for the services and thought a good drive might also help Fred’s Leisure batteries. This then, would be my first course of action today. I arrived at the car park, and found the motorhome parking area easily, although couldn’t immediately find any services. I eventually found an unmarked (or labelled) yellow portaloo disposal point/ thing, with no instructions on what to do, so I had to inspect, and guess how to do this. I couldn’t see anywhere for my waste water, or any fresh water tap either (the term serviceS was obviously a bit of a stretch! LOL). Maybe the waste water went in with the loo water, but I had no way to transport it FROM the tank in Fred, so had to leave it. Normally, you open the tap under the van over a grating, and they clearly didn’t have that here. Maybe I should look into finding a sports bottle or some such just for an alternative disposal method. Looking at my park for night app, I found two symbols I didn’t recognise… One was a public loo… But the other, thankfully, was a water fountain! I drove closer, had a look at it, and then filled as best as I could – 3 loads of my small water carriers, taking an absolute age each time, and proving quite heavy to carry and lift! Putting the water into Fred, it raised the tank level to half full… Hopefully enough to finish the trip. Now I just needed to conserve the leisure batteries, and hopefully find another area for the waste water over the next few days.

Unsure on what to do next I decided to drive to Irving for a sculpture I had seen that had really taken my fancy. The Irving Dragon was created by artist Roy Fitzsimmons, apparently using the red sandstone from an old demolished railway bridge. I’ve no idea how old it is, certainly not ancient, but I found mention of it being there in the 1980’s at least. On arrival I found a huge car park a very short walk away, and several campers here. After parking up, I took River for the short walk to find the dragon, deciding to come back when the light was a softer shade of yellow. It was a bit harsh at the moment (see header), although in hindsight I quite like lighting in the photo above. As sunset approached, I climbed the hill again, but was saddened to notice that although there were still very few clouds above me, several were building on the horizon. Another chap was there with his camera, and began chatting to me. He grabbed so much of my attention that I missed my chance to capture much at all, and completely missed the sunset in the end. Disappointed, I tried what I could, but once the sun had fallen behind the cloud, the dragons colour went very flat.

Just missed the best part of the sunset… but maybe I’ll have better luck tomorrow?

I returned to the camper and watched as night fell, and the moon rose. I simply couldn’t be bothered to try a night time shot, so stayed in bed really struggling to sleep… looking at my watch for the last time at just gone 3am.

20 September 2021

I was awake again at 6.30, but refused to get up. I tried my hardest to go back to sleep but it didn’t happen, eventually getting up at 7.30 and pottering around the van. Finally, I decided I should try the dragon in morning light, preparing to go without the full camera bag, and to just travel light. I gathered the tripod, dog and left to see what I could get. There was a cloud building, but it still gave a few intermittent bursts of light that looked great. Setting up the tripod in one of the positions I had settled on, I went to grab my camera off my shoulder, to realise it wasn’t there! I checked if I had put it down. Nope… then realised I must have left it in the camper! Full of annoyance at myself, I picked the tripod up and trudged all the way back down the hill, noting that the cloud was actually closing in pretty fast. When I got to Fred, I saw it sitting on the drivers seat waiting for me. (how lucky was I not to come back to a smashed window, and missing camera eh?!) I slogged back up the hill again, just as the last beam of light hit.. Then it was gone. I set up anyway, and waited just in case another glimmer happened, and I waited… and I waited. Eventually I gave up, I took a few cursory shots, anyway, and came back to the camper. I was too tired and grumpy to stick around.

With North Ayrshire done, I decided to start South Ayrshire, and I headed to a location I was very keen on seeing – Greenan Castle. This castle was literally perched on the edge of a cliff, giving a chance of a really dramatic shot – if I could time it right! I drove to the car park nearby, and the cloud abated in the wind giving me blue skies for a little bit. As I arrived at the car park I was saddened to see that it was another with a height barrier, so just parked on the street. The walk over was fairly easy, but the tide was far too high for the shot I hoped for. I had a good wander though, setting up in a different position to the side and by a pool, waiting for the wind to settle to take the reflection shot… I waited… and I waited… and again gave up. It wasn’t going to happen, and in reality, I wasn’t that pleased with the water level at this spot at any rate. I took one shot of it between gusts of strong wind, (well I was here after all!) before picking everything up and walking back to Fred.

Greenan Castle. I almost got this shot breeze free… almost. Need the water here to be a little higher to cover the seaweed too I think. Otherwise I like the position

I thought I would try Dunure Castle instead, and drove there as the cloud made its return. The weather was very changeable in this wind today! The ruined castle looked very flat in the now cloudy light, but again, looked pretty dramatic standing on the edge of a cliff. The cloud did lend itself to a moody shot instead, so I tried that. Unfortunately, for some odd reason, I couldn’t really get it to work for me, even though I tried from several sides and angles. I realised that I was very tired from the lack of sleep, so didn’t beat myself up over it, putting today down to being a scouting day instead. These locations had a lot of promise despite my inability to get the dreamed for shots today. This one for instance, I think would look great with a little dramatic light directly on the castle and a higher tide.

Dunure Castle…. This would be perfect with light on the castle, plenty of mood behind, and a higher tide, I think!

As it was on its way out, it didn’t really work here, but I realised that I might have better luck back at Greenan castle instead, now the water was lower. I drove back there, went to look, and was shocked to see the tide was actually so far out, that I had missed my chance entirely! With a tidal water that moved in or out extremely quickly over the beach area, opportunities for the shot I hoped for, at this location, were obviously only available in a very small window!! I gave up for today.

Instead I decided to have a drive down to Girvan, to hopefully see if the services and parking were better there, and to pick up a little shopping. I got to the parking spot after the sun had set, so just settled in for the night, planning everything else for the morning.

My Adventures

Fairlee Waterfall, Castle and The Pencil Monument

South West Scotland 2021: Part Fourteen

17 September 2021

Today when I woke up the view was pretty much non existent. A grim cloud sat over the area, drizzling heavily, leaving me with not much to see here, and leaving everything just a flat grey. I was parked up by the river and could see that the other campers were still here. None of them seemed to make any moves to leave early, so, without any set plans I just chilled for a few hours, taking my time, having breakfast, playing a game, and just having a casual think on what I fancied doing today. After the other vans eventually started drifting off to get on with their days, I jumped out and took a photo of Fred before finally getting on with mine. It was a very relaxing start.

Fred in North Ayrshire. A flat grey morning

I ended up settling on a waterfall at Fairlee. I had only found this one the other day, and although I didn’t really hold up much hope, it might be better than just sitting here in the camper all day, looking out at a non view of a misly river. I found parking easily, and the walk, although steep didn’t appear complicated – she says, hitting one spot that seemed to be a wrong turn for the falls. I retraced my steps and continued up the steep hill until I realised I had then overshot past my turn, and found myself much further away from the burn. I couldn’t hear any water at all from here. Mildly frustrated with myself, I backtracked again, stopping a couple of times to take pictures. Although I wasn’t particularly excited by them, it seemed the main waterfall wasn’t even there. Confused, I wondered whether the prolonged dry spell had depleted the falls to nothing. I went back to double check the spot where I thought I had taken the first wrong turn, and leaned out as far as I could, to try and see the river from here. As I strained to see over a muddy outcrop, I caught a glimpse of the fall. It wasn’t gone at all, it was just a little inaccessible from this spot.

I looked around, following the river with my eyes, and had an idea. I slipped down the steep muddy bit on my bum (thank goodness I was in waterproofs today, that saved my jeans some!), and managed to get down to the waters edge. From here I just walked boldly into the shallow river, and strode up the (pretty non existent) lower part of the falls and around a bit of a bend until the upper falls came into view. There might be an easier way, although several online comments mentioned that they had to do this as well. The falls were a good height, but not quite as photogenic as I might have liked, with fallen trees everywhere and the water flow, as has been the kicker on this trip, very minimal. I worked the scene as much as possible though, with a couple of the shots showing a little promise of being useable post edit. I suspect this one would look amazing in full spate, although the walk in and along the river would definitely be far more challenging. I didn’t see a bank that could be traversed particularly easily, so it remains to be seen if this might be as possible as one might like at that point ..

Fairlee Waterfall. Not completely dry, but it still took a lot of work to find a way of photographing this one today.

Once finished, I climbed back out and made my way further down stream. As I walked in this direction, I noticed someone had pitched a blue tent off to the side, tucked well into the wooded growth. I had a tentative look, and there was a possibly that someone had abandoned it, because there seemed to be no one about, but behind that, I spotted a worn footpath. Curious I followed the footpath, and found another smaller fall. I was sure this would look better with more water, but once again climbed down and walked into the river itself to explore the site. I looked at all angles for a composition I liked, but nothing really jumped out at me. I ended up going a little further downstream to capture the entire cascade, although even that proved tricky to capture well. When I saw the shot on screen however, I noticed all the early autumn leaves were really adding colour that I loved. This one felt much better for me, and it was a beautiful peaceful spot that I really enjoyed being in.

Cascade looking much prettier than the main waterfall

I continued back towards the van stopping only once more to have a quick look at the outside of Fairlee castle. This was a tower castle, buried in the woods overlooking a steep drop to the river that I had been following. There wasn’t any information on it, so I didn’t think it was a tourist site to visit, nor did I photograph it since it was surrounded by a metal fence stopping anyone getting close. It looked to be having a little work done to it, possibly to make safe, I wasn’t sure. As I stood in the rain looking over the castle I found myself chatting to a man called Billy who, as it turned out, was actually the current owner of this Castle. He was a fascinating man to talk to, correcting some of my assumptions and telling me a little of the history. He then went on to tell me all about the work that was going on and his plans to fix the castle to a liveable condition again. He hoped that in 2 years, he might be finished, and this wonderful place might be a home once again. So far it had taken him 7 years, just to get through all the planning, testing and rope jumping! The powers that be had finally granted him the permission to go ahead with his plans, and his excitement was clear in his chatter. It was a bold idea of his to give this old home a second chance, but I totally loved his dream. It was well and truly raining by now, so we bid our goodbyes (with him telling me to come and knock on his door in 2 years, and hopefully he would be able to offer me a cup of tea!) I wish I had stopped to take a photo of the castle today, because if I ever can get back, it would have been awesome to see the changes.

Once back in Fred I made a nice coffee and sat trying to work out where else I could go. The walk I had read online for the castle/waterfall led to other sights to see in Ayrshire, most not of interest to me in this grim weather. I didn’t fancy a second waterfall today either, so missed seeing Biglees falls that was nearby too, but there’s always next time right? Google maps flagged up a monument nearby that looked like a curiosity worth trying however. It felt a bit different so I found local parking, and plotted the route there. I was really excited to find that the parking I had spotted not only had a dedicated motorhome parking spot, but it was only a few minutes walk away from the location. As an added bonus it was right by another marina, and as my second gas bottle had just given up as well, it might be worth checking to see if these sold them too.

The Pencil is a monument in Largs, dedicated to the memory of a battle in 1236, where the Scots King Alexander III fought off Vikings that had landed here. It wasn’t a huge or momentous battle by many standards, but the locals wanted to commemorate the ‘Battle of Largs’ with something in 1912, and this was the affordable option they picked. The slender tower is a scaled down replica of a similar tower at Brechin built around 1050. This type of tower was originally used as a refuge, bell tower or treasury, with the only access being via a retractable ladder to the entrance half way up. I took a quick walk out to the monument in the rain, and then returned for my camera, having seen a nice moody shot (see header) The rain got very frustrating very quickly however, spoiling many of the shots I tried to get, so instead I gave up and went back for some tea. The wet weather eased as the dinner was cooked and eaten, and then as I settled for the evening, I noticed a band of light on the horizon. I quickly grabbed my camera, jumped out and bolted over the road to a good position to capture a few handheld shots. Unfortunately, though I really tried, I was unable to get a long exposure and I cursed myself for not bringing my tripod. I ran back to the van, collected it, returned and set up within 10 minutes, but I missed the best of the strong afterglow from the setting sun as it hit the underside of the cloud. I was still able to capture some long exposure shots before the last of the light dimmed completely though, and was over the moon with how these came out because these shots all looked absolutely amazing and dramatic.

What luck this was tonight, and so totally unexpected! After such a wet and disappointing day, this magical light really made up for everything. I went back to the van with a big old smile on my face.

My Adventures

Port Glasgow, Greenock Cut, Back O’ The World, and…

South West Scotland 2021: Part Twelve

15 September 2021

So, today would end up an unexpectedly successful and emotional day, but lets start at the beginning.

A reflection shot of Dumbarton castle this morning proved to be an impossible task – with the view here being non existent due to thick fog. Thinking I could return at any time, I just decided to restart my Inverclyde leg of this trip. I could, after all, return to this spot any time.

My first location today was going to be Port Glasgow, and suddenly I found myself very keen to get a foggy minimalistic picture of the lighthouse here. Without a doubt it was one of the easiest shots to get, and I was there and photographing the sight happily, very quickly. The view was perfect, no background clutter to distract, and the lighthouse close enough to be clear in the frame. As I was playing with focal lengths and slight position changes there was even a guillemot happily diving in and around the waters. Ultimately he gave me one of my favourite shots of this trip so far.

Port Glasgow lighthouse, the fog gave me an awesome minimal landscape

Right here as well was Newark castle, so I walked over to that to explore. It was a really lovely looking building, pretty intact for a castle, and, judging by the signs here, one that you can go inside and visit (closed at this early hour of course!) Sadly the building was surrounded with metal barriers and just beyond the grounds the skyline was marred by cranes and building works from the shipyard behind. Finding any position to get a nice shot was impossible at the moment. In hindsight there are a few spots I could have tried, but I didn’t see them today. To the right however, there was a pier, so instead I went over to have a look there. I am so glad I did, because instantly I could see another minimalistic shot in the fog. The tide was ebbing out and the fog was lifting however, so I needed to be quick to keep it as uncluttered as possible. I needn’t have stressed too much however, the shots again were pretty easy, and worked out lovely! This location was a real gift today!

Since the fog was lifting here, I walked back around the grounds of the castle just to double check, taking a reference photo of that from the back on my phone, and then I popped River back in camper while I quickly took a snap of a sculpture I had seen and liked in the town. Again the clutter behind didn’t really give me a nice photo that I liked, but its a nice memory shot that reminds me of the morning.

With Port Glasgow complete for now, and the fog lifting enough to reveal a blue sky, I decided to go from here to find Greenock cut. There should be a waterfall from an aqueduct here, and from photos online it looked amazing! Not unlike Calder Falls, in that it was high, straight and man made, only for me, today, it was completely non existent – worse than Calder, not a drop fell!! Randomly, as I walked around the site I spotted a small, more natural looking waterfall to the back, and down a steep hill. It looked quite pretty so I climbed down the hill and tried a shot of that instead. It was near impossible to get much closer due to a steep drop from here, and I was a little disappointed at the plant growth cluttering the view from here, but it was still really pleasant. River and I just sat in the sun enjoying the peace for a little while before we left to look for something else. I imagine, if there’s water enough for the aqueduct falls to look nice, this one must look huge!

I’ve no idea what this waterfall might be named (if it has one), but it gave me a shot at this location when the main feature was dry.

Now, here is where I totally deviated off the photographic plan, and decided that I might try and find something totally personal for myself, and not for the pictures. We were so close to a location I had wondered about for so many years, it seemed today would be the perfect time for me to go on a history hunt. The weather was good, clear, and comfortable, and I had my research with me just in case I wanted to brave this.

Lets give you a little backstory here. For many, MANY years I have been researching my family tree. On my grandmothers side, a line leads to this area with my great great Grandfather, Alexander Beith. He was born in Greenock in 1838. His father, John was born in 1805, and his father James in 1759. Both of those men were baptised in Inverkip but their home address was listed as being in a random, unknown place called Ferry de Keith (1805) or Back ‘o’ the World for the preceding years. (what a fabulous place name right?!!) Looking further back, the Beith family have been here since at least 1705, and James’ mother Janet Shearer was also born here in 1731, so this was home to at least a couple of families back then, if not more. Now this place has long since gone and isn’t on any map today. I had never found it despite years of trying. Before this trip however, I decided to really put the internet to the test, and after hours of searching eventually came across 2 old maps that listed ‘Ferret de Keith’, and ‘Back ‘o’ the World’ in a really remote spot near here. It was very unclear exactly where, so I tried to match the maps with google maps, and after several attempts thought I found the correct river and hill markings. I changed the google view from terrain to satellite, and, as I zoomed in, my breath caught. There, indeed, seemed to be an image of the footings of an old ruin of a farmstead, right here! I couldn’t believe it, over 36 years of searching, and here it finally was. I checked the maps again, and again, and this definitely was the place. Well I couldn’t miss checking in person since I was here, right?

little structure visible on google maps right where old maps suggest Back ‘o’ the World might have been

I knew this was going to be a tricky one, since I have never gone off piste as such quite like this before, and I had no idea what to expect. With the complete unknown before me, I left River and my camera gear in the camper, and hiked off into the wilds of the Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, travelling as light as I could. Phone, small packed lunch, water and a light jacket in case of rain.

Having never done this before, I immediately saw there was no path there, (well its not exactly a tourist location lets be fair!) So to start I simply walked the burn. The water levels were so low it was a massive help here. I then found myself following sheep tracks, wading through ferns and tall grass, criss-crossing the burn and low hills. At one point I spotted a sheep trapped in fencing. It was a horrible sight as the poor thing had gotten his horns stuck and there was no way he would ever be able to retract his head through the wire. He’d been here a while struggling too, since the whole square of the fencing was layered up with wool from his neck. I had to help. He panicked even more as I approached, so I covered his face with my jacket, and proceeded to manipulate his head and horns through the square as best as I could. It wasn’t easy, but he kept fairly calm for me, and once I managed it, he shot off away from me, the fence, and the site of his impending doom, running straight down to the river for a desperately needed drink.

I then carried on my way, following more sheep tracks. I waded through more grass and mossy growths, climbed up a steep hill, followed a fence line, gingerly walked across a wooden fence/bridge thing, and saw a dead sheep behind a fence blocking a hidden narrow, but steep, drop to a small burn (that sight made me sad) I hiked another steep hill, climbed over a fence, and walked on and on towards my ancestral home. After a while of this, I finally saw the remains of a stone building. This immediately choked me right up, so I double checked on Google to be sure – and yes – the location pointer had me right on top of the site. I had found it. 36 years of searching, and here it finally was.

first view of the Derelict farmstead that may have been home to my ancestors

I stood for a while, imagining the farming life here some 250 years ago. It might have been tough, but it actually had pretty much everything here to farm successfully. I had a really good look around, spotting not just this ruin, but a curved wall linked to it and hints at other buildings. I sent messages and photos to the children, showing them that this was where their ancestors had lived and worked for at least 4 generations in the 1700’s and early 1800’s, and sat to eat my lunch. I really took in as much of the site as I could, honouring the memories of those people who called this place home. It had been such an adventure getting here, I really didn’t want to leave!

I finally had to say farewell however, and contemplated the long trek back. Opposite the river from here, was a steep hill, a tree plantation and (according to google) a road. It looked tricky, but it was much more direct than the hike I had just struggled through. I decided to give this a try (belated apologies to any landowner if I trespassed by the way!!) I simply hiked straight across from here and tried what I could. Down a steep hill, slipping and sliding as I went, across the river, over a fence, up a steep hill, through a tricky boggy bit in the tree farm, over a rocky crag, fallen and dead tree stumps, more bog and suddenly, I hit the road. It was far from easy, but much quicker, and all I needed to do from here was to follow the road a few miles back to the van. As I walked back to Fred, shaking spiders and grass seeds from my jacket all the way, I found myself with a really big satisfied smile on my face. This had been such an emotional adventure, I was pretty much on a high all the way, despite my exhaustion.

The clouds had begun to roll in by this time, but I didn’t have any great plans for the rest of the day other than a gentle park and view location. This was going to be the Lyle hill view point overlooking Gourock bay, and I hoped for a sunset shot here. As the clouds thickened it gave me some nice moody shots but when it didn’t look like anything else was going to happen, I simply settled for the evening and made myself some dinner. No sunset perhaps, but I had gotten some nice moody shots, that was something, and there was always tomorrow morning. However, as I was eating I spotted a red afterglow in a small section of the sky and jumped out to grab that as well. I’d missed the best of it I realised, but it had coloured a little bit of the sky. I came came back to the van and half hour later had to jump back out again a third time! As blue hour had set in I noticed there was colour hitting a much greater area of the underside of the clouds, and that, teamed with all the town lights that were now on, made the scene look quite stunning!

The red in the sky lasted an eternity, but once it got totally dark, I settled back down for the night and hoped the dawn would be as promising as it hinted. Its a curious thing that sometimes the colour of the sunset lasts mere minutes, and other times it seems to linger on well into darkness. I wonder why that is…

My Adventures

Barr Castle, and Barcraigs Reservoir

South West Scotland 2021: Part Eleven

14 September 2021

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

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

Barr Castle looking pretty drab and grim in the miserable weather

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

Some serious mushroom growth going on here!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dumbarton Castle from across the River Clyde

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