Random Photographs

I thought that I would post some random photographs from the past year that have been sitting on my desktop for a long time. All taken using an iPhone when I have been out walking along the canal, apart from the one taken at Stirling Castle.

Wester Ross

Years ago, during my undergraduate years, I used to take a break with my father in September for a week. It was usually to go somewhere hill walking as he had a week off from work in September and it coincided nicely before I left for university each year.

I have great memories from these trips and usually came back super fit from just a week of hillwalking or Munro Bagging as it is commonly known. I am keenly aware of how fortunate I am to have this time with my father and it has been the source of many memories I have thought about over the years since then.

Although it had nothing to do with hill walking, one of my fondest memories the second year that we went together was phoning home to find out that I had got into The University of St Andrews. It had been a stressful summer waiting to find out as it was the only university I had applied to. Putting all your eggs in one basket? Moi? It started the ball rolling towards my higher education. Little did I know at the time that I would still be in higher education for the next eight years.

This year, as I had accumulated a little too much vacation time from my own work, I had the opportunity to rekindle the September get away with my father. We visited Wester Ross, in particular the Gairloch area. I used to spend a lot of time in this area when I was younger as it was a favourite holiday location of my parents and I had become very attached to the area as I grew up.

Click to see the larger image.

Although no hillwalking was taken on this trip we did spend a lot of time walking and travelling around the area, and booking dinner at the Old Inn every night! It was a welcome break from the central region and it was nice that there is no cellular reception whatsoever. Like, none. But there was wifi at the campsite and the Old Inn, as long as 512kb/s is your thing. This isn’t a complaint, but it is reality in this area.

We also had the worst coffee in all of Scotland at Mountain Coffee, primarily because it was close to the campsite. It is perfect if you like Starbucks prices and dishwater tasting coffee. I also had a nice surprise at the Gale Centre, they have an amazing Rain Garden which I must add to the 10000 Rain Gardens for Scotland Project.

Anyway, I did take some photos, primarily to see what the iPhone 11 Pro could do with the new cameras, which did not disappoint me especially in low light. I have a lot of landscape photographs below because it is hard to take photographs in such a beautiful place without being in landscape :-)

Gairloch Bay from Strath.

Gairloch Bay at dusk.

Across Gairloch Bay towards Free Church of Scotland

From Cove looking back towards Poolewe and the Isle of Ewe

Stac Pollaidh in the middle with Beinn an Eoin on the left with its summit covered in cloud.

Sparkling trail for you to follow

I visited the Carron Dams Local Nature Reserve this afternoon with the bright and sunny weather providing an ideal time to get some photographs of the recently installed sculptures. The reserve is a unique, wetland environment and is a legacy of the Carron Company which dominated the local landscape for over 200 years. 

Carron Company was founded in 1759 and in many respects drove the industrial revolution in Scotland. It acted as the mother ship for 100 years developing expertise around it, and providing the spark that prompted Glasgow to become the industrial giant it was. It’s national and global impact was remarkable, and its products remain widely known. Carron Dams was once the reservoir that powered Carron ironworks’ blast furnaces. It is now a wetland with several routes through the surrounding woodland.

There are many activities going on around the area but the reserve is well known for (dog) walking and cycling (especially mountain biking), but on a sunny day it is a great reserve to wander around and take in some clean air, now that the industry of the past has gone. I have added a fewof the pictures below, if you are local to this area I highly recommend a visit.

The snail has trail behind it with the words “Leaving my sparkling legacy. A trail for you to follow”.

New Year 2019

I think it is only appropriate to start this post by saying “Happy New Year” to my readers/followers. I have spent most of the festive period in digital isolation, which is a cute way of saying i have spent most of it in front of the television watching marathon sessions of Netflix. The only interaction I have in these periods is Netflix asking me if I am still watching? How do you disable that annoying feature anyway, if I wanted it paused I’d train the cat to pause it on command. My apple watch also tells me to get up once an hour, but I just put it round the cats neck to make sure that it thinks I am moving and alive.

I did venture out on New Years Day with absolutely no idea where I was going to drive to but I did have the foresight to pack my camera. As I pulled out of the driveway I had two thoughts, Fife or the Trossachs. The latter dominating my thoughts primarily as I was in the wrong lane on the motorway for Fife as I sailed past the junction.

The Trossachs generally refers to an area of wooded glens and braes with quiet lochs, lying to the east of Ben Lomond in the Stirling council area of Scotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at the centre of the area, but is now generally applied to the wider region. It is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park which opened in 2002.

I have posted below two shots, Loch Ard and the Lake of Mentieth. I was a little late for sunset, but I did manage to get a few locations that I can go back to.

Loch Ard at dusk

The Lake of Mentieth at dusk