A bizarre and beautiful folly (folly - costly ornamental building with no practical purpose, especially a tower or mock-Gothic ruin built in a large garden or park). Yes, I had to google the definition.

The Pineapple, often described as the most bizarre building Scotland, is located in Dunmore Park, near Airth in Stirlingshire. The Pineapple was built in 1761 by the Earl of Dunmore as a summerhouse where he could appreciate the views from his estate. At this time pineapples were among Scotland's most exotic foods. The Dunmore estate was broken up and sold in lots in 1970 and the Pineapple was originally bought by the Countess of Perth and subsequently given to the National Trust for Scotland.

To be honest I am not sure what the National Trust is doing with this amazing place, it's almost as if they don't want people to visit it. The road into the car park is very poorly signposted and the road itself is derelict. There are some nice woodland walks around the folly and the gardens. From what I witnessed, on a sunny Friday afternoon, it is very popular and many people take the time to visit. Don't take the lack of people in my photographs as a sign of how popular this place is though, it's more a sign of my patience than anything.

For some reason I remember going to this building when I was very young and thought it was somewhere in the south of Scotland. Much to my amazement, it's roughly 15 minutes drive away. I have been planning to visit the Pineapple for some time and as it was a rather nice sunny day it seemed like the perfect time to go. I am happy that I took this chance with some free time that I had today.

I took a few different shots, mostly long exposures as the clouds were moving and I like the effect that this creates in photographs (at some point I have to stop with the big stopper). For those on desktops/tablets larger versions can be seen by tapping/clicking on the thumbnail :-)

An impromptu trip to Glencoe with @alycoste at the weekend. With lightning and thunderstorms predicted for the Saturday we used the power of positive thinking to keep the bad weather away. Ok I used the power of positive thinking and Alayne laughed at my attempt to sway the universe. Although it was very humid on Saturday afternoon, the rain kept away, mostly. Sunday was very hot and sunny and we both got sunburnt! Ah Scotland, how I love your twisted sense of humour. We visited four different areas over two days, The Lost Valley, Ballachullish, Glencoe Lochan and Glen Etive.

The Lost Valley

A valley that the McDonald's used to hide stolen cattle in. I have no idea how they got cattle up into this area though, in some areas it's a bit of a scramble to get up! There are lots of great places to stop for photographs, especially the pools and waterfalls on the way up to the valley floor (it's a hanging valley).

Ballachulish

Surrounded by some of the most dramatic and beautiful scenery in Scotland, Ballachulish is a perfect base for exploring the amazing landscape of Glencoe. This village used to be the 'slate capital' of Scotland and the disused quarries can be still seen nearby. The bridge connects North and South Ballachulish. We got there around nine at night hoping for a great sunset but as can be seen there was a fair bit of cloud still hanging around.

Glencoe Lochan

Glencoe Lochan is a tract of forest located just north of Glencoe village. It was planted/transplanted from the Pacific Northwest of Canada in the nineteenth century by Donald Alexander Smith and the area around the lochan is often said to look like a miniature Lake Louise in British Columbia. His wife, Isabella, became homesick after moving to this estate in 1895 and he built this Lochan in an attempt to abate his wife's depression. Alas, she moved back to Canada anyway. Another Scotsman spurned by a crazy Canadian woman. ;-)

Glen Etive

Quite possibly my favourite place in the Glencoe area. I have spent many happy days going down the River Etive in a kayak, however, the river was lower than I have ever seen it due to the dry spell that Scotland has been experiencing. The Glen Etive road meanders for some 14 miles to the head of Loch Etive, where it ends at a car park and an old rusty pier, with some of the most spectacular views in Scotland.