Clachtoll Beach

About six miles further on from Achmelvich is Clachtoll beach which is once again a well known white sand beach in the area and although it is white, I would rate Achmelvich the better of the two.

Once again I spent quite some time here as the tide came in, at first hunting for compositions amongst the rocks at the north end (I'm sure I got a keeper there) and then I focused on the beach itself trying to capture the water patterns as the tide made its way around the rocks. The trouble was that the water was so clear it was hard to spot where the water actually was so, although you can see how I set my tripod for the camera, I'm not really sure I got something of note. The last two photos are the arty farty ones which I wish I'd taken on my camera and not just on the phone because I quite like them, especially the last one.

You are probably wondering about the first two photos and quite right too, because I've not explained what they are of. Photo 2 is a vertebrae from a whale's spine and can be seen right next to the car park to the beach. There's also a little shed here with an interesting display about the wildlife of the area and a really interesting wall chart showing the whales and dolphins and such like which you can see in the region's coastal waters. It is this poster that made me rethink my observation of a humpback versus minke whale.

The first photo is taken at a Geospot and what a view from there - just look at those mountains! In the next footprint you'll see the significance of this place, but in case you are wondering, a Geospot is a pull-in by the side of the road with information boards explaining the geology of the area, which is very different to the rest of the UK. There are loads of these scattered throughout the Highlands and as a set they explain in detail why this area is geologically different and about the different kinds of rocks you can see. You can download an App for your phone which, when you arrive at a Geospot, will leap into life and tell you all sorts of interesting facts. At least that's what it says in the blurb because I haven't actually downloaded it. Oh dear!もっと詳しく