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Scotland 2018

August 2018
A photographic adventure to the Scottish Highlands accompanied, undoubtedly, by rain and midges. How will I cope, where will I get to, how much water and midge activity will I be able to take?
Follow me to find out! Read more
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  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 6

    Survived, Dry and Warm

    August 22, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    It turned out that weather forecast was wrong ... and my goodness did it rain and it was quite windy too, though it may not have been quite as bad as it sounds in a small tent. The wind howled around the car which Rob had strategically parked to help give shelter from the storm, but the tent held firm and Rob could be heard shouting, “Ah Jim boy, lash down them guys” which caused a great deal of interest amongst the other campers as to what on earth might be happening in such a small tent on a night such as this. The important thing is Rob did actually manage to get into the tent and stay dry, the tent was dry and once he got used to the sound of the wind and rain he drifted off to sleep as warm and as comfortable as can be ... and he then lived happily ever after. (That sentence needed to end like that even though it’s complete nonsense.) The guys remained suitably lashed.

    So all was well ... until the morning, of course, when the Midges made up for a lack of feasting the night before and Rob had left the head net and Skin So Soft in the car. Six feet, five bites - but it could have been much worse. There’s better weather predicted for today with 15c forecast and showers this afternoon, so hopefully there’s some proper photography to be had because tomorrow it’ll be time to move on.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 6

    Another Hard Day at the Office

    August 22, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    After having breakfast and drinking the essential coffee fix, Rob began sorting himself out for the day. He’d received an email the previous evening about a major server failure in a school so was expecting a call about that at any time. Then the phone rang and for the rest of the morning Rob’s car became the mobile office for Design IT. After a few phone calls and some directed activity in the school, the servers were started again and Rob was able to remotely log-in to the school’s systems using his laptop to check all was okay. All was okay, but you have to be impressed with the technology going on there ... remotely connecting to computer systems in The Midlands from the back seat of a car in a campsite on the Isle of Skye. Be amazed.

    The plan then was to go back to the Quiraing and see if the weather was different to yesterday but as soon as Rob got within view of it he could see the cloud still shrouded the landscape. The decision was made to turn around and go to the other location he’d planned for the day: The Fairy Pools or, to be more accurate, the waterfall cascades in Glen Brittle. Rob had a feeling of what he might find there but the reality was still a bit of a shock.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 6

    Revisiting the Fairy Pools

    August 22, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    It was true: The Fairy Pools were now a tourist magnet and there were literally hundreds of people attracted to the location like Midges to a human. There is a car park but you can’t get near it for the cars, Land Rovers, camper vans etc etc all parked along the sides of the road. It didn’t really help that the car park charge was £5 which most likely tended to discourage people from using it. Things will change very soon though because the car park is being massively extended, then fences will be installed to stop roadside parking. Perhaps the charges are to fund that but, in any case, Rob managed to park the car ... just about. However, it was the first sight of the Fairy Pools that was so disappointing. Even from the beginning of the path leading to the cascades you could see the whole area was infested with tourists so the possibility of getting photos up there was remote. Clearly, August is not such a good time to be visiting Skye.

    All was not lost however because just like his visit to the Storr, if you left the main path there were quieter areas and in this case there was waterfall where hardly anyone went. This is where Rob spent his time until almost 7pm and visitors were still arriving as he left. In the end Rob was happy with the photographs he took here ... not the type of photos he expected to get on Skye, but it was enjoyable taking them all the same. Looks like ‘Impressive Landscapes of Skye’ isn’t going to be the theme for a calendar this year!

    The evening meal was taken in a nearby pub which was, as everywhere seems to be, very busy. However, being only one Rob meant he was found a small table straight away and while eating he spent time chatting to one of the locals about the growing problems of what is now mass tourism on the island. The Internet has changed things so now it’s so easy to find out about the places to visit and what needs adding to everyone’s Bucket List. That was his view and he’s probably right.

    So now the day draws to a close. The visit to Glen Brittle was a bit of a journey back in time as this is the place where Rob & Julie were rescued when the weather turned against them and the route back to the car park was cut off by swollen rivers. Hardly anyone was around then and there were only three cars parked when they started their walk. It was good to visit in better weather, even though there were still showers passing through, but Rob still didn’t get to photograph the Fairy Pools which means only one thing - he will need to return, but not in August!    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    1
    Day 7

    Elgol

    August 23, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Rob made it to the tent without getting wet but couldn’t get to sleep straight away because the wind and rain intensified, shaking the tent quite violently. It wasn’t that Rob was worried he’d be blown away and end up in the river, but the noise of the fabric shaking. So he decided to check the weather forecast for the next few days only to find it was wall to wall showers and cooling temperatures. The decision therefore was to move-on and head to Northumberland, which was always the intention, and to fit that in Rob would have to leave soon in any case. Eventually he fell asleep and the next thing he knew it was time to get up - to find a nice anti-Midge breeze and the hint of some sunshine. During breakfast however the first of the showers blew through ... definitely time to leave.

    Having sorted another coffee and a couple of ginger nut biscuits, Rob looked at the route to get to Northumberland and where he might stay when there. He certainly fancied B&B that night simply to take a shower at leisure, rather than hurriedly finishing up before he got too cold which is the joy of the loo block on a camp site! Pitlochry was chosen for the overnight stay and options considered for the weekend. Then, having taken-down the tent and packed everything away, he began the 160 mile drive ... Scotland is bigger than you think.

    On the way to the bridge to the mainland is the turning to Elgol, which is a bit of an iconic photo location, so even though the weather and lighting wasn’t brilliant, Rob decided to drive the 15 miles to go and take a look and it was well worth the detour. Rob took some photos en-route and also after a lunch snack at a really nice shop/cafe in Elgol, at the top of the hill just up from the public conveniences. You get the idea from the phone photos in this footprint ... not about the public loos, but about Elgol and the kind of view you get toward the Cuillins across the water.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 7

    Travelling East

    August 23, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Eventually it really was time for Rob to start the journey to Pitlochry. As he travelled eastwards the weather got better and better. There wasn’t much time for sightseeing as Rob had spent (yet again) too much time at a location but he did stop quickly to capture this shot which shows more clearly which mountain is likely to be Ben Nevis. Hopefully the biggest one is the one.

    Rob made it just in time to the hotel where he was staying or, more accurately, he arrived ten minutes after the restaurant closed but the person on reception sorted things. That was really appreciated.

    The weather this evening is the best so far and Rob was a little peeved that when a reasonable sunset was to be had, he was in no position to take advantage of it. The weather forecast for the next few days is for sun and cloud with an occasional thunderstorm. Okay, the thunderstorm bit isn’t so good but, just maybe, this might create some moody lighting. Fingers crossed.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 8

    Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland

    August 24, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    It has to be said that the journey down from Pitlochry was uneventful and somewhat boring. The first bit isn’t so bad but as you go further south you leave the mountains behind and the roads become more substantial. Rob had already joined the main A9 route yesterday evening and it’s the A9 he followed to Edinburgh where the A1 continues south to England. The A9, like the A1 afterwards, is a mixture of dual carriageway sections interspersed with good two lane roads but the road planners in Scotland clearly operate on logic not of this world. The dual carriageways are fine, being a limit of 70mph as you’d expect. The normal road sections are then 60mph, also as you’d expect, except that for some unfathomable reason there is a trial speed limit of 50mph for lorries. There are a lot of lorries, so it means no-one can ever reach 60 as it’s near-nigh impossible to overtake a lorry on that road. Oh, and the roads are religiously monitored with average speed cameras. Furthermore, there are sections reduced to 30mph for roadworks that don’t exist and electronic information signs saying things like “Are your eyes fit for driving” and “Soft tyres waste fuel” which, of course, everyone is so grateful for. Rob was hoping to see more useful signs such as “Do not eat yellow snow”, “Keep windows open while vaping”, or the fact everyone forgets “Do not sleep and drive”, not forgetting the extremely informative “Hats keep bald heads warm”. Anyway, eventually Rob arrived at Bamburgh in the hope of getting a coastal castle photo.

    Weather-wise it was as predicted with plenty of sun around, stormy clouds and showers. No hint of thunder though, but it all looked promising to get Bamburgh castle lit by the sun with dark storm clouds as a backdrop set on a sandy beach with tall grasses for decoration. Success? No!

    When he arrived, Rob took the phone photos first because they’re quick to do and if he doesn’t do that he can forget to take the photos for you to see, which is what happened a few times in Iceland. So what happened then? Well, you can see those dark clouds in the photos but just as Rob had the composition he wanted and was ready the clouds obscured the sun and within five minutes the rain was hammering down on the car window. Rob sat in the car for over half an hour as it got darker and wetter, then he left to go to find where he was staying for the next three nights.

    No photographs today then and now Rob is starting to get a little disheartened. Tomorrow’s forecast is sunny with clouds and no rain, but on Sunday it’s supposed to rain all day. It would therefore be really good if tomorrow turns out to be a successful photography day. The aim is to get some coastal shots, including a castle, or patterns in the rocks or sands. “Tomorrow is a new day” ... there must be a sign for that.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 9

    Embleton Bay

    August 25, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    You have a real treat today because Rob has transferred a photo from his ‘real’ camera so you can see what he didn’t manage to achieve. The main picture of this footprint is actually taken towards the end of the day and in one of the other photos you can see exactly where he took it, though in the phone shot the sun was a little higher so there’s more light on the castle ruins. The main photo however was set up to be an almost seven minute exposure to get that soft look in the sky. Due to the way that’s taken it actually takes fourteen minutes to capture so this was very much a final opportunity because the light would be completely gone afterwards. So, after a fourteen minute wait the result looked great on the back of the camera but when Rob checked he found it wasn’t in focus: Damn and Fish Ladder! These things happen, though they shouldn’t of course, but you get the idea and as long as you don’t look too closely it’s kind of okay ... and it wasn’t the best of the light in any case. :-(

    The day had started with Rob seriously oversleeping which was a bit of a surprise as he wasn’t all that tired at bedtime. During breakfast he confirmed the weather for the day (excellent) though that was pretty obvious given the sky was almost clear blue on the way in. It didn’t stay that way for long but there was plenty of sunshine and pleasant temperatures right through the day. If only it’d been like this in Scotland, it was really nice.

    Having confirmed visiting details with Rob’s friends in North Yorkshire, where he’s staying for a couple of nights on the way home, he headed north back towards Bamburgh to look for photo opportunities along that area of the coast, with the aim to be in Embleton Bay around tea time to hopefully catch the evening light around Dunstanburgh Castle.

    Most of his time today was mooching around on beaches so he hasn’t bored you with those photos. It was a relaxing time though with no pressure on where to be or what to do except knowing where he needed to be around 6pm and he’d already chosen exactly where he would be parking the car. And so it was.

    It was still bright and sunny when he arrived at Embleton and though there were a few people around it was really quiet given it was a holiday weekend, though it was getting towards tea time so maybe they'd all simply gone home. Sunset was around 8.15pm so again Rob spent time looking for compositions as the tide receded. He’s not sure he got anything worth showing but somehow all of a sudden it was 7.30. He spent a little time chatting with a young couple from Newcastle which isn’t all that far away of course. The girlfriend was patiently waiting for her boyfriend to take his shot then the talk went photography, cameras and places they’d like to go. Looks like Iceland gets two more tourists at some point as that’s a location they’d already placed on their list.

    In the end it was a late finish and almost completely dark when Rob got back to the car. A bright star guided Rob to a McDonald's for his evening meal though it didn’t turn out to be much of a religious experience and he even almost enjoyed it. The star was actually Mars, by the way, and there was an impressive full moon too.

    Tomorrow is the last day of the trip with the forecast rainy, the same as pretty much everywhere it seems, so a quiet day in store perhaps? Rob will have the camera gear with him and is sure to capture something but who knows what that will be.

    (In case you’re wondering, the evening shoot wasn’t a disaster because there are other photos which were okay.)    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 10

    Blyth and Whitley Bay

    August 26, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    The weather today was most likely the same as everywhere else in the UK ... yuk! It started dull and cloudy then the rain set in for the day assisted by a cold wind, so it didn’t matter if Rob went north or south because neither would bring better weather. Rob went south.

    The day, then, was one of exploration and mostly spent in the car but with the odd excursion to look at a view (misty and dull) or to simply stretch his legs. It didn’t look as though any form of photography would be done today.

     Let’s say it was just the weather conditions today, but Rob’s impression of the coastal resorts south of Ashington was reminiscent of Bilston or Heathtown but by the sea. This may be immensely unfair but the area did have that ‘tired old holiday town’ feel about it. At one point road signs (proudly) announced ‘Battleship Wharf’ which sounded exciting and worth a visit, but it turned out to be a derelict dock area. Clearly this area was a hive of activity years ago. Ashington was a serious coal mining town and there are numerous dockyards which clearly haven’t been used for a long time.

    Blythe is proud of its multi-coloured beach huts and includes them on its town signs. They’re also a recommended photographic feature but they are actually no more than ten huts in a row and just didn’t look special today. Rob took a snapshot as you can see, but Blyth’s huts would have really benefited from blue sky and sun. There’s what looks like a lovely pier there too but it was too cold and windy to find the enthusiasm to go and explore it. Or maybe Rob’s just a wimp: Blyth has a team of young beach lifesavers who patrol the beach front wearing red tee shirts and they seemed happy to wear only those tee shirts and shorts. Makes you shiver just thinking about it.

    The best place visited today was Whitley Bay which surprised Rob when he saw a pavilion style building on the sea front which, as you can see from one of the photos, is compared to the Taj Mahal. Clearly the people of Whitley Bay have fertile imaginations, or maybe it’s just the council trying to be cool, but it’s an impressive looking building all the same.

    Whitley Bay definitely had a more up-market feel to it and it is apparently very busy when the weather is good, but it wasn’t today. There’s still the traditional English seaside town features - amusements arcades, chip shops, small fun fair, usual shops etc, but there are also some nice places for coffee and/or snacks which are more refined. All car parks are pay and display which immediately tells you this is where the people come. North of here all the signs advise that ‘Parking is Free All Day’ which when translated means ‘Please park here we need the tourism’.

    Still no photography though and by 5pm Rob was somewhat bored.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 10

    St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay

    August 26, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    There was one location in Whitley Bay Rob had in mind for a photo opportunity: St Mary’s Lighthouse. It’s built on a small island just offshore (yes, if it wasn’t offshore it wouldn’t be an island) and is connected by a road which gets submerged at high tide (yes, that’s a causeway ... stop trying to be clever!) When Rob arrived the tide was on the way out and there was a gathering of people standing there waiting for the waters to subside, which they did after around 20 minutes or so. Amazingly, the rain stopped too so Rob had a bit of a scout around looking for a suitable composition then went and got the camera gear from the car. The conditions were nowhere near ideal but as this may well be the last photo opportunity of the trip, it had to be done. No photos were taken though.

    Just as Rob was setting up and thinking it probably wasn’t going to be all that rewarding, a local man arrived and started to chat. He had his two dogs and his Nikon camera, just in case, and he agreed the lighting was somewhat boring. They chatted for quite a while about photography and the local area and about how he’s always up at 5am and loves taking his dogs and camera for walk in those early hours. At this point Rob wished he was a morning person!

    Afterwards, Rob packed up and left and had driven about four miles back towards where he was staying when the light suddenly changed. It was 20 minutes to sunset so he quickly turned around and headed back to the lighthouse but by the time he got there the light had changed again. He grabbed the camera and tripod in any case just to see what he could get and by now it was a pleasant evening so why not? Once again it was almost dark when he left but hopefully he got a result ... it won’t be the best photo in the world, probably not even a keeper but once again it was great being there as the light faded. There is just something about photography that relaxes the mind and all your worries and concerns evaporate away as you concentrate on the moment. Rob was so pleased the day ended like this.

    Tomorrow he goes to North Yorkshire to stay with his friends for a couple of nights and on Tuesday maybe a day out walking. He’ll have his phone with him of course but maybe not the camera, though he might, so there may yet be another instalment before this trip draws to a close.    Read more

  • TravelerScotland 2018
    Day 12

    Harry Potter at Goathland

    August 28, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    One of the locations used in the Harry Potter films was the railway station at Goathland in North Yorkshire, which is where Rob’s friends live ... in Goathland that is, not at the railway station.

    The journey down was quite straightforward other than a massive delay due to roadworks at one point though there was no-one working of course, as it was a Bank Holiday, but everyone had to suffer all the same. Goathland was packed with tourists as Rob arrived and although it may be nice to think everyone was there waiting for him to arrive (he can clearly be quite deluded at times) they were there to see the station, ride the steam train or visit the locations in the village which were used in the TV series ‘Heartbeat’, which is not a programme Rob watched so it was difficult to see what all the fuss was about. They all looked happy though.

    After coffee and home-made cake they went for a walk around the area, including visiting the station of course, then came home for the evening. Tomorrow there is more walking planned ending in Whitby. Should be good.    Read more

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