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| Chalk Cliffs, Seaford Head, England |
We’d been planning this trip since 2018, and it had suffered two COVID - related postponements. We were ready. Our dear English friends had volunteered to do most of the planning and we were so grateful. We told them that we were more interested in the countryside than cities and museums and (we might have regretted this request) that we wanted to see as much as we could. They planned everything and drove us around Scotland in a jaunty rented bright blue MG. That being said, the pace was impressive, and the days are long in Scotland in June. There was just one opportunity to nap in two weeks.
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| Glasgow Cathedral |
We spent about a half-day each in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and London. London in particular was surreal because we arrived by train from their home in Surrey and poof, there we were walking along the Thames.
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| Highland Cow |
It’s always good to have an idea of the iconic visuals when
I’m traveling; the things which help tell the story of the place. If I don’t know what I’m
looking for, I won’t see it. The most elusive project was finding Highland
cattle (“coos” locally.) All through Skye and the Highlands, I obnoxiously
reminded my 3 non-photographer companions (who were just trying to have a nice
trip) to keep looking for the beasts. For days on
end. Ultimately we found them, on our last half-day in Scotland, on
the battlefield at Culloden of all places. You’ve got to admit
they’re compelling.
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| Scottish Lamb |
Sheep, on the other hand, were almost literally
everywhere. They’re better looking than ours in the states, and the
lambs are irresistible.
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| Eilean Donan Castle |
Stone structures are iconic and ubiquitous
too. Ruins, bridges, huge cairns, castles, and plenty of homes and businesses
which still operate. Just about everything is older there than in
the states.
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| Fairy Pools |
We were thrilled to see so many waterfalls and pools. Despite the lack of rain while we were there (zero), we were surrounded by water and engulfed in green.
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| A very early sunrise, Skye |
Did I mention that the days were long? Really long? If you count civil twilight at each end, there were 20 or more hours of light. This poses an issue when trying to catch early light in the morning. At around 4:00 AM. Sometimes after a rather (ahem) social evening.
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| Loch Lomond Sunrise through the window |
Sometimes I stumbled out to shoot sunrise, and sometimes I
set up the tripod in our bedroom, shot out the window, replaced the blackout
curtains, and crawled back in bed. Sometimes I missed it.
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| Mosaic, Loch Lomond |
I have to remind myself, on trips with really expansive views, to keep an eye to the details. They, too, are there if I look for them.
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| From the pub, Ben Nevis Trailhead |
The views out the windows of our accommodations, from pubs,
and from castles-turned-museums were so impressive that I couldn’t resist
documenting them, too.
