THE BEST OF THE REST: Fall Scotland 2018 Part 3

This post is made up of the Best of the Rest of my photos from the fall trip to Scotland. These haven’t been seen in the blogs from this trip, but deserve some viewing time. And I have a request for those of you who view the blog—give me some feedback on the photos. If I get the usual three or four responses, I’ll appreciate your comments, but I’ll also be disappointed. I really want to hear from those who follow the blog. Specifically, I want to know which photo or photos you suggest I consider for art shows; which photos have artistic merit and quality of composition to enter into an art competition, like a judged show. Also, which photos should I consider for making prints for framing to sell when we set up our book and photo booth at fairs and shows. Sometimes, but not always, a photo might end up in both category. Winter is the time when I can get ready for sales and shows, so your help would be appreciated. The photos in this post are organized into arbitrary categories for convenience, but don’t let that affect your choices when considering photos for sales and/or shows. I hope you enjoy the challenge I’m asking you to take on—it’s sort of what I do whenever I’m in a gallery or looking through someone’s portfolio of work at a shop of booth.

FLORA AND FAUNA

There were plenty of flowers in bloom on this trip to Scotland, but this photo of the fronds blowing in the wind is the one I like best.

Hielan'Coos (Highland or hairy cows) always make for a good photo, particularly with the sheep in the background.

Reindeer were reintroduced to Scotland in the 1950s. Now the Cairngorm herd numbers around 200. After hiking up to the herd, we wandered among them and this guy just walked right up to me looking for a handout.

Tough photo to get--a fast moving gannet skimming the water while I photograph from a car ferry bouncing in the chop.

This harbour seal (or is it a sea lion?) was a much easier target. in the Pittenwee, Harbour He was as curious about me as I was about him.

ARCHITECTURE

This grotesque was on display at Elgin Cathedral after having been in storage for decades. Grotesques and gargoyles (those with water spouts) were meant to remind church goers of the the devil's fearsome work.

A picturesque house at Pittenweem Harbour.

Dean Village (a section of Edinburgh) is one of the few places I've seen to make  drain pipes into art.

A lovely stairway in Falkland Village.

One of the features of Falkland Village is the dated lintels above doorways.  In this case, even though the doorway is gone, the lintel announces that GB married MH in 1686 and moved into this dwelling.

PEOPLE ARE IMPORTANT

J L Gills in Crieff may not be the largest whisky shop in Scotland, but largely due to its owner, Andrew Cuthbert, it probably has the most personality.

You can see the rain is on the way, but the wind is already here.

Speaking of wind, just try to get a good picture in the wind on a fast moving ferry.

A group of hunters hiking to their hunting ground were spotted through the trees near the Roman Bridge.

The story: inside the old section of Dunkeld Cathedral a father patiently answers his young daughters questions.

At the park beside Dunkeld Cathedral, Anne contemplates the River Tay--which was as high as we've ever seen it.

THE PLACE IS THE THING

Looking up toward Drummond Castle from the formal gardens. The gardens were used in the Outlander TV series to represent Versailles Garden.

Part of Dean Village, just north of Edinburgh's downtown area.

The skeleton of Elgin Cathedral which at one time rivaled St Andrews Cathedral for size and power.

A typical Highland croft with resident locals.

Glen Lyon in Perthshire has one of the tightest drives in a country of narrow roads.

A small island (I think it might be Swona) we passed on our way to St Margaret's Hope on the Orkney Islands. 

The Italian Chapel on the Orkney island Lamb Holm was built by Italian POWs during World War II. The ornate chapel is now privately maintained and is a real gem.

Midhowe Chambered Cairn on Rousay is a Neolithic burial tomb more than 27 meters long which has been preserved within a cement hanger and is viewed from paths on scaffolding which runs the length of the tomb. The remains of 25 people have been found in the tomb.

The Roman Bridge in Glen Lyon is not of Roman origin having been built in the 15th or 16 century --the Romans left the British Isles in the 4th century. "Roman" most likely refers to the Roman-style arch of the bridge's design.

Skaill Bay Beach, on the main Orkney island, is one of the many picturesque beaches throughout Scotland. 

The Standing Stones of Stenness (Orkney) are the remains of what was once a 12-stone circle built in about 3100 BC. It may be the oldest henge in the British Isles and the stones stand as high as 16 feet.

The village of Dunkeld seems to fit the black and white format.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

Edinburgh Arches

An Edinburgh close or alley looking down from the Royal Mile toward Princess Street.

Doorway

My shadow on a bakery window create "Pie Man."

A rainy street in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Anne meets Sausage Man.

On the small island of Rousay it's hard to find a street for Street Photography, so I had to resort to Farm Road Photography. This road is the main road around the island.

NEXT: There may be some new or new/old travel stories to share.

Fall Scottish Trip, Part 3

Misty Mountains

We still hunt for fall or autumn colours, but in the far north and on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides fall most often shows up in rain puddles and brown heather and bracken. Still we search. 

Before we headed north we got a chance to play one of our favorite golf courses, Crail Balcomie about seven miles from St Andrews.

Anne is dressed for a cool windy day on Crail Balcomie GC.

The 14th green at Crail.

The day was lovely, but the course was well defended by the Scottish sea breezes. Weather service reports forecast winds of 30 mph with higher gusts and,

It was so windy I had to lay up on the relatively short par 3 16th. 

Good friend and Crail Head Pro, Graham Lennie, wished us luck as we headed out into the wind.

as they are more times than we like to admit, they were correct. It was a fun, strategic round of golf in a lovely location.

Crail Harbour

The roofs of Crail.

After getting blown around on the course for three and a half hours, we still had enough energy to wander one of the prettiest little harbours in Scotland, Crail.  

Our first stop on our trip to the north was a special two night stay—self-catering in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage at Buchan Ness Lighthouse. 

Our car sits in front of our cottage at the lighthouse.

As the Northern Lighthouse Board has automated the lighthouses, the staff cottages and outbuildings have become redundant (a good British term). Many are now being converted to apartments for long or short-term hire. 

Anne steps out of the kitchen onto the deck of our cottage.

Skerry Cottage was the Head Lighthouse Keeper's cottage.

The Buchan Ness light was completed in 1827 under the direction of Robert Stevenson (author Robert Louis Stevenson’s grandfather) and then converted to electric in 1978. The light was automated ten years later. 

A peat fire doesn't add a lot of warmth, but it is cheery on a stormy night.

Now, two cottages are available for rent. We stayed in the Skerry Cottage for two nights. 

From there it was a four and a half hour drive to the Cluanie Inn among the Five Sisters of Kintail (see last post). We took the north route along the Aberdeenshire and Morayshire coast with a stop in the small village of Portsoy. 

Portsoy was established in 1550 when the first harbour there was developed. A stone harbour was built in 1692 and a new harbour was completed further out in 1825 and had to be rebuilt in 1839 because of storm damage. 

Many of the buildings surrounding this complex date back to the early 1700s.  After a night in the Cluanie Inn, we ventured on to the Isle of Skye.

Between the Cluanie Inn and Skye we found plenty to grab our attention—mountains,

Small waterfalls were all around on a rainy day.

waterfalls, 

An unnamed burn near the Five Sisters.

castles, 

Eilean Donan Castle

and dramatic scenery, 

Houses built along a Highland loch.

A memorial to local lads lost in World War I.

The Isle of Skye is made up of four peninsulas (Sleat, Duirinish, Waternish, and Trotternish). Before checking in to our B&B in Portree (Trotternish), we wanted to explore Sleat in the south. 

On the recommendation of the owner of a leather shop in Armadale we drove a narrow and tortuous single-track loop road

Took its time getting out of the road and then stared us down.

from the east coast of the peninsula to the west and back. With no real villages (or services) on the route filled with blind hairpin turns and road summits where you can’t see what’s beneath your wheels until they land, this is not a road for the inexperienced UK driver.

Just an everyday hazard on most single-track roads in Scotland.

The loop, though, was absolutely filled with fall colours and grand views. Worth the effort, if you’re brave enough.

From the Sleat Peninsula it was a forty minute drive to our home base in Portree for four days, Duirinish B&B.

NEXT: Isle of Skye, Auto Adventures, and the Highlands, but that will have to wait until we are back home and recovered from jetlag.