Road? It’s really a 12 mile single track “B” grade metalled or tarred road to an alcove of unspoilt Harris beauty. Hushinish the most westerly point on Harris and Lewis emits a contented solitude that envelops. Your worries calm, soaking in a landscape as devils fall from the shoulder. Inhale and rejuvenate over and over. The back is straight. Head rises as eyes blink clear, lungs fill then walk anew. Carrying no burden. Becoming a sprite upon the beach.
Eilean Glas Lighthouse on the island of Scalpay is a gem. Tower of red and white gloss painted brickwork surrounded by dishevelled outbuildings and a huge rusty fog horn. It lies north west of the northern most top of Skye protecting shipping from the turbulent Minch waters.
On leaving the campsite on Isle of Harris Scotland I noticed someone waiting for a bus, so I offered a lift. One of many pleasures of rural Scottish highlands is be friendly and you get friendly. They love to share the island and the culture with you.
Hebridean weather is driven by the jetsteam and prevailing south west atlantic winds. I experienced many changes from sunshine, howling horizontal rain, oodles of rainbows then beautiful sunshine – within an hour. Photography becomes a waiting game, but unlike most places it changes quickly so you often get your wish many times in one day.
The Catalan landscape has a similar look to typical Scottish rural landscapes. Catalonia has a different climate to most of Spain due to the Pyrenees. This has the effect of causing more rainfall, providing a greener landscape and colder winters than the rest of Spain. Scottish summers do not compare, but somehow the effects on the countryside draws similarities.
This beach is on Scotland’s north-west coastline and was the location for the wonderful movie Local Hero. On this visit the weather was dreich, as a gloomy low pressure system lingered all day. I love coastlines and can easily spend a whole day wandering along the beach and rocks because there is always something interesting to shoot. Texture, movement, colour and light. Long beaches can also aid dramatic compositions, unlike woodland.
I love any excuse to go ‘doon the water’, especially if it involves the last sea-going paddle steamer in the world. The Waverley is such a fantastic piece of Scottish heritage which still does day trips from the river Clyde in Glasgow to various destinations around the western isles. It also spends some time down south in early summer.
On this particular day we had a wee day out on Rothesay and had a blast.
