Scotland, Isle of Skye
I celebrated my 60th birthday in the middle of February. There was a great family dinner in a nice restaurant, and then, as a present to myself, I went on a week-long trip to Scotland. I just booked a flight and a car, and then accommodation for the next day, as I went along. This being February, the route I took was determined by the weather forecast. For the first couple of days, I stayed on the east coast, then made my way westwards towards the Isle of Skye, where I stayed for a couple of nights. The last two days I spent in the Highlands around Glencoe.
Scotland is, of course, fantastic for photography. A lot depends on the weather, so for good results, a lot of time needs to be spent. I almost consider this a scouting mission :-).
Now for the photos.
The Aberdeenshire coast is interesting, with lighthouses, fishing towns and a lot of empty coastline. I particularly liked Aberdeen, with its unique dark grey stone buildings, and Fraserburgh, which has a proper fishing harbor. Even my father would have been impressed with all the boats there.
Crovie is a small village on the north Aberdeenshire coast. A remarkable place, just a single row of houses facing the open sea. How they survive the North Sea storms is a mystery.
I spent an evening and a morning in Inverness, and the following morning I drove to Fort William along Loch Ness. Inverness is a nice medium-sized city but Fort Williams is *ahem* not very interesting, something I knew from having been there for work about twenty years ago. Its surroundings are, however, breathtaking, with Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, towering right above it.
Driving to the Isle of Skye was the highlight of the trip, both the island itself and the mountain passes and lochs you encounter on the way. The good weather forecast i had for the couple of days I stayed did not pan out, which, according to the lady that rented my the cottage, is par for the course. Skye is barren, mountainous, sparsely populated and surrounded by lochs and islands. It has some magnificent sights, such as the Quaraing, a massive landslide that is apparently still ongoing. Much depends on the weather though.
For the last two nights I stayed near Glen Coe and spent a day exploring the area. On the way from Sky I spotted a waterfall and rapids in the River Shiel close to the road. Could have spent the day there.
