Day 5 Scotland – What’s this?  Still in Scotland after yesterday was supposed to be my last day here?  Well, it was supposed to be.

I awoke at 5am to rays of sunshine coming through my window at Invergarry.  For the last 3 days I have been hoping for sun, but only got overcast and showery days.  So the decision was made.  I rang the airline and my London transfers people and got onto a later flight arriving at 9pm.  That gave me a day of sunshine to go and shoot the highlands, and I am so glad I did.  Had the best day shooting and for the second time on my trip filled my memory card on my camera in one day.  Now I have images of the highlands in all weather, sun, cloud, rain etc.   I even had time enough to go back to Eilean Donan Castle, grab a few good sunny shots of it and then venture inside.  I loved the interior, fantastic banquet hall, kitchen and bedroom settings, all set up as it would have been originally, really well done.

Now I have just arrived in London, exhausted after running all over the highlands and driving for 4 hours back to Edinburgh to catch my flight.  But what a drive, stunning scenery in bright sunshine 🙂

Day 4 Scotland – Today very sadly is my last day in Scotland (sigh).

I began the day at the Nevis Range where I went up in the gondola to the top.  No views, as I was in thick cloud, but got some great shots of the landscape that will look quite good and eerie in black and white.

Then I went to Glencoe.  Once again more stunning mountains, but in particular stumbled across this great waterfall which I spent time getting shots around.

After lunch I decided to explore the highlands between Invergarry and Dornie.  I found this one particular mountain and decided to climb to the top.  It took me 2 hours on a steep incline to get to the peak.  But once up there I had the most fantastic views and felt on top of the world.  I sat there for 30 mins and just took it all in.  The walk down was much easier of course and the great thing was I discovered more waterfalls.  When I eventually got back to my car (and this hurts) I put my camera gear in the passenger seat, walked around to the drivers side door only to see a British Tornado fighter jet fly past me at eye line level along the loch I was parked at!  I can only imagine how good a shot it would have been if I had my camera in hand (double sigh).

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here in Scotland and I have no doubt I will be back one day, only for a much longer stay so I can explore more.

Day 3 Scotland – Today began at 3am and finished at midnight both at the same location, Eilean Donan Castle.  Sunrise and sunset shots.  Even at midnight it is still light here at this time of year.  It has been overcast all day, so I did not get any more highland mountain shots, hopefully tomorrow.

After finishing shooting this morning at the Isle of Skye I came back to my accom had breakfast then slept for a few hours.  Then I was up and back into it.  Visited, Fort Augustus, Urquhart Castle up in the middle of Loch Ness and then Fort William.  All the way stopping for great photo opportunites.

After speaking with the locals they have given me a good idea of where to head tomorrow for some good highland shots (in good  or bad weather).  Fingers crossed for a bit of sun though.

As each day passes I fall more in love with this place, but it is not just the scenery, it’s the people.  Incredibly friendly, courteous, helpful and funny.

Day 2 Scotland – I began this beautiful Spring day in Scotland by going to the Edinburgh Castle.  Was a fantastic way to start the day.  Loved the place, had stunning views over the city and learnt a tonne of history about Scotland in the process.

Then I hit the road in the Audi at lunch time and began my journey to the Highlands where I will be based for the next 3 days at Invergarry.  On my drive out here I saw endless fields of flowers, lochs, waterfalls, streams, castles, stone bridges, deer, snow, beauty EVERYWHERE!  I will be brief here now as I am speechless when it comes to this place.  I love photographing landscapes and in particular mountains in all sorts of lighting conditions.

The Scottish Highlands to me = A: Photographic Heaven and B: My new home, sorry I am not coming back! 😉

Day 1 Scotland – Today’s magic word, “exhaustion”.  I had to travel from Rome to London to Edinburgh.  Firstly, my plane was delayed for 2 hours (sitting on tarmac) coming out of Rome due to bad weather at Heathrow.  Winds apparently hitting up to 60 mph were lashing London making air traffic impossible to land.  When I finally did reach London the approach into Heathrow was probably the roughest I’ve ever had in an aircraft.  Even the Captain joked upon landing, “I hope you enjoyed the approach into Heathrow as much as we did.”  Then my plane to Edinburgh was delayed.

When I arrived at Edinburgh I was about 4 hours behind schedule.  I will say this on my first impressions of Scotland.  The people I have encountered are bend over backwards helpful and friendly!  The delightful ladies at the car rental place who upgraded me for free (because I rang ahead to tell them I was late) from a Ford Focus to a gun metal grey Audi A4 with satnav, bless em!  Then I met Angela (and her cat Molly) my host at the Abercorn Guest House in Portobello.  Once again could not do enough for me.  This accom is brilliant and the rooms are tastefully decorated.  The pic you see on the blog today is what awaited a pretty tired traveller, just what the doctor ordered.