A Scottish Highlands Adventure: Part I


Scotland – a land photographers dream about. From breathtaking landscapes to snow-topped mountains to castle ruins, the land has much to offer. We visited the Scottish highlands on a sunny day and our mood is filled with joy for the upcoming photographic journey. Our first stop is the Doune castle. The “castles” in Scotland do not share a common fate, some are more fortunate and well kept with its towers and gates intact, some are rustic and their ruins showed evidence from years of battle with the English and Viking invaders, some are even less fortunate, being just a pile of rocks, barely recognizable.

The Doune Castle is one of the more well-kept ones, and the towers stood tall, magnificent in its full glory.

 

I was astonished when I caught sight of the pink flowers, the cherry blossoms in Scotland! You may have already read about my encounters with sakuras in Japan, but here in Scotland, due to the low temperatures these cherry trees could still blossom. Wild dandelions in the fields were also beautiful, I incidentally captured one releasing its seed on to the incoming breeze…

 

On our way towards the Northern part of the highlands, there were much to see, including historic buildings which used to be storehouses but now renovated as hotels, and even a local cow – a hairy coo, as the Scottish name goes.

 

The mountains stood tall and proud under the cloudy skies, the landscape all surrounding me resembled a painting.

Venturing deeper inside the highlands, the mountain ranges became topped with snow.


We soon arrived at the territory of Glencoe, where ages ago a Scottish tribe was brutally slaughtered and a song lived till this day to tell the miserable story. A Glen is a steep valley and in the pictures below you can appreciate the amazing landscape, a beautiful work indeed just like God has carved this on the face of the Earth like a sculpture.


 

We became accustomed to the hues in the highlands, the green and yellow fields against the blue and white sky (a VISA commercial, anyone?). The mountain ranges far out were interestingly in shades of blue.

We slowly arrived at the edge of Loch Ness, the world renowned and mysterious lake. It was not the biggest Loch in Scotland, but it is big enough to look like a sea. Inside the depths of these dark waters lurk a formidable monster…


 

The monster did not come out to greet us that day unfortunately. Our luck, however, continues as a mother duck beckoned us to feed her healthy children. On the northern shores of the Lake, the views are magnificent as ever.


That’s all for now. What a long day it is, however short this post may seem. I hope you enjoyed the pictures! The full gallery with 28 pictures below.

Category : Photography, Scotland, Travel
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