Tag Wester Ross

Wonderfully Wild Wester Ross

Every so often I look back through my image archives and almost always I come across an image that I have either not processed or not released and that is the case this week.  It was also from one of… Continue Reading →

18th September 2018 0

Favourite Ten from Ten Years on the Road

It’s that time of year again when most photographers share their favourite images from the past year but disappointingly I haven’t got any images to share because for the first time for many years for one reason or another I… Continue Reading →

30th December 2017 0

Britain’s Wonderful Wrecks – Part 2

Britain's Wonderful Wrecks - Part 2 1 Doesn't time fly.  You may recall that a while back I wrote about some of Britain's Wonderful Wrecks I had come across on my photo trips and I promised you more; well almost eight months on here they are starting with some from Scotland.  The first is at Ardgour which lies south-west of Fort William on the west bank of Loch Linnhe situated at the Corran Narrows on the eastern side of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula.  Ardgour, its name in Gaelic translates as "Height Of The Goat" was part of the ancient trade route to the Inner Hebrides, the original "Road To The Isles".  I was passing Ardgour on my way through the Ardnamurchan Peninsula and came across "Capri" beached on the shore.  It's a fishing boat that was built in Sweden in 1949 and now lies abandoned some 60 years later. "Capri" - Loch Linnhe - Ardgour Staying on the west coast of Scotland in Wester Ross we visit Badachro (Gaelic Bad a' Chrodha) meaning cattle fold clump.  A remote fishing village about 2 miles south of Gairloch.  It is idyllically situated on an inlet of Loch Gairloch.  Sheltered by several islands the bay provides a safe anchorage for fishing boats and yachts.  At the end of the nineteenth century, Badachro was a busy fishing centre.  Fish, in particular, cod, landed here and at Gairloch, was dried at Badachro.  There were two curing stations - one on Eilean Horrisdale and one on Eilean Tioram.  Lobsters, crabs and prawns are still landed here and sent to the markets both in the south and in Europe.  There are many abandoned boats in this location but this is one I have not been able to identify but couldn't resist capturing it with that wonderful backdrop. Badachro - Wester Ross We now move over to the Isle of Mull where if you recall we visited Croig in the Historic Harbours article.  Close by Croig is the abandoned "Branch".  The trawler was built in 1951 in Fraserburgh and used all around the coast of northern Scotland including being based at Barra in the Outer Hebrides. "Branch" - Croig - Isle of Mull Staying on Mull we are at Bunessan which is the largest village on the Ross of Mull and a small boat with the name "Dignity" for which I have no history.  I was drawn to this one because of its name which in the circumstances may seem appropriate.  Originally a small community of farmers in the Scottish farming tradition called crofting, the village had a mill, weavers and a small fishing fleet until the 1900s.  The village has a thriving lobster fishery with some of the largest lobsters on the west coast of Scotland can be found at the top of Loch Scridain, in an area known as "The Pool". "Dignity" - Bunessan - Isle of Mull For our last wreck, we are in Norfolk on the north coast under the cliffs at Hunstanton which make a spectacular view.  They show an amazing slice of Britain's history and originate from just after the Jurassic period.  This makes them 100 million years old and some of the oldest rocks visible in East Anglia. "Sheraton" Hunstanton - Norfolk Built-in 1907, the Sheraton started life as a trawler but was later moored on the Lincolnshire side of The Wash to be used as a target ship.  In 1947 she broke free from her mooring in a gale and drifted on to the beach at Hunstanton.  The ship was sold to scrap dealers and now only a section of the hull remains.   I hope you have enjoyed taking a look at more of our Wonderful Wrecks.  Unfortunately, I think I have now run out of wreck images so if you know of others in photogenic locations please feel free to let me know so I can include them in a future photo trip.  

Doesn’t time fly.  You may recall that a while back I wrote about some of Britain’s Wonderful Wrecks I had come across on my photo trips and I promised you more; well almost eight months on here they are starting… Continue Reading →

29th November 2017 0

Print of the Month – September 2017

Twelve months ago this month I was getting ready to set off on my North Coast500 trip.  Without spoiling your reading of the highs and lows of the trip the North Coast 500 which launched in the Spring of 2015… Continue Reading →

5th September 2017 0

Lighthouses around the British Coast

Lighthouses around the British Coast 2 It's time to take another whistle-stop tour of the many varying aspects of the British landscape.   During my travels around the British Isles, I am nearly always guaranteed I will find a lighthouse often sighted in spectacular locations.  With over a hundred working lighthouses around the mainland including some that are not very accessible there are many I have not yet even seen, never mind photographed, but I am certain there will be plenty more opportunities on my travels. This time I share just five with you including three in Scotland and two in England.  We'll start off on the west coast of Scotland and one of my favourite locations of Wester Ross.   Rubha Reidh Lighthouse - Wester Ross Rubha Reidh meaning Smooth Point in Gaelic is a prominent headland jutting into The Minch about halfway between Stoer Head and the Isle of Skye.  It was opened in 1912 and cost almost £15000 to build and until a road was built in 1962 was only accessible by sea.  In 1944, an American Liberty Ship the "William H Welch" missed the entrance to Loch Ewe and went ashore at Black Bay during a severe storm.  Two lightkeepers were actively involved in the rescue of 15 survivors out of a complement of 74.  Automated in 1986, the station is now operated as a holiday let.   Our next lighthouse is in England, in fact, Norfolk and is positioned on one of our most threaten coastlines at Happisburgh.  The oldest working light in EastAnglia, built in 1790, originally one of a pair - the tower is 85ft tall and the lantern is 134ft above sea level.  Saved as a working light by the local community, it is maintained and operated entirely by voluntary contributions and is the only independently operated lighthouse in the UK.   Happisburgh Lighthouse - Norfolk Back to Scotland now and a visit to the "Queen of the Hebrides" - the Isle of Islay.  A dramatic lighthouse on Carraig Fhada headland on the south coast of the island, the Port Ellen lighthouse (also known as the Carraig Fhada Lighthouse) lies opposite Port Ellen, marking the western approach to the harbour there.  It comprises an unusual square masonry tower, 57 feet in height. It has no lantern; rather a light is displayed from a stumpy mast surmounting the tower.  The lighthouse was built in 1832 by the Laird of Islay, Walter Frederick Campbell, in memory of his first wife, Lady Eleanor Charteris, who had died aged only 36 in September of that year.   Carraig Fhada Lighthouse - Isle of Islay Back now to England and Kent and the mysterious and haunting Dungeness.  Dungeness is at the end of a mile and a half shingle promontory, between New Romney, Lydd and Camber on Romney Marsh.  The Dungeness Estate is privately owned, and whoever originally decided to purchase it was obviously a genius, as it has to be one of the best investments ever.  Each year more and more shingle is deposited on the shore, so Dungeness, unlike a great deal of the rest of the coast, is actually getting bigger.   Dungeness Lighthouses - Kent At first, only a beacon was used to give a warning to sailors, but this gave way to a proper lighthouse during the reign of James I in 1615.  As the sea retreated, this had to be replaced in 1635 by a new lighthouse nearer to the water's edge.  As more shingle was thrown up, a new and more up-to-date lighthouse was built near the sea in 1792.  In the background is lighthouse number four commissioned in 1901; then in 1961 its modern successor, the black and white lighthouse number five, was commissioned and the 1901 Old Lighthouse became a tourist attraction.  Its 169 steps give visitors a bird's eye view of the shingle beach.   Back to Scotland for our final location, Pladda which lies off the south-east coast of Arran in the Firth of Clyde.  The island is small, flat, teardrop-shaped island, less than a mile along its length and rising to just 89 ft above sea level.  Unusually for such a small island, it has its own source of fresh water.   Pladda Lighthouse dates from 1790 and was the first light on the Clyde to be commissioned by the Commissioners of the Northern Lights.  The lighthouse was automated in 1990.  Pladda and its lighthouse feature extensively in Peter Hill's book Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper.  Pladda shares its name with Pladda Island a tiny islet situated in the Lynn of Lorn between Lismore and Ardmucknish Bay.   Well, that's the end of a brief look at some of the lighthouses that perform a vital role in the safety of mariners in all weathers. If you want to see more take a look at Part 2.  

It’s time to take another whistle-stop tour of the many varying aspects of the British landscape.   During my travels around the British Isles, I am nearly always guaranteed I will find a lighthouse often sighted in spectacular locations.  With… Continue Reading →

30th May 2016 0

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