Driving up via the A9, we stopped every now and then to soak in the landscape. The weather was on our side (and continued to be for 90% of the week really).
Dunrobin Castle and Gardens.
Excuse the phone photato.
The falconry show at Dunrobin Castle was both funny and interesting. The guy hosting it knew how to entertain for sure. This Owl was the focus of everyone's attention afterwards.
The small village of Helmsdale. I've uploaded this to my other pages too, and it started to trend on 500px yesterday!
Located on the east coast of Sutherland, this small village is primarily a fishing port and was planned in 1814 for resettlement purposes after the Highland Clearances took place.
The deeper history dates back to the late 1400s, before a once substantial castle and tower stood, and was scene to the murder of the then Earl of Sutherland! It fell to ruin in the 1800s, and in the 1970s, the last remains of the tower were demolished to make way for the new bridge connecting the A9 road. I was glad we stopped by here during our North Coast 500 road trip to see the monuments put up, and to take in this beautiful village.
We were stood around for a while waiting to take a clean photo of this, the most northerly point in the UK mainland.
A huge tourist spot, and selfie sticks pointing in all directions!
This was going to be the line-up photo of our cars..
... But a biker who was close by said we should take the cars up to the Groats pole and he'd snap a pic with my camera. Good guy.
Always wanted to take a shot like this, but down in the south coast of the UK, we don't get such sights.
An ideal opportunity presented itself during our North Coast 500 road trip, and here it is!
The poos from these guys have splattered my car many times down south.
Northern seagulls appear to prefer being more majestic, though.
Don't think I've ever seen clouds touching the top of a mountain in person before.
Stone stacking has several different meaning. Often found by water sources, but also used for marker points for travellers.
Commonly though, they are used to signify a spiritual moment.
A zen moment , somewhere to meditate. We found these at a lay-by overlooking ma lake and mountains in the Tongue Causeway.
A group photo during sundown in Tongue, had to be done.
At night in Smoo, Andrew and I explored the surroundings for any interesting photo locations. We only got so far really, but this portrait with the SIgma 35mm 1.4 came out neat.
In Smoo during the midnight hour, myself and Andrew went out hunting the stars too, in particular the Galactic Core. Sadly though, the clouds were too bright in the moonlight.
Still, had the opportunity to expose distant stars instead during a clearance in the clouds. A satellite can be seen orbiting across the sky lower left of the frame.
Andrew doing an Alan Wake impression.
Then I had to do an Alan Wake impression.
In the morning, we wandered around the Smoo cave entrance.
This view wasn't immediately obvious when we arrived the evening before. I bet sunsets/rises are impressive from this viewing point.
A man on a boat calmly rowed in from within the cave.
Later, we hit up Kylesku Bridge. A popular location to stop and take photos, as well as admire the landscape.
Kylesku Bridge, right side view
Kylesku Bridge
A local outside the Kylesku Hotel was happy for his portrait to be taken. It would be great to send him a copy of this,
I have tagged the hotel on the left on Facebook, just in-case someone reads about it that knows him.
The view from the restaurant at the Kylesku Hotel was impressive. The waters were so clear, so clean.
A man with a dog were walking by, the dog knew exactly the right look to give.
Achnasheen - We stopped at various points to take in some amazing scenery. This is the kind of stuff I'd only seen on TV in the past.
Photos don't really do it justice! That little house at the bottom gives perspective of how large just this one 35mm frame of this area is
Black Hill, isle of Skye
Car didn't let me down once, the poor windscreen was mashed with bugs, and needed cleaning every morning at least! Wipers simply didn't help.
Andrew did his best Donkey Kong impression in the Isle of Skye. Barrels were not rolled.
Later, we went out in Skye to try and get more star shots, Rob inspects some images from that night
Success! the night was clear for an hour or so before clouds moved in.
We managed quite a few shots of the galactic core. But I wanted to take a deep space exposure first.
I have read that on average, you can see up to 5000 stars with your eyes on a clear night with low light pollution levels.
This long exposure captured far more than what the eye could see. Light from distant stars that may not exist today due to the time it has taken for their light to reach our planet.
The galactic core sneaks into the lower left of the frame.
The exposure was 4s / f1.6 / iso 6400, and was enough to capture M31, the Andromeda Galaxy (center left).
Torches in the night, something cool about them!
Many people call this the Milky Way, they're mostly correct, although we ourselves are in the Milky Way., we cannot see the centre of it. It's a huge galaxy,.
This is the galactic core, the band of stars and gas/dust cloud that can be seen on a clear night once your eyes have adjusted to the darkness.
The stars in long exposure photos you see are usually much much older than you might think, millions of years old. It has taken that long for their faint light to reach us
With the glow of Skye in the background, and the silhouette from the torch behind the car, a neat group photo was in order.
And then the clouds moved in...
I had another go myself.
Once driven over Skye bridge, another lay-by stop was done for more photos of the amazing view we were leaving behind.
The castle is a big tourist spot, and for good reason. It looks stunning as you drive by on the A87. The still water reflecting it, the mountains in the background, and if you're lucky, the weather, all make for a picture perfect scene.
The castle has been around since the Iron Age, and been rebuilt a few times over its time. I didn't go inside, but it is said to be like the Doctor's Tardis, much bigger than it looks from the outside!
Equally beautiful neighbouring scenery opposite the Eilean Donan Castle.
Cairngorm Mountain Train.
The train line spans 2KM, and takes you up the northern slope. The ride took 8 minutes, and felt like the same feeling you got when playing Half-Life for the first time.
No cheesy music during the ride, just a calm recorded voice explaining how it all came to be.
The museum section of the resort at the top had some cool things to show and tell you about. the mountain and its range.
I'd never heard of the Grey Man before, so had to read up on it later that night. Seems lots of people have reported the same uneasy feeling,hearing footsteps and seeing the shadow.
Spooky.
The viewing point at the top was stunning. The recorded voice on the train said on a clear day, visibility can span as far as 90 miles.
Not long after this photo was taken, the rain clouds moved in. At this height, clouds move much faster than they appear at ground level.
The temperature on the viewing deck was 1°C. My tea was getting too cold too fast when I popped out for a "highest tea" photo!
Peter took this moving shot. Sadly the car shots that follow were taken by me, and don't quite capture the motion quite so well!
Run Forest, run! Peter runs back after taking a photograph down the crest of the road.
Peter in action.
A walled house in the middle of a Scottish fault line. Quite strange seeing houses in the middle of nowhere dotted about the landscape.
