Scotland - famous for mountains, lochs, rain, whisky, Nessie, haggis and me, the Travelling Fatman. OK, admittedly, I may be stretching it a bit with the TF…but one day…one day…
Anyway, the title of this blog is a line from a Runrig song that goes “The colours of Scotland…leave you young inside…”
In these images I have tried to capture some of those colours and if they help make you feel young inside, well, that’s even better. To pull a line from another song with Scottish connections, far have I travelled and much have I seen. I’ve been lucky that way, very lucky - but there is something about Scotland that feels magical, that draws me back again and again. It’s not one thing, it’s a combination of many that creates an intoxicating mix - the history, the people, the scenery, the culture and, yes, even the weather - Scotland is a truly wonderful country and I hope to capture some of that in these images.
For anyone considering a trip to Scotland - and for anyone there looking for a photographic guide - I would recommend Photographing Scotland: A photo-location and visitor guidebook by Dougie Cunningham - contains beautiful images and location guides, well worth a look.
Anyway, on to my snaps…
Where better to start than Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. This is a shot of Victoria Street in the Old Town - a street which, it is claimed, was the inspiration for Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter novels.
Ok, ok - it’s not in colour - mea culpa. A slightly different view of Victoria Street. This is one of the most photographed parts of a beautiful city and leads from the Grassmarket up towards the Royal Mile. It is full of cafes, restaurants and quirky shops.
The Isle of Muck is one of the “Small Isles” that lies off the North West coast of Scotland. Accessible by a two-hour ferry trip from the mainland, Muck has a population of around 60 people.
A second image from the Isle of Muck - a seriously glorious location for landscapes. I’m sure this feature has a name - I did search for it in an effort to appear knowledgeable, but I failed. Apologies, I’m not proud and I beg forgiveness from the 60 or so inhabitants of Muck. When I return - and I will return - I will try to do better. One of my favourite places in Scotland.
Glencoe. If every there was a competition to choose an area that summed up Scotland, Glencoe would be a strong contender. Wonderful scenery, dramatic weather and steeped in bloody history. Don’t hang about there if your name is Campbell, wee word of advice.
Glencoe again, no apologies. Steep mountainsides, waterfalls, a loch, a flowing river and a pretty wee cottage - beautiful part of the country.
Duncansby Head lies just east of John O’Groats on the north coast of Scotland. I was lucky enough to visit on a beautiful day and this view took my breath away - incredible!
In 2019 I drove around the NC500 with my brother, a route that takes you around the northern coastline of Scotland. Just north of Inverness, we visited this little hidden gem - the Fairy Glen. For anyone interested, you can see a lighthearted video of this part of our trip on youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4h5SFK0QWs&t=238s (any subscriptions would be much appreciated, I shall add videos now and then)
OK, well that’s the end of this wee blog - please do keep checking for more, reading the others and taking your own images - the world always needs more photographers!