Luss, Loch Lomond

After a nice week away on the Isle Of Wight, it was nice to make the most of my second week off work by paying a visit to Scotland. The main reason for our drive across the Anglo-Scottish border was to visit family in Livingston, not too far from Edinburgh, in a westerly direction. From Livingston we made the 64 miles trip to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, stopping off at Luss. The weather was fine, which is quite a rarity in Scotland, even in Summer. Our visit to Luss was a fairly short one and merely an exercise to get out and stretch our legs around the shores of Loch Lomond, taking in some fine views in the process. There were many tourists, like ourselves, and the coaches came and went every few minutes - Luss was obviously a popular place to tick off the list, judging by the sheer volume of people that were entering this small town. Apart from photographing the landscape around Loch Lomond, mainly from the pier, plus a quick walk around the nearby streets, I saw little else. That wasn't a disappointment though, as what I did see was more than enough and a taster of what else lay ahead. It was from Luss that we made a further journey North, up the West Coast towards Glencoe, adding another 60 miles on the clock. An hour and twenty minutes later, after being stuck in traffic on a very narrow road, we arrived at a very sunny Glencoe. Just what we wanted. Stay tuned for that and more, soon...
Cheers, AC

Edinburgh & Linlithgow, Scotland

Another blog entry from across the border - this time it's Edinburgh, capital of Scotland, plus Linlithgow, a small town which lies 19 miles west of Edinburgh. Just one day after our visit to Queensferry and the sun was shining once again, although there was a definite chill on the bones. My mobile phone done the honours once again, not that there was another option available - that's what happens when you leave the big camera at home. After stuffing Haggis down the owld hatchet it was time to get out and about in Edinburgh, starting with Princes Street Gardens before heading up the hill towards the Royal Mile. The gardens were busy and it was clear the sun had a lot to do with it. Many people sitting on the lawns just watching the world go by. Princes Street was undergoing a lot of construction work, so the road was out of bounds to all vehicles. The place was upside down, to be honest - a right old mess. I heard they were installing a tram line to run the length of the street. Time to exercise the legs and burn off some of those Haggis calories, so up the hill we went. Half way up I was blowing out of me arse - paggered! Got there eventually and headed up towards Edinburgh Castle, where its car park was now a huge temporary seated area, ready for concerts and other events, including the world famous Military Tattoo. Below is a panoramic stitch of the arena. Again, this place was thriving - the queue to gain entry to the castle was huge, with many foreign tourists making up those numbers. With only a couple of hours to spare in the capital we decided not to inside, opting for a bite to eat and a look down the Royal Mile before heading out to Livingston on a family visit, before driving the 19 miles across to Linlithgow.

Linlithgow is a historic Royal Burgh located in the central lowlands of Scotland - about 20 miles from Edinburgh and under an hour from Glasgow by train or car. It was the birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots and the preserved ruins of the Royal Palace can be visited in a picturesque setting next to Linlithgow Loch. It was here that we killed time, under the sun that had shone all day up to this point. The palace was one of the principal residences of the monarchs of Scotland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Although maintained after Scotland's monarchs left for England in 1603, the palace was little used, and was burned out in 1746. It is now a visitor attraction in the care of Historic Scotland. A Strathspey for bagpipes was composed in honour of Linlithgow Palace. The Palace, is said to be haunted by the spectre of Mary of Guise, mother to Mary Queen of Scots. The Palace was closed by the time we arrived, which must have been around 6pm. I entered the archway to the entrance, which was locked, and heard some strange noises all of a sudden. Could it be the ghost of Mary, or just bowel noises from the fettled haggis that was necked earlier in the day!

And on that little note I shall depart to watch some Olympic Games on the Beeb. I will be back soon with a good selection of photo's from our recent holiday in Cornwall, where the weather was perfect all week - 7 days of it. Until then... ta ta.

AC

South Queensferry, Scotland

It's not very often that I cross the border into Scotland and fine bright sunshine. More often than not I'm met with dull skies and more than a fair share of rain and wind, but not today, as conditions were ideal as we arrived in South Queensferry, which is 11 miles north-west of Edinburgh. This was our second stop-off en route to Livingston - our first being a lunch break in Eyemouth, slightly north of Berwick-Upon-Tweed. South Queensferry isn't a place I'm very familiar with, although I have visited this small town once before, a couple of years back, to meet up with Derek Forbes, former bass player with Simple Minds. A drum kit and money exchanged hands on that day - not bought by myself though, I was merely along for the ride. On that day the weather was miserable, which wasn't that important as we were only in South Queensferry for a matter of minutes before we headed south, back down the A1(M).  South Queensferry, sometimes also called Queensferry, sits on the south shore of the narrowest part of the Forth Estuary east of Grangemouth, looking across to North Queensferry, its twin on the Fife shore. As an obvious place to cross the river when heading into Fife from Edinburgh it is likely that settlements either side of the river here, and ferries between them, date back to ancient times. Queensferry is defined by the road and rail bridges that lie either side of it. But it is so much more as well. At times it has been an important trading and fishing port in its own right and the town still offers an environment that can transport you back to an earlier time more readily than most places in Scotland. If, that is, you can catch it in a rare traffic-free moment: cars are constrained by the narrowness and twisting of Queensferry's High Street, and as a result intrude far more than elsewhere.

Strangely enough, despite the nice weather, which is always a plus when photographing the landscape, I left my Canon 7D at home, which was not a good idea at all. The weather forecast on the previous day was nowt to get excited about so I took a risk by leaving the camera behind - something I'd probably regret further down the line. The photo's shown here were taken on my smart phone, which has a nice little panoramic facility on it, allowing stitches of over 6 images at a time. A couple of 'Stitches' are shown here, just for the record. There's a very small beach at Queensferry, which is accessible at low tide and is a great vantage point when looking north. If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, check out the restaurants along the main street - one in particular offers excellent panoramic views across the river through its huge windows, although its name escapes me right now.

Next stop Linlithgow...
Ash

Edinburgh Stop Over

It's was back up the A1 motorway again and my fourth visit to Edinburgh of 2009. This time it was a one night stopover on the way to Livingston, a town approximately thirteen and a half miles south-west of Edinburgh. The rain scuppered any chance of me grabbing some early evening low-light shots of the illuminated castle, which was top of my photography wish-list during our brief stopover. Infact, I didn't manage any photography at all on Sunday night and it wasn't too long before we were back in our hotel on the City's High Street.

The following morning I awoke early and headed up the Royal Mile towards Edinburgh Castle. The sun had just risen and it quickly disappeared behind the low cloud cover on the horizon. At this time I was in the castle car park overlooking the rooftops towards the west. It's a spectacular view alright, with the hills in the distance and some of the finest architecture in the foreground. It was very chilly, which was to be expected at this time of year, and particularly at such a high vantage point. But no visit to Edinburgh would be complete without a visit to the castle so the customary 'Showing of the face' happened once again. It was a pity that the weather last night got in the way of what was potentially a perfect opportunity to get the shots I was after. Oh well, maybe next time.

At mid-day we headed out of the City and back onto the A1, homeward bound. With the belly rumbling once again it was a case of a quick detour into Eyemouth to sample another helping of delicious haggis & chips. This was the third haggis I'd pouched in the space of 24 hours! Dear me, I must go sit in the corner and have a quiet word with ones self (wink).

All in all, an enjoyable visit to both Edinburgh and Livingston.
Cheers, Ash