The journey home from Glasgow was a much more leisurely affair last week. I drove up the West Coast of Scotland to Balmacara Square just before the bridge to Skye and met David and Molly who had driven up from the Borders. Actually Molly didn't do any of the driving: she left it all to David.
Coming up to Rannoch Moor I was astonished to see that there was still snow on the North faces.
Close up
Looking across Rannoch Moor: as bleak and remote and beautiful as anywhere in Scotland
and again
Kyle of Lochalsh and the Skye Bridge
The Bridge approach road from the car's onboard camera
Nestled in the bosom of the hills
The grandeur of the mountains of Skye
The Cuillins from Sligachan
Uig on Skye: the Harris ferry approaching the jetty
Arriving at Tarbert on Harris
Grandeur is the right word! These are spectacular landscapes, maybe a bit too cold (snow in June... reminds me of the Alps) and bleak for my liking, but certainly very good for the soul. Nothing to distract from whatever it is one needs or wishes to think about, and I imagine it is quiet, too.
ReplyDeleteMeike it is wonderful for allowing one just to be oneself with no distractions on a day like the day I drove through. It is quiet apart from the days when you can't think because of the wind. Rannoch Moor is heaven apart from the days when there is no wind in the summer when the midges can appear in clouds.
DeleteNothing quite like coming home is there? Magical scenery - makes me want to go away so that I can see those views on the way home - if you understand what I mean.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean perfectly Pat. I can never get enough of it.
DeleteSuch breath-takingly beautiful photos, GB. Someday I hope to go to Scotland and see for myself. xoxox DeeDee
ReplyDeleteDeeDee I will add my hopes to yours that you manage to see this wonderful country.
DeleteLovely photos, and the "nestled in the bosom one" reminded me of my Mum who is the only person I ever knew who referred to her bosom...she kept her purse in there when we went out.
ReplyDeleteI am still so head over heels in love with your car's dashboard camera...wish I could get my hands on one of those dooflickys...it sure would come in handy...off to do some research.
It's good to be home isn't it? Surrounded by such awesome beauty...
Virginia I love being away and I love my home even more. The dashboard camera is becoming very common in the UK for insurance purposes and may soon be the norm as insurance companies give incentives and, I think, may ultimately penalise people who don't have them. I've had one for some years now and it's amazing how many really stupid and dangerous things one sees and becomes more aware of when they are recorded by the camera.
DeleteI would have loved to be along for that ride home! I won $50 in Lotto last week so the big one could be coming. I'm going to start a Scotland Bucket list. The Cuillins from Sligachan will be first on the list. Must be good to be home again.
ReplyDeletePauline it would be wonderful to be able to reciprocate and show you this wonderful country after you have shown me so much of Northland that I would otherwise never have seen.
DeleteIt's a beautiful country you live in
ReplyDeleteIt is Red. It truly is.
DeleteI'll have to get to Skye this winter. I used to really enjoy holidays there.
ReplyDeleteRannoch Moor....thanks for that I've always wondered what it looks like. I thought it was Scottish for the inside of a cloud.
Oddly enough, Adrian, I've travelled across Rannoch Moor in snow and wind and rain but never in that thick light rain which makes fog look easy to see through that can be so typically Scottish.
DeleteGraham I loved the photos on this post, especially the one of The Cuillins from Sligachan. I really can't wait to go back. Good to see you posting again :)
ReplyDeleteJulia I look forward to your return. It's been very full on one way and another since I returned to Scotland and I can't see it getting any quieter for a while yet. That's not a complaint by the way!
DeleteSome breathtaking views. The one with the stone bridge makes me think of scenes from one of the Narnia books, The Silver Chair (which takes place in "the wild wastelands of the north" and there's a giants' bridge involved)...
ReplyDeleteMonica who knows where the inspiration came from but there are certainly plenty of 'wild wastelands of the north' in Scotland.
DeleteWonderful photos and landscapes. Lucky, lucky man!
ReplyDeleteFrances every time I come home and even late in the evening as I look out over the Minch at the Scottish Highlands as at this moment, I recognise that I am a luck, lucky man.
DeleteLovely photos ~ thank you for sharing them G.B.\
ReplyDeleteP.S. Would love one of them there on board cameras in my car :)
Thank you Carol. The cameras are very popular here in the UK. I used mine in NZ and got some wonderful journeys which I shall remember with happiness in the future.
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