Ring of Brodgar – Orkney

Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland, stock image

Winter dawn at Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland.

In December, the sun has little strength to rise very far above the horizon this far in the north.  The winter days are short and the nights long, only to be reversed in a few months during the endless days of summer.  Such a contrast of light at dark that I never knew growing up at a more mild latitude.  No wonder that the sun played such an important role in the lives of the ancient peoples of this barren land.

It is always a strange feeling for me to walk amongst something so old.  To think that these stones have seen some 5,000 winters, and will probably see another 5,000 more;  it helps to put things in perspective about the importance of our ‘achievements.’

Elgol – Isle of Skye

Travel stock image: Rocky coast at Elgol with Cuillins in background, Isle of Skye, Scotland

The rugged and rocky coastline at at Elgol with it’s view back towards the mighty Black Cuillins as they rise from Lock Scavaig is one of the more iconic photo locations on the Isle of Skye.  As long as one is willing to gamble on good weather, it is well worth the long drive down the winding single lane road.

Snow covered peak on the left is Gars-Bheinn at the start of the famous Cuillin ridge.  Sgurr na Stri is the lower, snowless peak towards the center.  To the left of that sits Loch Coruisk, another marvelously scenic, and isolated, place and Skye.  There is a nice hiking route that starts in the north at Sligachan and passes by loch Coruisk and then around the coast under Sgurr na Stri to Camasunary and eventually finishing here at Elgol.

One of my stupider moments in life happened along the coast under Sgurr na Stri.  It had just finished raining ( = slippery rocks), I was trying to eat a piece of chocolate while at the same time messing with my camera to take a picture of Bla Bheinn rising above the Camasunary bothy.  Well, I slipped and ended up upside down; nothing bad, just a little ‘oops’ moment.  Not wanting to drop my camera on the muddy ground, I couldn’t use my hands to get myself up.  And not wanting to drop the piece of chocolate in my mouth that I had been munching on, I couldn’t talk clearly enough to ask my friend to pull on my backpack to help me up.  So was upside down with my backpack on top of me and unable to move.  Totally stuck, but only because I didn’t want to drop my camera or chocolate.  Finally my friend came to the rescue after a moment of wondering if I was practicing some new form of mountain yoga.  Luckily there was only two of us to witness this event.

Landscape stock photography - Elgol and Black Cuillin, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Isle of Skye – Coire na Creiche

Waterfall at Fairy Pools, Coire na Creiche, Isle of Skye, Scotland

River at Coire na Creiche, Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye.  Better known as the location of the ‘Fairy pools,’ a series of crystal blue pools of water and waterfalls flowing out of the rugged peaks of the Black Cuillins.  It had been raining for a week strait prior to my visit so the ‘pools’ were are bit more like rapids than normal, but at least I got lucky with a bit of sun on a short November day.

Waterfall at Fairy Pools, Coire na Creiche, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Waterfall at Fairy Pools, Coire na Creiche, Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

South Ronaldsay, Orkney

Orkney travel stock photograph - Old boat sits abandoned in Barn, South Ronaldsay, Orkney

Staircase in abandoned derelict building, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland

living room of abandoned house, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland

Abandoned house, South Ronaldsay, Orkney, Scotland.

I wonder what stories these old walls could tell.  Once it was probably the center of a large farm.  Times changed and the old ways lost their charm.  The young generation left home for the glamour of the city.  No one wanted to live on the edge of the world anymore.  The house sat alone, empty.  The paint faded.  The roof caved.

Black Cuillins – Isle of Skye

Panoramic landscape photography - Black Cuillin Hills, Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Black Cuillin Hills as viewed from Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Ring of Brodgar – Orkney

Ring of Brodgar standing stones, Orkney, Scotland - Cody Duncan photogapher

Ring of Brodgar standing stones, Orkney.

Sunset panoramic photo Ring of Brodgar standing stones, Orkney, Scotland

Winter sunset behind Ring of Brodgar stone circle, Orkney

Loch Brittle – Isle of Skye

Scotland landscape photography: Loch Brittle sunset, Glenbrittle, Isle of Skye

Late afternoon light over Loch Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland.

I say late afternoon and not evening, as I do not consider 4:00 pm to count as ‘evening,’ despite the fact that it was nearly dark at this time.

Gylen Castle

Gylen castle, Kerrera island, Scotland

Overlooking the Firth of Lorne, the ruins of Gylen castle sit on a cliff at the southern end of Kerrera island.  Build in 1582 by clan MacDougall, the castle met its demise in 1647 when it was burned by the Covenanters during the civil war.

Loch Crinan

Loch Crinan in the south western part of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. May 2008

Scotland panoramic stock photo: stormy sky over Loch Crinan, Argyll and Bute, West coast, Scotland

A Day in the Cairngorms

Monday May 5th was our third full day in Scotland. The weather of the preceding two days was typically “Scottish,” so as the morning fog cleared cleared into a brilliant blue sky we headed straight into the Cairngorms to take advantage of such a day. Despite the amount of time I’ve previously spent in Scotland, I’ve never hiked in the Cairngorms before. I had planned on a 6 day through hike on my first trip, but a broken camera forced me back to Glasgow to get it repaired, and I never made it.

We didn’t have any particular plan, other than to avoid hiking near the hideous funicular railway that takes tourists and skiers near to the summit of Cairn Gorm. So off we headed on some trail or another.  A stream crossings here, a muddy peat bog there, then we finally started gaining a bit of elevation along some gentle ridge. One things I love about the highlands is the ease of cross country travel. Sometimes you’ll get a bit more muddy than planned, worst I’ve managed was up to my waste in some bog in the Cuillins and then had to “bathe” in a creek before hitching back to Portree, but generally the rugged tundra like terrain means you can just choose a direction and go. So after we got a bit higher up, I pulled out the map to check things out. Hmm, looks like heading up to Cairn Lochan go be a good idea, so off we went…

travel lifestyle stock image: Female hiker in alpine terrain of Cairngorm mountains, Scotland

Travel stock photography: Female backpacker hikes near running river in cairngorm mountains, Scotland

Once we reached the summit plateau we took a short break for some chocolate and lunch, or is that lunch and some chocolate. Well, Sabine ate lunch while I was running around taking pictures. No time to worry about an empty stomach in such nice conditions.

Panoramic stock photography: Female hiker takes in view of Cairngorm mountains from near summit of Cairn Lochan, Scotland

Back on the way again. Below is the summit of Cairn Lochan with Loch Morlich below in the distance. At 1215 meters it’s nothing especially high, well, nothing in Scotland is especially high for that matter.

Travel stock photography: Person stands in distance on summit of Cairn Lochan in the Cairngorms, Scotland

Adventure stock photography: Female hiker crosses snowfield near summit of Cairn Lochan in the Cairngorm mountains, Scotland

Adventure stock photography: Female hiker crosses snowfield near summit of Cairn Lochan in the Cairngorm mountains, Scotland

View of our way, keeping mostly along the ridge and making our way to Cairn Gorm, rising in the left of the photo.

Scotland stock landscape photo: cairngorm mountains in spring. Cody Duncan photography

View again towards Loch Morlich and the Town of Aviemore (‘adventure capital of Scotland’) off in the distance.

lifestyle stock travel photography: Female hiker stands on cliff near Cairn Gorm in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland

Starting to ascend the gentle slope of Cairn Gorm. This photo is looking back from where we had come. Cairn Lochan is the peak in he center of the photo. What a day and what a view!

Scotland stock landscape photo: cairngorm mountains in spring. Cody Duncan photography

Panoramic landscape stock photography: Cairngorm mountains with spring snow, Cairngorms, Scotland

Panoramic landscape stock photography: Cairngorm mountains with spring snow, Cairngorms, Scotland

Finally, the top of Cairn Gorm.

Cairngorms, Scotland: Summit cairn on Cairn Gorm. Cody Duncan photoCairngorms, Scotland: Summit cairn on Cairn Gorm. Cody Duncan photo

(all panos can be viewed larger by clicking on ’em)