Luminous Landscape Forum
Equipment & Techniques => Landscape Photography Locations => Topic started by: Brad Smith on April 03, 2012, 11:36:52 am
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I'm planning a ~12-day trip to Scotland in late May or early June. I'm using Frommer's as a guide book as it seems to be the best over a couple of others I purchased here in the States. I've put together a tentative itinerary that includes Glasgow, Stirling, Callander/Aberforyle (for access to the Trossachs), Fort William, Inverness, Skye, Oban, Ayr and back to Glasgow Airport. I like the country more than the cities and normally shoot landscapes, but also enjoy ruins and travel photography in general. I would appreciate hearing about any "not to miss" sites, and thanks in advance for any recommendations.
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I cannot give you "not to miss" sites but I enjoyed the isle of Skye a lot.
Wim van Velzen, who posts here on the forum, has some nice galleries:
Scotland - highlands (http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl/landscape-portfolios.htm#schotland)
Scotlands - islands (http://www.fotografiewimvanvelzen.nl/landscape-portfolios.htm#eilanden)
Be sure to ready for wind and rain but Scotland is well worth it!
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As an ex-Glaswegian who has recently done a 4 week photo-shoot around Scotland, I offer the following comments:
With the sole exception of one in Kirkwall, Orkney, avoid B&Bs. Pay a little more for a hotel room, especially one owned by a chain and you will have a much more enjoyable experience. In general the Scots have zero understanding of service or comfort.
Having said that:
1. Your first challenge will be finding your way out of Glasgow Airport. Don’t stay in town but drive North through the Trossachs, Rannoch Moor, and stay at the Clachaig Inn in Glencoe for two nights. From here you will get ample mountains, decent food, and can do day trips to Oban (not much there), Castle Stalker, Kilchurn etc.
2. Go to Skye and stay in Broadford. On the way you must stop at Eilean Donan Castle at Dornie (do not even think of staying at the B&B in Dornie!). Skye can take a lot of time but in my view the drive to Elgol in the South is spectacular and then you get a stunning view of the Cuillins from there. You can even take a small boat ride across the loch to Lake Coruisk and walk into the Cuillins.
3. Unless you have an emotional reason to go to Culloden, I would give Inverness a miss as there is little there other than the World’s worst traffic system. Instead cross country and head for Stonehaven and go to Dunnottar. On the way you can do Corgarff, Crathes, and Brodie (with a spectacular Pictish stone in the driveway). You will not be short of old castles anywhere around here.
4. South to St Andrews for both the ruined abbey and the famous golf course.
5. Then Edinburgh, which is well worth 3 days. The history, old roads and buildings are really good. One day do the castle and walk down the Royal Mile, the next day do the old Grassmarket area. Rose Street has excellent pubs. The National Museum next to Greyfriars Bobby is well worth a visit.
6. If time permits, head East to Tantallon and Bass Rock, then South to Jedburgh for the ruined abbey. As a challenge try finding Smailholm on the way.
7. Then back to Glasgow. Take a bus tour around the city centre, there is a splendid variety of architectural styles, but not much else. The poorer districts can be dangerous for rich tourists.
With the exception of beer and fish & chips, everything else is very expensive – roughly 2-3 times a US price so plan accordingly. The roads are very good. People drive very fast on the wrong side of the road but the driving habits are far superior to US ones.
You can check out my pics in the “Scotland’s Landscape” gallery on www.whitepixels.ca.
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My experience with Highland b+b's is excellent.
Here are 4 which I've used in Torridon and Ullapool areas of the Highlands. All made me happy:
http://www.aurora-bedandbreakfast.co.uk
http://www.ferroch.co.uk/
http://www.bvegb.co.uk/
http://www.easter-badbea.co.uk/
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I plan to be in Scotland around the same time, June 9-15. Right now I plan on 3-4 nights each in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Will have the wife with me so I'm not going to be photographing intensely there.
(Landscape shooting will come afterward in Ireland.)
Ian, thanks for your input, very helpful.
Appreciate all help. Would like to get up to the Trossachs since it is so close, but I don't fancy hiring my own car.
Bob Towery
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Bob, if you are not going to hire a car then you should seriously think about a Rail Pass from BritRail. I met many people who were travelling around Scotland this way and they said it was very convenient and the views were magnificent (given good weather of course). You might try the route which goes past Hogwarts!
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Thanks everyone for your detailed inputs. I'm going to sort through them all and integrate them into my itinerary. Then I'm going to make sure I have my windbreaker and raincoat packed :).
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I did a tour of Scotland a few years ago, and can offer a few suggestions.
The biggest problem that I had was the weather. As you've no doubt heard, it rains frequently in Scotland, and when it's not raining it's usually overcast. Sunny days in the highlands are exquisite, but unfortunately rare. You should plan to do a lot of your landscape photography under cloudy skies. I found HDR to be a useful technique. You'll want to take a sturdy tripod, because the dim light necessitates longish exposures, and the wind in the Highlands is often strong. The ground can be quite spongy, so it's not ideal for holding your tripod steady.
I strongly recommend renting a car if possible. I didn't try it myself, but I imagine travelling around the Highlands by public transport would be a hassle. With your own car you can wander freely, and stop whenever you see anything of interest. It also makes carrying your gear much easier. The only problem is that much of the landscape is so photogenic that you'll never cover any distance if you stop for every interesting view. Most cars in Britain have manual transmission, but you should be able to hire an automatic for a little extra if you prefer. Parking shouldn't be a problem. Even in the few places where you have to pay for parking, the cost isn't unreasonable.
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Hi,
I only left Scotland a couple of years ago (only so far as the Lake District just south of the border mind!). I would absolutely head into the Trossachs, stunning scenery and very easy to access. Callander is a decent place to base yourself for a day or two with plenty of options for eating/drinking.
From there I would continue up through Crainlarich/Tyndrum and onto Glencoe. The drop into the glen from Rannoch Moor is jaw droppingly beautiful. I would second staying at the Clachaig for a couple of days - it remains one of my favourite hostelries in Scotland (a slight hangover from my mountaineering days). From there I would head down into Argyll for a brief visit to Kilmartin Glen - loads of ancient sites that sit well in the landscape and well worth a visit. Pop to The Isle of Siel on the way past too before heading up the coast and stop in either Fort William or (even better) Mallaig. A couple of days in the latter is worth your while as the landscape around there is fantastic.
From Mallaig you can get the ferry over to the south of Skye, head up and stop off either in Broadford (easy access to Elgol), The Sligachan Inn (right at the foot of the Cullins) or up to Portreigh which gives easy access to the Trotternish Ridge. All wonderful places that you could easily while away a day or three!
Next stop - Uig on Skye and get the ferry over to Harris. The beaches have to be seen to be believed - white sands, azure sea and wild, wild landscapes. Callanish Stone Circle is worth visiting up on Lewis too as you head to Stornoway as a good place to stay. The ferry from Stornoway takes you back over to Ullapool on the mainland from where you can tour up through some of the most dramatic and remote scenery in Scotland (that north west corner is my favourite area of mainland Scotland) with old ruinous castles, majestic mountains and wonderful beaches. Accomodation is a little more scarce but you can always find a B&B in the small villages.
I would be tempted to pop over to Orkney for a couple of days to see the ancient monuments, sea cliffs and stacks and a very different human landscape that exists on the islands (and that really is my favourite part of Scotland, although I am biased!).
Then head back down the A9 stopping off at anywhere that takes your fancy. Personally I love Inverness and would spend a night there, and probably another night or two in the Cairngorms.
Stirling (the last place I lived) is good, but I prefer Perth just slightly further north myself and would be tempted to stop off there before returning to Glasgow.
I basically followed that route over a fortnight a couple of years ago on my motorbike. Absolutely wonderful trip although photographs from it are few and far between as it was incredibly wet!
Enjoy though, superb time of year to be going and hopefully you will get the weather and stunning light that Scotland can dole out. As an aside, the Northern Lights have been relatively active thus far this year so keep that in mind! Sign up to Aurora Watch in the UK - you get email alerts regarding activity.
Oh and B&Bs in Scotland are wonderful, welcoming and generally comfortable. Yes there are exceptions, but by and large I love spending time in them and small guest houses. Hotels leave me cold - you rarely get the great personal experience and meet new people whilst staying in them (or at least that is what I have found!)
Rob
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Years ago, the official Scottish Highlands Tourist Board put out a brochure which said
“People seem to think that it rains a lot in the Highlands. We think that it is sunny several times a day!”.
Be warned.
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lol Ian, if you get some sun then it is a bonus in Scotland!
That said, I always felt that the Highlands and Islands looked more dramatic in the stormy weather and rain than under azure blue skies ;-)
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thanks Ian and Rob for the useful info.
I will be leaving on May 8th for 7 weeks and plan to spend some time in Scotland. I had several of the places you mentioned on my list but I have one particular question on Clachaig Inn. As part of my trip my brother (who still lives in the UK) and I will be doing a variation of the 3 peaks challenge by taking the more difficult arete routes (Crib Goch/Snowdon, Carn Mor Dearg/Ben Nevis and Mickledore/Scafell Pike) and in addition to them we also hope to complete other arete routes at Liathach, Ring of Steall and Aonach Eagach.
With regards to Aonach Eagach near the Clachaig Inn, the "trail" is a one way trail and requires transportation from the destination to get back to our car. Anyone have any idea whether there is a bus service or other "arrangeable" transportation that runs in the evening?
My brother and I are both photographers and look forward to the scenery and ancient structures but we are faced with difficult decisions with regards to limiting our camera equipment due to the technical challenge of some of the arete routes.
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From the Clachaig I would get the bus to the far end of the Aonach Eagach then finish back at the pub.
Just a quick one though... it is quite likely to be in full winter conditions (as is the Nevis Range and the like). You are probably aware and competent given your list of planned ascents in the region, but a lot of people get caught out each year and it ends badly.
Scottish Winter Mountaineering is bloody ace though ;-) Shame I have hung my crampons and ice axes up for the moment, miss those summits!
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thanks Rob
we have two windows of opportunity for the aretes in Scotland, May 12-20th and June 9-17th. Possibly a third short window June 2nd-8th. Depending on weather we will possibly push Aonach Eagach and other similar trails into the June window BUT if the weather in Scotland turns out to be great that first window, then we will go for it.
Rob , as you live in the LD now, another question on Scafell Pike/Scafell - any idea if the Lords Rake approach to Scafell is closed due to the massive rock perched at the top?
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I believe it is passable, but not been up there myself in many... many years (this is going on rumour, pretty sure I heard someone had been that way recently but I can't remember who it was or I would ask)!
Having had a look at some of the photographs of the rock fall though I would think if you are going to hit the Scottish ridges it should be doable ;-) The Aonach is more of a mountaineering expedition than a fell walk at the best of times (serious exposure and some scrambling/climbing moments needed) but absolutely worth it!
Fingers crossed you get lucky with the Scottish routes - the weather that time of year can be stunning... or wild!
Just wish I was getting into the Highlands again soon. Perhaps next year when things calm down a bit. Need to get home to Orkney!
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For the non climbers looking at this thread, take a peek at the video on
http://www.livefortheoutdoors.com/Videos/Search-Results/Mountaineering/Aonach-Eagach-in-winter-what-its-like/
It looks like a doddle!
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The AE ridge - scary stuff in those conditions. So many people do it so that they finish at the Pap of Glencoe end, but the descent there is really nasty at the end of a long, tiring day. The ridge is not for the faint-hearted.
If you stop at the Glachaig Inn, do try the Froach - an ale flavoured with heather rather than hops; gorgeous stuff. And if you want a route less demanding than the Aonach Eagach ridge, so long as the streams/rivers aren't in spate, there's a great route on the other side of the Glen, taking a route from the A82, up through the Three Sisters of Glencoe, up along Coire nan Lochan towards Stob Coire Lochan, Bidean nam Bian, and Stob Coire Sgreamhach, with options to either return via the Allt Coire Gabhail, or a lengthier route taking you on towards Dalness, then returning to the A82 via the Lairig Eilde.
There's plenty of stunning views (on a clear day), fantastic mountain scenery, and some cracking waterfalls.
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I was going to mention that - Bidean is probably my favourite mountain in Glencoe. Just love that climb, summer or winter!
Rob
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Last time I was there was in May two or three years ago - foul weather, rain, hail, sleet, snow onthe tops, & high winds. The AE ridge was out of the question, and my foray to Bidean was defeated by heavily swollen rivers. The Glachaig did well out of me though.
Next time it will be better weather - I've spoken to the weather gods
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It was great when I was living 45 minutes down the road ;-)
Now I have The Old Man of Coniston instead, which just isn't the same!
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Thanks to all for the helpful info.
The AE ridge - scary stuff in those conditions. So many people do it so that they finish at the Pap of Glencoe end, but the descent there is really nasty at the end of a long, tiring day. The ridge is not for the faint-hearted.
I was actually considering doing AE in the reverse direction for that reason, plus stopping to shoot photos can eat into the time and descending that in poor light is something we hope not to get caught with.
We will keep the route on the other side of the Glen as a back plan.
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I went last year and with some help from members of this board and Fred Miranda it was a great trip.
Consider that you can easily spend 5 days just in Skye, the Quiraing walk with the Old Man of Storr is impressive, the route from the Cullins to Elgol beach simply beautiful.
You could easily include the Eilean Donan castle and the Torridon, may be passing trough Applecross.
You can find soem tips here: http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=54422.0
and soem of the picture i took here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/crisdesign/sets/72157627217923184/
Cris
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Afternoon view from the Applecross peninsula to Skye across the Inner Sound:
(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1594818/pix/from%20Applecross%20to%20Skye.jpg)
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The Cuillins from Elgol
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I don't know why, but it looks like you will have to log in to see my pic of the Cuillins.
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Just got back from Skye where I spent 6 days (just me, my camera equipment and the Island ;)
Highly recommend the place, it is sort of essense of Scotland, though on the way to/from Skye I saw some real nice sights and objects. Just to mention those moss-cloaked trees that would go for Ents! Did not see those on Skye...
Anyways, great location, did a small blog on this trip www.hotubei.com (http://www.hotubei.com), just in case you want some "aperitif" before your own trip :)
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7. Then back to Glasgow. Take a bus tour around the city centre, there is a splendid variety of architectural styles, but not much else. The poorer districts can be dangerous for rich tourists.
As a fellow Glaswegian who escaped, I think you have it down to a T.
Regarding 7: that goes for anybody not from the area; it also makes me wonder why anybody not obliged to live in those places would visit. But don’t assume the villages are much safer: booze there is a menace too, and at night the farm boys go out to play, along with the work-shy and the genuine unemployed. Explosive mix.
I think the worst memory that I have from visits we made back – the food offered pretty much anywhere in British establishments was lousy; often lousy and expensive, just to rub in the pain. We used to get there (Scotland) by driving from Spain via the middle of France, where the chains were indeed very inexpensive and the chow offered usually rather good, especially in the Logis members’ places where rooms came in at around 30-35 pounds per room, not person, and with dinner à la carte or from one or the other of several set menus, around a hundred quid in total (room and food etc.) for my wife and I per day.
Making direct comparisons like that between France one day and the UK the next, it becomes easy to see why Brits flock abroad whenever they can; weather is only a part of it. As for the motorways, God bless the French and the Spanish! Were the Brits not so bolshie, they’d realise that paying tolls for motorway usage actually provides a far better service and experience than having them free, underfunded and in permanent states of disrepair.
Rob C
P.S. I never did eat well in Florida, either, so perhaps my tastes are different, in which case, I suppose U.S. trippers will be perfectly happy in Scotland.
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I think the worst memory that I have from visits we made back – the food offered pretty much anywhere in British establishments was lousy; often lousy and expensive, just to rub in the pain.
Actually I thought the food in Scotland wasn't bad, but that's largely a metter of personal taste. The fish and chips at least were much better than what you get in Australia. The prices were good compared to Australia, but that's probably the case just about anywhere these days.:(
As for the motorways, God bless the French and the Spanish! Were the Brits not so bolshie, they’d realise that paying tolls for motorway usage actually provides a far better service and experience than having them free, underfunded and in permanent states of disrepair.
I didn't notice anything wrong with the motorways, but I've never driven in Europe so I guess I just don't know what I'm missing.
Some of the roads in the Highlands were an interesting experience. The surfaces were actually pretty well maintained, but there are still long stretches where there's only a single lane for both directions. The road widens every so often so that the cars can pass each other. It makes for tiring driving - you have to constantly stay alert, and stop for cars that enter the single lane stretch before you.
Some of the larger roads in the highlands were great driving - the sort of thing you see in sports car commercials.
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The roads just take a bit of getting used to ;)
Here is a quick shot of Orkney to show you what it is all about!
(http://www.alpinist.co.uk/imgs/gallery/9243/9243_3824640424c72a3ef5e8c3.jpg)
And a wee bit of Perthshire:
(http://www.alpinist.co.uk/imgs/gallery/9243/9243_1735573334af97bba3ff2c.jpg)
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For images potentially as good as those posted I would put up with much worse.
Regards
Tony Jay
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GuzziRob: Brodgar and Loch Tay ??? Excellent pics.
Hotubei: very nice views from Skye. Great job.
RobC: Everyone who has left Scotland has mixed feelings – from the deep down gut feeling of “homeland”, which the Welsh call “hiraeth”, balanced with the stark reality of a very difficult life. In this I do not think that the Scots have any exclusivity and many different peoples have faced the same choice –stay or go. The Scots made truly magnificent contributions to modern life, but failed to capitalize on them. Of the many things the Scots excelled at, gastronomy was not one of them.
I wish I could vote in 2014.
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Everyone who has left Scotland has mixed feelings – from the deep down gut feeling of “homeland”, which the Welsh call “hiraeth”, balanced with the stark reality of a very difficult life.
I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. Scotland certainly has its problems, but I don't think life there could be fairly described as very difficult for most people. I think the majority of the world's population would consider it a life of ease.
Of the many things the Scots excelled at, gastronomy was not one of them.
Evidently their cooking is good enough. Most of the people that I saw seemed to enjoy their food - in fact they looked like they enjoy it a little too much.;)
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Here's something a little different. It's near Bowling railway station, on the north bank of the Clyde.
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I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. Scotland certainly has its problems, but I don't think life there could be fairly described as very difficult for most people. I think the majority of the world's population would consider it a life of ease.
Evidently their cooking is good enough. Most of the people that I saw seemed to enjoy their food - in fact they looked like they enjoy it a little too much.;)
That's the point and also its consequence: it's generally crap.
Both my mother-in-law and my wife were excellent cooks; my son trained as a professional chef and worked in some top places in Glasgow until he packed it all in in order to get a life where he was allowed friends of an evening! The three of those people said the same thing: crap in - crap out. In other words, you can't create astonishing food from rubbish, and I'm afraid that the bulbous people you see walking the streets have not allowed themselves or their families the better choices in life. I don't for a moment accept that 'good' raw products are out of reach: when you can smoke the paypacket away or give it to the bookies and off-licences, you could, if you chose, buy top-class food and learn to cook it.
My wife had the further advantage of my mother - half-Italian - and she learned much from her, too, and best of all, she enjoyed making things out of whatever was locally available and in season. Chuck-its in buckets never crossed our doorstep.
Thirty or twenty-five years ago, there were lots of dinner parties held out here, and we usually went to one another’s homes to enjoy them. Now, the majority of people don’t even dream of spending time on their ‘friends’ anymore; they depend on the credit card and a restaurant instead. I may well be a dinosaur, but in my view, that degrades friendship terribly – it becomes nothing but another expense and no personal input enters the equation. There is no way that any restaurant captures the friendly, personal atmosphere of a home, the absolute lack of pressure to get up and leave so the staff can go away. Frankly, I’d rather stay home and play at LuLa. But there you go – different times, different commitments and little sense of values and worth.
I don’t recognize any feeling of nostalgia about returning to any ‘homeland’, though: were that in my soul then I don’t expect I’d have left in the first place. In the end, ‘home’ is a tiny place where love lives; a little house full of wife and, with some effort, kids. That you can take with you anywhere on Earth if you really want to so do. Then, when time passes and that entity is destroyed in one of the many inevitable ways, you face what? Yourself? That ‘self’ will follow you wherever you think you can go – you can’t escape it; it’s you, your own built-in destiny.
Ultimately, what difference Spain, Scotland, Ireland or even, God help us, Wales? If that sounds bleak, it’s because it is.
Rob C
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My comment about the number of non-slender people in Scotland was tongue in cheek, as you probably guessed. I realize that being fat doesn't mean you eat good food, it just means you eat too much food. It's worth mentioning that overweight people aren't exactly rare in Australia or America these days.
I'm a Scot by birth and ancestry myself, but I left when I as four years old (it wasn't my decision), and have only been back a few times since then. My first visit as an adult was for 3 weeks in 2010.
In my own experience it's not hard to get a good meal in Scotland if you want to. Admittedly my tastes are simple, and I was always happy to eat a good old-fashioned haddock and chips if nothing better was available. Too much of it would make you fat, but no more so than typical American or Australian food.
No doubt you're right that a lot of people eat crap because they smoke and gamble their money away. I suspect the same thing happens in other countries too. I was impressed by what was on offer in Scottish supermarkets at reasonable prices. The fresh berries in particular are vastly superior to what you get in Australia. Australian strawberries look good, but sadly that's all you can say in their favour.
I would love to try living in Scotland for a few years, but sadly family commitments and probable lack of employment opportunities make this unfeasible. Perhaps when our babies have all left the nest my wife and I can spend a few of our declining years in the land of my birth. Until then I expect to head back occasionally. If only someone would invent an aircraft that could cruise at supersonic speeds, burn little fuel, and be cheap to manufacture and maintain...
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Yes, Brodgar (which is a very special place to me - Hoy is and always will be home) and Loch Tay - I was involved with building the crannog back when I was an archaeology student in the mid 90's.
As for the food - I think RobC has very coloured views. There is a lot of excellent food in Scotland - and it isn't just the top end stuff in the cities that I am talking about either! Yes The Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow is truly special or The Witchery in Edinburgh, but so is The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye or The Lade Inn at Kilmahog in the Trossachs. Little places are springing up everywhere which offer very good quality and reasonably priced food.
The populous of Scotland are also getting way more inventive and are entertaining at home a lot more too, and some of the Bed and Breakfasts offer absolutely stunning evening meals especially in the more remote parts of the Highlands and Islands.
I only moved away 3 years ago and there is a lot I miss about the place (and yes, I know I am only an hour south of the border!)
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Yes, Brodgar (which is a very special place to me - Hoy is and always will be home) and Loch Tay - I was involved with building the crannog back when I was an archaeology student in the mid 90's.
As for the food - I think RobC has very coloured views. There is a lot of excellent food in Scotland - and it isn't just the top end stuff in the cities that I am talking about either! Yes The Ubiquitous Chip in Glasgow is truly special or The Witchery in Edinburgh, but so is The Three Chimneys on the Isle of Skye or The Lade Inn at Kilmahog in the Trossachs. Little places are springing up everywhere which offer very good quality and reasonably priced food.
The populous of Scotland are also getting way more inventive and are entertaining at home a lot more too, and some of the Bed and Breakfasts offer absolutely stunning evening meals especially in the more remote parts of the Highlands and Islands.
I only moved away 3 years ago and there is a lot I miss about the place (and yes, I know I am only an hour south of the border!)
Loch Tay. Agreed; spent our honeymoon there, from which an ancient Kodachrome can be seen on the website below in the Biscuit Tin gallery, image 76 of 153. (Loch Tay? Honeymoon? Yes, we were young, poor, but in love.)
Very coloured views? Somewhat broadly-based ones, in fact, from having spent many years living in a series of other countries. Actually, some very good meals were enjoyed at my sister-in-law’s Scottish home, where she, a very busy lady with senior work responsibilities and little free domestic time, manages to create wonders from personal adaptations built upon a baseline of Marks & Spencer offerings. That is an art in itself, and probably far more valuable, in the real scheme of things, than photography! Perhaps I jest – I’m not sure.
Entertaining at home. More than they are abroad, then, I’d hope. (This time, I think I do jest.)
To sum up: it’s a nice place if you get good weather and have the roads to yourself, both rare events. In fact, to illustrate the point, even back in the 50s when I first began to drive, the only time we’d go to the Trossachs, up the Duke’s Pass etc. was on a rainy day: you could then probably park in one of the very few lay-bys that was available. You got wet from above, from the side, in every direction if you had to go pee, but you can’t have everything.
;-)
Rob C
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There is a lot more parking up the Dukes Pass these days, but yes... it can get busy in the honey pots near Glasgow and Edinburgh!
And I have to agree on the weather! My last visit home was a couple of years ago on motorbikes. In the fortnight that our tour de ecosse lasted I think we had 1 sunny day, and 13 that were a variation on the wet/windy/sleety/foggy scale of things. That was in July/August! Get the weather though and it is truly one of the most stunningly beautiful places on Earth (my parents are up on Tiree this week and it is looking like they may be getting some fabulous weather up there so I am really quite envious!)
Still... at least I have the Lakes to enjoy and a new Nikon D800E to put through it's paces ;-)