West Coast of Scotland - Any 'must see' recomendations ?

[Marlyn]

Heading to Scotland and England for next couple weeks, and will be driving down the West Coast of Scotland.

Currently thinking of going to Inverness, and up to Thurso, then touring down the west coast to Glasgow (prob via Isle of Sky).   We have a week in Scotland, then on to London for other more normal Touristy stuff.   (Note: Trip starts from Aberdeen, as I'm also working there).

Would like to know if there are any must-see locations, or great landscape photography spots we should visit on that route.?

Regards

Mark.

[rvanr]

Loch Torridon
Applecross
The Cuillins (on Skye)
Isle of Mull (Calgary beach)
Glencoe
Knoydart (cannot get there by car though)
Loch Sween

Google these and pick what takes your fancy. You could probably spend a week in any of these places and not run out of inspiration.

[Nacnud]

Those are great reccomendations.
Personally, I'd shoot around to Ullapool and drift South from there.
If you are after inspiration, have a look at www.stevecarter.com, I love his landscapes.

I'd also like to add the entire North coast of the Ardnamurchan penninsula.
Anywhere from the Singing Sands of Kentra to the lighthouse at the Western tip is all exceptional.

Plus the whole of the Isle of Harris.
Google for Scarista and Luskentyre and that's just the seascapes - the East of the island is a granite moonscape like I have seen nowhere else.
Probably a bit far out for you on this trip - but bear it in mind for next time!

If you fancy a boat trip, the Small Isles ferry from Mallaig offers great scenery and the opportunity to spend a few hours ashore - I'd aim for Canna as there is plenty of good stuff to photograph very close to the ferry.

Have a good trip!
Duncan

[NigelC]

Heading to Scotland and England for next couple weeks, and will be driving down the West Coast of Scotland.

Currently thinking of going to Inverness, and up to Thurso, then touring down the west coast to Glasgow (prob via Isle of Sky).   We have a week in Scotland, then on to London for other more normal Touristy stuff.   (Note: Trip starts from Aberdeen, as I'm also working there).

Would like to know if there are any must-see locations, or great landscape photography spots we should visit on that route.?

Regards

Mark.

Inverpolly Estate, Suilven (best from south side), Achiltibue (for view SW over Summer Isles). Remember Scotland may be small compared to US, but to get to some of the the best places you need to be prepared to hike and rough camp overnight.

[DavidJ]

Weather is likely to be the biggest variable affecting your visit to the West Coast. There is so much that is superb you can go almost to any of the suggestions so far and if the weather is kind come away with great pictures. Recently I have been staying on Knoydart and visited Skye and the small Isles (Eigg, Muck, Rhum, and Canna). The other variable is your time. A lot of the West coast is apparenty compact but because of the lie of the land there can be a fair amount of driving involved between locations. Ferry access to some of the small Isles is weather dependent, if the sea is bad the boat can't put in to Muck.

Glencoe and Glen Etive are rightly very popular with photographers and are very accessible.

David

www.pistyllphoto.org.uk

[RenTiel]

I can recommend a visit to the Rua Reidh Lighthouse : http://www.earthfoot.org/places/uk001.htm,
and take a tour to the Hebrides (the Western Isles).
Please have a look at my site www.renetielenburg.com for some photographic impressions.

Regards,

Rene

[LoisWakeman]

I think you'd be hard-put to find anywhere on the west coast or Highlands not worth your time!

My personal favourites are Achnahaird beach, Achiltibuie and nearby Coigach, Inverpolly, and Loch Coruisk/the Black Cuillin, Assynt ....

[jock4]

I recommend the argyll coastal route from Oban to Tarbert on loch fyne then take the ferry to Portavadie and from there to Dunoon the ferry over the firth of clyde and onto Glasgow
some photos of this area can be seen on my web site.

[JMCP]

I recommend the argyll coastal route from Oban to Tarbert on loch fyne then take the ferry to Portavadie and from there to Dunoon the ferry over the firth of clyde and onto Glasgow
some photos of this area can be seen on my web site.

This route would also let you see the stunning view of the Kyles of Bute.


Cheers John

[Wim van Velzen]

Whatever you choose, take your time. In a week time I would pick out just two locations, probably the Isle of Skye and the Glencoe area (but that's me).

You'll find tons of pictures of Scotland here: landscape portofolios Wim van Velzen.


Enjoy! It's a great country!

[larkvi]

Thurso really isn't that exciting--unless you are going to Orkney or really committed to going to John O'Groats (yes, it does feel like the end of the world, but not in a particularly exciting way). I would honestly give it a pass--it will take a day to get there from Inverness, and a day back, for little benefit in my opinion.

For straight landscape, Skye is fantastic, as is the route through Glencoe and Glen Steeles (sp?). I think Wim has the right idea.

[gouldm]

Hi,

If you don't mind making an amazon purchase, I'd recommend the book 'Scotlands Coast' by Joe Cornish. The photographs are beautiful (he uses a 4x5 view camera), the text insightful and there are maps as to where the photographs were taken :-) There are quite a few images of the islands in the book, but the only thing is that the islands are a bit more difficult to get to in the winter as the ferry timetable is reduced.

Colin Prior also has an excellent book on Scotland, 'Scotland the Wild Places'.

I'd second the people who said Glen Coe, Rannoch Moor and Glen Etive (drop into the Clachaig Inn (go into the 'boot bar') in Glencoe for a pint of Red Cuillin too!), as well as Skye (the Cuilins from Elgol are beautiful at sunset). Skye is the easiest island to get to because it now has a road bridge connecting it to the mainland (drop in and see Ken Bryan at his studio in Broadford if you go to Skye, he's a great guy and would no doubt give you some tips on where to shoot!). These are all my favorite places anyway! Harris is beautiful and there might be the chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis there too... there are some traditional 'Black Houses' on Harris and Lewis that are fun to stay in if you decide to go there! If you go to Harris go to Lewis and see the Callanish standing stones too (I spent my honeymoon on Harris!), but I think you'd be better going to Skye and the Glen Goe/Rannoch moor area.

Regards,

Mark.

[francois]

Hi,

If you don't mind making an amazon purchase, I'd recommend the book 'Scotlands Coast' by Joe Cornish. The photographs are beautiful (he uses a 4x5 view camera), the text insightful and there are maps as to where the photographs were taken :-)

Regards,

Mark.

I agree with your recommendation, this book is absolutely a must for photographers wishing to visit Scotland coastal areas.

[Dave McRitchie - Bron Imaging Group]

I agree with your recommendation, this book is absolutely a must for photographers wishing to visit Scotland coastal areas.

I left Scotland and moved to the US 7 years ago.  I spent so much time in the western Highlands before I left that the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up reading all these places I used hike and climb - lugging a Fuji 617 or my Sinar f all through the area.

So all of these recommendations are amazing - I would also personally by-pass anything northeast of Inverness - sorry to the people that live there - but it takes so long to get anywhere that the west coast delivers amazing photo ops at every turn.

You will not be dissapointed on the Isle of Skye, Glen Coe or a much overlooked area - The Mamores.

Don't miss out on Glasgow - the architecture is inspirational!  This city is much maligned and never thought of as a place to visit as both Edinburgh and Stirling have a castle, but The Glasgow School of Art (Charles Renne Macintosh) and the Glasgow City Chambers (William Young) are two buildings that will and should impress and inspire.

Either way - have fun!

[gouldm]

One more thing... a couple of useful resources for anyone visiting the UK imho are the Admiralty tide tables, found at http://easytide.ukho.gov.uk/EASYTIDE/EasyT...SelectPort.aspx (you can get a *free* 7 day tidal forecast)... you'll have to hunt around for the ports (and don't forget to choose 'Scotland' if your looking for Scottish ports ;-)

The other useful resource is the Met Office website for the weather www.metoffice.co.uk. Choose the UK region and location forecast link in the Forecast section on the Weather tab... you can type in a postcode for the place you want to visit. It gives you a 5 day forecast and in my experience the current days forecast is quite accurate - if it says it'll rain at 3pm it probably will!!!

Regards,

Mark.

[Marlyn]

if it says it'll rain at 3pm it probably will!!!

thats because it is Scotland !  it always rains at 3pm it seemed

Anyway, we have returned from our trip, and had a great time.  Got a few nice shots I think, but overall the weather was fairly poor for photography coupled with the speed of the trip (we didnt' have a lot of time to stop and sightsee in most locations).

Area's  that looked interesting were.
 - Smoo Cave waterfall
 - John o'Groats area
 - Loch Toridan
 - Central highlands, and any number of mountain rivers, streams and mini waterfalls.

We missed Skye due to time and weather, but all in all, was a good week driving around the top end, as well as some much needed relaxation around Loch Ness, and Loch Torridon.

Will post some Pic's when I process them.
Thanks for the suggestions.

Regards

Mark