Scotland
For nearly 50 years I have been making the drive north to a different country, with a language and culture of its own, and varied landscapes, enough to fill a lifetime of visits. In the 1970s travel anywhere north of the Great Glen generally involved slow progress along single-track roads, albeit with less traffic than nowadays. As a result, arriving in the northwest of Scotland felt like being far removed from everyday life. The feeling is similar today, but with better roads the journey time is much reduced, and with increased tourist numbers (the North Coast 500 has been very successful!) some of the magic has gone.
Travel to this remote northwest corner of Scotland and you are transported to somewhere unique. Here mountains scatter sparingly, and rise monolithic from wide, watery expanses of bog and loch. Red sandstone peaks that resisted the scouring of glaciers. A dramatic, wild but alluring landscape. What these tops lack in stature they make up for in charm, with magical names and individual characters. To walk amongst them calms the mind and raises the spirit.
The Torridon peaks of Wester Ross Peaks crowd and tower above deep glens filled with rushing water. A fair drive northwest from Inverness they have a remoteness that the central highlands lack. Red sandstone peaks, often capped by white quarzite, have a drama which is unique to this region of Scotland. The vast wilderness areas of the Flowerdale and Fisherfield Forests bordering these peaks give the area an added feeling of isolation.
The image sets below benefit from a more leisurely approach, and show the changes in a view over a period of time, be it hours or days.
