Category Archives: Photographs: Scotland

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Telford Bridge, River Moriston

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Telford Bridge, River Moriston
“Telford Bridge, River Moriston” — The River Moriston flows past the historic Telford Bridge at Invermoriston, Scotland.

We came to the historic Telford Bridge at the end of a long day on the Great Glen Way walk, as we entered the small town of Invermoriston. There were a few surprises at the end of the day. For one, as we came down the last hill the town appeared to be right in front of us, but then the route headed off to the right to take us to bridge across the river. Soon after the crossing we came to the Telford Bridge. All in all, it was a wonderful walk, full of cloudy views of Loch Ness and the Scottish countryside.

The name of the bridge refers to the same Thomas Telford who conceived of the Caledonian Canal connecting Inverness and Fort William, along with many other projects in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The original bridge was constructed over the River Morriston in 1839. (The current structure dates to 1913.) As a side note, seeing the River Moriston flowing past the town of Invermoriston as we walked toward Invernes… a mental lightbulb came on and I wondered, “What does ‘inver’ mean, and why does it keep showing up in place names?” In turns to that an inver is a place where bodies of water (typically a lake and a river) meet.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Oban Harbor, Dusk

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Oban Harbor, Dusk
“Oban Harbor, Dusk” — Dusk sky, smooth waters, and evening lights along the edge of Oban harbor, Scotland.

This might have been the actual moment when we truly entered vacation mode — which is a different thing than travel mode. Travel mode had brought us to Oban, Scotland, where we paused for a couple of days between arriving in the UK and starting our walk on the Great Glen Way. Travel mode meant almost a full day in international transit, a quick overnight a the Glasgow airport, a shuttle ride to the train station, arrival and check-in in Oban, and then a search for dinner. We finished dinner, left the restaurant for our walk back to our accommodations, and were greeted with the lovely, peaceful scene of smooth water and the dusk glow in the sky.

Oban is a fine little town, located right on the water and a center for fishing, water adventures, ferries, and more. We enjoyed out short stay there — and our visit to the Oban distillery and a bit of whisky tasting probably enhanced things — as we devoted a couple of days to just slowing down and starting to overcoming jet lag.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Loch Ness From The Great Glen Way

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Loch Ness From The Great Glen Way
“Loch Ness From The Great Glen Way” — The view of Loch Ness from the high route of the Great Glen Way between Invermoriston and Drumnadrochit/Lewiston.

Scotland’s Great Glen Way, an 80-mile walking route between Fort William and Inverness, follows a nearly-straight valley or glen that runs from the southwest to the northeast. There are three lochs (or lakes) along the Glen — from south to north they are Loch Lochy, Loch Rich, and Loch Ness. They are interconnected via the remarkable structures of the Caledonian Canal, and watercraft can travel from end to end. Loch Ness, at the north end, is both the largest and the most famous of the lochs, in part because of the “Loch Ness Monster” tales. (I marvel at how the Scots can build an economy around Nessie, a non-existent thing!)

On this day’s walk — a long and exhausting one! — we traveled from Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit and its neighbor, Lewiston. This was one of the four days on which we had Loch Ness to our right. (Well, on one of them we hiked the section in reverse, so the loch was to our left.) Yes, it is that long! This view is from a section of the path that rose into forests high above the valley.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel, Photographs: Urban/Street

TOFU Wall, Glasgow

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TOFU Wall, Glasgow
“TOFU Wall, Glasgow” — Street art on the wall outside an Asian Fusion restaurant in Glasgow, Scotland.

On our recent trip to Scotland, among other things, we managed to spend time in the two largest cities, Glasgow and Edinburgh. We flew into Glasgow late at night, then took a shuttle to the train station to head the Oban the next day. Fortunately, we came back for a longer visit after our walk on the Great Glen Way. We liked Glasgow a lot — while it is a busy, interesting place, it didn’t seem as touristy as parts of Edinburgh. Large murals like this one are a well-known feature of Glasgow.

We knew we wanted to at least see a few of them, so we came up with a longish walking route that would take us from our downtown location, past the University of Glasgow, and eventually to where many of them are found. This is the first one we ran into. (I apologize for not having thought to look for the artist’s signature!) One thing I like about the murals is that they integrate with the surrounding urban landscape. In this case, there’s the name of the business, a window to the interior, and more — which is partly why I composed this to include surrounding elements such as the front of the car, the bollards, the sidewalk, and the upper story of the building.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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