Tag Archives: highlands

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way

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Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way
“Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way” — Fog drifts across forest trees and mountains along the Great Glen Way.

Understanding a new landscape often takes time. Scotland’s is quite different from any that I’m familiar with. Much of it is green lowlands, and here along the Great Glen Way water is everywhere. There are mountains, though they seem low to this California photographer used to peaks that tower above 14,000 feet. Yet they can be quite rugged, and that ruggedness seems to come on quite suddenly. And then there is the weather! Most days were in the 60s, it was often cloudy, and we dealt with precipitation on about a third of the days or more on our walk — like on this day.

On this morning we had started — as we did almost every morning — by walking out the door of our lodgings in the lowlands. The route soon climbed into those Scottish mountains, and it remained cloudy and damp with fog drifting in and out. One moment we had decently clear views beneath the clouds; the next moment the fog would drift up from the valley and obscure the scene. The overall effect was dark and dramatic in a way that I rarely encounter in the Sierra Nevada “Range of Light.”

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: People In Landscape, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Hikers, Great Glen Way

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Hikers, Great Glen Way
“Hikers, Great Glen Way” — Two hikers at treeline on. a foggy morning along the Great Glen Way, Scotland.

This photograph comes from a section of Scotland’s Great Glen Way between Fort Augustus and Invermoriston This segment includes one of the two highest points on the walk, and is also known for including the “View Catcher” structure. I made the photograph close to that actual high point, on a morning when it was trying to rain and fog was drifting around the peaks and the valley, occasionally blocking the view entirely. As we paused to make photographs — and catch our breath! — another pair of hikers walked by.

The Scottish weather on our trip was actually quite varied. At the start it was, or so we were told, unusually warm and sunny with highs around the 70 degree mark at times. The Scots seemed pleased, if a bit surprised. But things changed a few days into our trek, and there was a fair amount of walking in full rain gear. We hear that this is more typical weather in this part of Scotland.

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: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Forest Above Loch Ness

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Forest Above Loch Ness
“Forest Above Loch Ness — “Forest with green moss along the Great Glen Way above Loch Ness, Scotland.

This photograph comes from the second-to-last day of our walk on Scotland’s Great Glen Way . Every day was different, but this one stood out in several ways. First of all, we hiked it “backwards.” On every other day we hiked toward our destination of Inverness. But this time we were dropped off north of Lewiston, where we were staying, and we walked back toward town. A few miles into the walk we encountered our most exposed highland terrain as we crossed a high, windy ridge and then descended to re-enter forest.

This spot along that descent was a lovely surprise. Much of the forest land we had walked through was dense with trees, blocking the light and cutting off distant views. But on this bench high above Loch Ness we found this open and softly lit section of forest carpeted with green moss. Through the trees and far below we could see Loch Ness.

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: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Spain, Photographs: Travel

Highland Trees and Fog

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Highland Trees and Fog
“Highland Trees and Fog” — Fog and trees along the Great Glen Way in the Scottish Highlands above Loch Ness.

Most of our hike on Scotland’s Great Glen Way passed through various bucolic landscapes: flatlands, tree-lined canals, the shores of the lochs, lowland and hillside forests. But on a couple of occasions the trail ascended above the forest and into true highlands terrain. Both times the gentle (though occasionally a bit wet) Scottish weather turned more dramatic. In this location, on the boundary between forest and open highlands, the fog drifted in and out, occasionally obscuring the view of the Glen and Loch Ness far below.

This photograph comes from the section of the walk that lies just north of Fort Augustus. Here the trail quickly climbs out of town, passing the iconic “View Catcher”, crossing a ridge, dropping into a valley, and then ascending steeply to a ridge high above Loch Ness.

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.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

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

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.