Tag Archives: scottish

Neist Point Lighthouse

Neist Point Lighthouse
“Neist Point Lighthouse” — Neist Point and lighthouse, Isle of Skye

Our time on the Isle of Skye this past May combined visits to iconic locations. (I’m not against photographing icons that are new to me, or when conditions are extra special.) On this day we did a bit of both. Before we ended up here we had taken a long drive out to the tiny hamlet of Elgol. We returned, stopped for a quick dinner and then (the sun sets very late there in May) decided that Neist Point might be a reasonable objective.

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Two Highlands Peaks

Two Highlands Peaks
“Two Highlands Peaks” — Soft light on green hills and two distant highlands peaks.

We came upon this scene while driving north from Ullapool, Scotland and then taking a diversion out toward the coast. (We were intrigued by signs promising that we would find blueberry scones, and we just keep going until we… ran out of Scotland at the coast! Sadly, we never found the scones.) We were traveling along some lowland valleys, and at the top of one short incline we looked back and saw this view. Initially the entire scene was shaded by clouds, but since it looked like sunny spots were moving across the landscape we waited until some of that light landed on the foreground.

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Hairy Coo Calf

Hairy Coo Calf
“Hairy Coo Calf” — A young “hairy coo,” the Scotthish Highlands cattle.

Yes, more cute “coo.” I know, not my usual subject. But these “hairy coos” are a big deal in Scotland, and they really are striking and marvelous creatures — especially if you come across one or more in a pasture on a foggy or rainy day. It is hard to imagine many other things that feel more like the Scottish highlands.

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Back-Scratching Hairy Coo Calf

Back-Scratching Hairy Coo Calf
“A young Scottish “Back-Scratching Hairy Coo Calf” — highlands “hairy coo” uses its horn to scratch its back.

Like the brochures say, no visit to Scotland is complete without seeing the hairy highland “coos.” While coos (or, in American English, “cows”) are not my usual subject, the critters were there and I had a camera, so I made some photographs. In this case, a small herd was right next to the road north of Portree, so we paused on our daylong route out and around the end of the island to view them.

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