“Cotswolds Forest Scene” — Trees and spring undergrowth along a Cotswolds trail.
This spring, following our exploration of northwest Scotland and cities in Ireland, we made our way to the Cotswolds District of England, where we did a one week village-to-village walk. It was unusually hot on the day we arrived, but once we started walking the weather was more typically British, as in cloudy and rainy. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The cool, damp weather was generally great for walking, and most of the rain came in the form of brief, light showers. With that in mind, it is no surprise that we spent a lot of time in some very green landscapes.
“Snow-capped Slioch” — Trees frame the snow-dusted summit of Slioch.
This photograph is an example of my policy of not knowing too much when I travel. It drives some people (hi, Patty!) crazy, but it does mean that I get to “discover” things before knowing that they are iconic. Almost two months after photographing this “random” impressive Scottish mountain I learned that it is well-known. The peak is Slioch — or “The Shield” — and a “munro,”* one of the peaks reaching over 3000′. I read that there is a well-known climbing route to its summit. Apparently, photographs of the peak have been used to represent this area of northern Scotland.
“Valley and HIlls” — Cloud shadows move across a northern Scotland landscape.
When I encounter a new landscape I virtually always start comparing it to other landscapes with which I’m familiar. I think this is my way of trying to make sense of unfamiliar spaces. Some of the vast, open spaces of northern Scotland reminded me, at times, of parts of the American Southwest or the wilderness of Alaska. I think this is a combination of the very long views, the lack of large vegetation, and the huge valleys.
“Mountains and Cascade” — A stream cascades down from a mountain valley in far northern Scotland.
Most of our May visit to Scotland consisted of a big loop from Inverness out to the Isle of Skye, north (often on the NC500 route), eastward along the North Sea coast, and then down the eastern coast to return to Inverness. This took us through lots of highlands country, but on this day, as we drove across the north towards John O’Groats, the mountains were receding more and more into the distance. Driving east and looking south (the North Sea was to our left) we saw this spectacular ridge.
