Mingary Castle I, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
After skirting around Ben Hiant yesterday I’m now into the heart of Ardnamurchan, one of the remotest peninsulas in Britain where I’m hunkered down in my tent. As the rain sheets down outside I steel myself for another wet day today to reach the westernmost point of mainland Britain for New Year’s Eve. Later on, I buy the couple of pieces of fruit left in the shop in Kilchoan and enjoy a chat with crofter Alistair Campbell on the way back from feeding his chickens before heading into the open hill.
There’s no visibility and no photography most of the time and it’s starting to get dark on this tussocky and mountainous terrain, but I start to relax when I see the lighthouse flash in the distance through the rain. The ground is rocky and boggy but miraculously I find a patch of short flat grass, like a putting green, next to a small bay with beautiful white sand where I wearily put up the tent for the last time in 2018.
Momentary glimmer, Loch Sunart, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Marine farm jetty, Mingary, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Mingary Castle II, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Crofter Alistair Campbell, Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Kilchoan in rain, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Allt Garbh dhalach, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Druim Reidh-dhalach, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
An Acairseid, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Lochan Druim na Claise, Ardnamurchan, Highland, Scotland.
Date of Walk: 31/12/2018
Next morning, New Year’s Day at Port Min by Corrachadh Mor, the most westerly point on the UK mainland, with the Point of Ardnamurchan beyond.
That is a beautiful vista for the first day of the New Year.
And a big contrast to the night before!
Felt the chill in my bone just looking at Druim Reidh-dhalach and Lochan Druim na Claise. Learnt a new word – crofter. Thank you once again. The dispassionate editing is paying off. Been thinking a lot about your earlier explanation and it is helping me understand the difference between art and the practice of art. Gotta be passionate to do things like walk a long way in the rain, then gotta be dispassionate to pick out the pics that work. #lifelonglearning #morethanpointandshoot
It was cold! Very true about the passionate vs dispassionate dichotomy.
I’m glad that the weather cleared up for you on New year’s Day!
It felt like the perfect gift to start the year