Posts Tagged ‘highlands’

Star gazing

Monday, September 29th, 2014 | Photos

I decided there was no point taking my 50mm prime lens to Scotland. Then I got there and realised that that was exactly what I needed for photographing the night sky! As it happens, Ullapool puts out a lot of light anyway, so the photos were not amazing. I have seen far better skies in the middle of nowhere. However, it was certainly better than Leeds.

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Summer Queen Cruises

Sunday, September 28th, 2014 | Photos, Travel

While in Ullapool, we took a Summer Queen Cruise to the Summer Isles. I totally recommend it. We saw loads of dolphins. Loads!

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Some awesome scenery too.

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And we got some beautiful sunshine in the Summer Isles. We hiked up to the top of the hill and then I ran up to the very top of the island. This is us at the top of the first hill:

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Then this is everyone from the very top of the island:

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And their view looking up at me:

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Ullapool 2014

Friday, September 26th, 2014 | Friends, Life, Photos, Travel

A couple of years ago, Norman charged George and I with planning a suitable celebration of his 30th birthday. So, in February this year, we began planning a trip to the Scottish Highlands. Seven months and a thousand miles of driving later, and our mission was accomplished.

It is a mission to get to. It took 11 hours to get up there and 10 hours to get back. It was worth the drive though (I say now the back pain has faded). We got incredibly lucky in that we had no rain all week and enjoyed sunshine for most of it. The cruise staff were very keen for me to stress to everyone that I had to use sun cream in the Highlands!

Amazing weather, amazing company and an amazing setting – what more could you possibly want from a holiday?

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The view across the loch. The town on the right is Ullapool.

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Norman swimming in the loch. I only made it to the river that ran down beside our house into the loch and that was absolutely freezing.

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Corrieshalloch Gorge. The photos do not do it justice. It is 200 feet deep.

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Our beach-side home for the week.

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Best of all, spending a week with seven amazing friends.