Iolair-Bhara
Stob Coir'an Albannaich, Meall an Araich, Meall nan Eun & Doire Darach
This was taken last winter, after yet another freezing night spent in my car. I had intended to drive home the night before (after spending a full, exhausting day in the winter hills), but being 'in place', so to speak, gave me the opportunity to hang on until dawn & see what it would bring. I remember awakening to the sight of thick, low stratus & the prospect of nothing worth hanging around for. As usual, that little, persistent voice in my head kept warning me of inevitably missing something if I gave up the ghost. I grudgingly decided to stay put for an hour or so after sunrise. Suddenly the cloud barrier dissipated & I was treated to this breath-taking but short-lived revelation. Not long after this, a high sheet of cloud obliterated the sun & the spell was broken.
Doire Darach is a tiny fragment of the ancient Caledonian pine forest that once carpeted much of the Highlands. In this image, it gives some idea of what our wild country SHOULD look like, although at its peak, the forest would reached much further up the hill-sides, to perhaps 600 or 700 metres.
Stob Coir'an Albannaich, Meall an Araich, Meall nan Eun & Doire Darach
This was taken last winter, after yet another freezing night spent in my car. I had intended to drive home the night before (after spending a full, exhausting day in the winter hills), but being 'in place', so to speak, gave me the opportunity to hang on until dawn & see what it would bring. I remember awakening to the sight of thick, low stratus & the prospect of nothing worth hanging around for. As usual, that little, persistent voice in my head kept warning me of inevitably missing something if I gave up the ghost. I grudgingly decided to stay put for an hour or so after sunrise. Suddenly the cloud barrier dissipated & I was treated to this breath-taking but short-lived revelation. Not long after this, a high sheet of cloud obliterated the sun & the spell was broken.
Doire Darach is a tiny fragment of the ancient Caledonian pine forest that once carpeted much of the Highlands. In this image, it gives some idea of what our wild country SHOULD look like, although at its peak, the forest would reached much further up the hill-sides, to perhaps 600 or 700 metres.