Today is St. Andrew’s Day, so it makes sense to post something about Scotland and, in particular, the county I currently inhabit: Caithness. The North Coast 500 (NC500) long distance coastal route has brought an increased number of tourists to…
It is November. And the coldest November night since 2010. As I draft this, on a chilly Monday morning, the temperature in Braemar is currently -12°c, and falling. Here in the far north, in the town at the end of…
I have shared this photo of ridgelines in Highland Perthshire before, in my essay “Trees, A Brief Personal History.” It is a favourite of mine, illustrating how Scottish weather, so oft-derided, can actually increase the beauty of a photograph. Being…
Now the season is shifting, and the insects no longer such an issue, I am back up the river for my dawn walks. I tried to take some photos on my phone for here, but they aren’t as sharp as…
These are not actually The Cliffs of Insanity, as everyone knows they are in Ireland. Or, really, they are in a book and a film, that portion of which was filmed over at Moher. Instead, these are the sea cliffs…
This is Stromness. More specifically, this is a path up the hillside, from near the harbour towards the primary school I attended, once upon a time. Stromness remains the only town or village I have ever felt close to calling…
It is that time of the year again, when I yearn to walk out into wild places and, especially, into the woods. The season seems to have suddenly changed here in Edinburgh, Summer closing her eyes and beginning to nod…
I was recently doing some research, looking at the island of Stronsay, in Orkney, when I noticed something interesting. Using the internet for research is full of peril, fraught with misinformation and potential downfall, but it has become my principal…
A bit of a cheat this week, as I am including two photographs of the same landscape, but at different scales. This is the Flow Country, a huge area of blanket bog, covering much of Caithness and Sutherland; it is…
