Sligachan falls at the Back CuillinThe Cuillin mountains (or Black Cuillin) formed from the remains of the magma chambers which fed volcanic eruptions in the early creation of the island 60 million years ago, and can be seen from most locations around Skye. Located in the midst of the mountains there are many rivers and waterfalls including the famous Fairy Pools on the way to Loch Brittle.

The Cuillin mountains (or Black Cuillin) formed from the remains of the magma chambers which fed volcanic eruptions in the early creation of the island 60 million years ago, and can be seen from most locations around Skye. Located in the midst of the mountains there are many rivers and waterfalls including the famous Fairy Pools on the way to Loch Brittle.
 

Whilst we all spent time at home dealing with the Covid pandemic, everyone dreamed of what they would do “when this is all over”. The time spent at home with all our normal day to day freedoms taken away gave us all a sense of appreciation for what we had. All our greedy unsatiable desires for consumerism and the next version of our favourite phone, faded into the reality of what was ‘really important’. One of those things for me, alongside family and good health, was exploring this island we call home.

Although I had already travelled as far as Lands’ End and John O’Groats, there were a lot of places I had yet to explore and photograph, but I just wasn’t making the effort to get there. Top of the list was the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. A magical place I had talked about for years having seen many amazing images from there and been pretty close with a few visits to Skye. So, the plans were made, an itinerary pulled together, and ferries booked. I packed the van to the rafters and set off for two weeks exploring and photographing these little jewels.

I originally planned to visit during early February to capture snow capped mountains as the backdrop, but as this was my first visit, I decided pushing back to the end of March would give me more daylight and hopefully at least half the days being dry enough to photograph. The Outer Hebrides are well known for blustery changeable weather, where you can have all four seasons in a day and struggle to stand, never mind get a camera out. It’s what gives it the drama and beauty. Little did I know, it had been raining almost non-stop since the previous Autumn and I was in for something memorable. First stop, Isle of Skye.

‘What it is that triggers these thoughts when it’s far too late to do anything about it’

Setting off nice and early, 300 miles and 6 hours later I was crossing Rannoch Moor heading towards Glen Etive for a quick visit to a popular waterfall and a lunch break, when my brain kicked in with a useless but important bit of information for me. “You didn’t pack your tripod”. I always wonder what it is that triggers these thoughts when its far too late to do anything about it rather then when you are packing the van, or at least before you get to the end of your road, for goodness sake.

In a major state of panic, I pulled over and opened up the back of the van. Not only had I forgotten to pack my primary tripod, I had forgotten to pack either of my 2 tripods. I’m not particularly proud of this moment in my time moonlighting as a Landscape Photographer, and I can safely say it will never happen again. Faced with a 4 hour round trip back to Glasgow, I ploughed ahead and headed off to Fort William hopeful of finding a camera shop, whilst also harbouring plans of overnight couriers from home. A few hours later I was armed with a cheap tripod out of Argos stowed in the back of the van, after a little help from Donna back at base in Bolton.

At around 11pm I arrived in a small layby just in front of the Sligachan Mountain Rescue Base on Skye. Wide eyed and buzzing from the long drive, I was presented with a clear sky full of stars, so before I put my head down for some well-earned rest, I grabbed a quick long exposure shot from the road to try out my somewhat wobbly tripod purchase.

The air was coming in from the sea along Loch Brittle and hitting the back of the Cuillin Mountains creating a fan like cloud formation from the moist air rising above the peaks. Thankfully the tripod was doing its work, and I bagged my first shot of the trip and headed off to bed.

Sgùrr nan Gillean and Bruach na Frìthe peaks bathed in the beautiful moonlight.

Scotland is the best place for having a camper van, as responsible wild camping is actively encouraged. So, you know you have arrived when you can enjoy a great night’s sleep in a peaceful layby with views of the mountains. What’s not to love about that? Well maybe the alarm clock at 5am!

I’ve visited Sligachan Bridge on Skye a few times, but always in daylight. So, stumbling out of the van after 5 hours sleep, I donned my parka and wandered off up the path, headtorch lighting the way. This was a new path to me, but with the bubbling confidence of a raving idiot on day 1 of an adventure, off I went heading towards the river at Allt Dearg Mor.

Sunrise was around 90 minutes off, so the light was getting better as I trudged along a boggy rock-strewn path. Well, it was a path until it stopped abruptly. My navigation on my phone told me I was right, I could see the mountains in the distance, and I was heading towards them as planned, so why had the path stopped? I stood, I strained my eyes into the distance, and I listened intently. I have the whole place to myself (a theme I was to get used to) so despite my terrible tinnitus, I could hear the sound of water. I normally have a good sense of direction, so I went with my instinct and headed toward the water.

“Fool!” I hear some of you cry, and yes you are right, I could have stepped right off the edge into the river never to be seen again or wandered around in circles all morning, but in life sometimes you just gotta go with the flow, so to speak. Thankfully on this occasion I was right, and some metres away the path resumed and took me straight to my spot at the river.

‘The stars slowly disappeared into the scenery’

I’ve always said one of the biggest thrills I get from Landscape Photography is being all alone in a remote location at sunrise. Far away from any roads, surrounded by rivers, trees and mountains you can just stand and watch the ever changing colours of the sky, as it moves from the intense black of night, to a warm pinky glow, followed by the stunning orange of sunrise. All in the space of half an hour or so. The stars slowly disappeared into the scenery, and I was serenaded by the sound of rushing water as I set up my camera a few feet from the edge of a waterfall in front of the mountains.

I was early, way too early, so I had a full hour to kill before sunrise. Time to get really used to my new budget tripod. To be honest, it wasn’t the best 60 minutes as I began to curse myself once again for being such an idiot. The next 2 weeks were going to be a serious challenge with this piece of equipment.

As the light grew I was able to frame my first shot, getting the small waterfall in front of me lined up with the Cuillin mountain range in the background. The wind had dropped so the clouds were now sitting nicely over the peaks framing the shot. I wanted some movement in the water, but also to have the foreground and background in focus, so I went for f/8 and 1/20^th of a second exposure.

I knew there was a tree to the right that passed from foreground to background, so focus stacking was out of the question. Thankfully as I watched the sunrise creep across the mountains the light came bright enough to grab my second, although first proper shot of the trip. I can still hear the sound of the water when I look at this image, or is that my tinnitus?

Seriously though, this is one of those images that when I look at it, I can hear, smell and feel the same as I did when I took it.

Heaven on earth at a Sligachan falls sunrise.

I played around with a few more shots in this location before dragging myself further upstream. It was light enough now to safely cross parts of the river before climbing right down to the edge of the water. I was in my wellies as planned, so found a great spot where I could “immerse” myself into the scenery.

“I could feel the icy mountain water on my feet”

Bag placed safely up on the bank, I carefully climbed down to the river’s edge with my camera fastened firmly on to the tripod. I’d normally have no concerns doing this with my Manfrotto beast of a tripod, but this was putting a hell of a lot of confidence into a £45 tripod from our friends at Argos. I wanted to get close to the water and use my wide angle 18mm lens to get loads of rushing water in the foreground and keep the mountains framed in the background.

The water was black, peat black, and quite scary as I could not see the bottom. Using my tripod as a depth tester, I slowly stepped into the water and very quickly I could feel the icy mountain water on my feet. It was great sensation, feeling the cold bubbling water that had come from the very mountains in my shot rattling around my wellies, but it was bloody cold I tell you. I grabbed two shots, one ankle deep and the second with the water up near the top of my boots. Foolish man, it would have been a cold wet walk back to the van but absolutely worth it as these two images really are near the top of my favourites of this whole two-week trip. Same aperture of f/8 but slightly slower at 1/8^th of a second.

Bubbling peaty black waters of Allt Dearg Mor

Welly topping dip into the waters at Sligachan Bridge

No visit to this part of Skye would be complete without a trip to the Fairy Pools. One of the most visited places on Skye, probably the west coast of Scotland, and for very good reason. Its backdrop of mountains is jaw-dropping stunning, it’s a magical place of pools and waterfalls and the drive there and back is breath-taking. But don’t be fooled into thinking its easy to get to, as it’s a fair old walk from the only parking spot and when its been raining you will have to cross rivers. The walk back up to the car is lung busting.

I was greeted by a very nice man at the car park who had just opened up for the day. I was first to arrive, and he found me a fantastic spot with a great view of the mountains sheltered from the wind which had picked up once again. Kettle on, and a welcome cup of coffee was made to accompany my porridge. I may say this more than once, but “I love my van” and times like this make having it all worthwhile. Getting the heat back into my feet in front of the heater looking at these amazing views from a very comfortable bench seat, is very, very nice.

“Wrong footwear, wrong time of day”

It wasn’t long before more people began to arrive. It was only 8am but this place can get busy, and even I was surprised given it was still the middle of winter. This was the point I made my first mistake of the day. My itinerary had me having a relaxing breakfast and a kip to top up my sleep, but I panicked as the car park began to fill, and in fear of the site being overrun with tourists within minutes I threw on my boots, grabbed my bag and headed off towards the base of the mountains.

Huffing and puffing I passed a number of small groups heading up the river towards the pools, leaping small streams and keeping a fair old pace going. I wasn’t going to be beaten or spend the next few days photoshopping streams of yellow jacketed tourists out of my images. Onwards!

When I get to a location, I try to take a few deep breaths (more than a few on this occasion) and focus on finding a composition with my camera in my hand. Leave the tripod alone, walk around trying all different angles. As soon as you fasten your camera to a tripod you immediately restrict your movement and can easily miss the best angle or light. I already had my 24-70mm lens on so after getting rid of my parka I went to the river’s edge and on to the rocks.

I quickly realised I was about to pay for my earlier mistake, as I had my walking boots on so could not get down into the water, and the sun was now right in front of me staring down the barrel of the lens. Wrong footwear, wrong time of day. I wasn’t meant to be there at that time, and for good reason. Never mind the fact I had boots on rather than wellies.

Sometimes you just have to laugh these things off and enjoy the moment. It was a gloriously sunny day, I was away from the crowds tucked down a bank out of site watching a beautiful waterfall cascade over the rocks. I took a test shot straight into the sun, mainly for composition and because I had walked so damned far for it and grabbed a few videos of the water crashing over the falls. Nothing else to do but head back to the van, grab lunch and come back once the sun had moved over.

Fairy Pools at the wrong time of day

Its not a bad image, it was a beautiful moment, but all the detail of mountains is lost in shadows and silhouettes. So I headed back to the van and return a few hours later in my wellies and a lighter jacket.

Now I could get into the water and the sun was lighting the face of the mountains and the waterfall. When I say waterfall, this is actually not that big, more a drop from one pool to the next, but when you get in the water and angle the camera right and bring in the huge mountains behind you can play with scale.

I took two shots here at different speeds, 1/13^th of a second and 3 seconds to give different effects on the water. Unfortunately, the 3 second shot was actually a little under exposed for my liking.

Classic Fairy Pools at 1/13^th second

Slightly underexposed at 3 seconds

I did take a few more shots at longer exposures, but when I got back to the van there was too much movement causing blur, which at the time I put down to the water hitting the tripod. This was to become an issue on Day 2 for other reasons and took some time to fathom out.

Having hiked back up to the van for a second time, I drove back along the single-track road to Sligachan to grab a sunset shot of the old pack horse bridge before heading up the coast to my overnight spot at Kilt Rock & Mealt Falls.

The original bridge at Sligachan.

It was a beautiful sunset at the end of my first real day of photography on this adventure, and although I had encountered a few challenges, the weather had been great, I’d enjoyed some amazing scenery and bagged some great images. Maybe some could have been better but having had a beer in the van and wandered to the viewpoint for sunset, I was rewarded with a great image of the mountains on the mainland of Scotland.

Looking across from the Isle of Skye to the Torridon mountain range on the Scottish mainland.

Time for bed.