Scotland Day 8: North Coast and Highlands

On June 23, we drove from Thurso along the remote and breathtaking north coast of Scotland, through Bettyhill, Durness and all the way to Ullapool. I'll only cover a half day here, up to just before we reached Durness. Since we didn’t stop much, I set my camera to the sports setting and snapped a lot of shots out the coach window. Sports because of the movement and faster shutter speed. Some of the photos were still blurry but several turned out well.

The photos speak for themselves. The area is hauntingly beautiful--moors, mountains, lochs, streams, the ocean and more mountains and moors. The land appears almost untouched by human hands, but I am always aware that two or three hundred years ago, the area was far more populated. The Highland Clearances left it deserted. The people lost their homes and were forced to sail to strange lands. As we were driving through, I could almost see into the past to a time when crofters and clans walked across the landscape, herding their cattle, growing oats or digging turf from the bogs. It’s sad they had to leave a land as gorgeous as this. I noticed something interesting about Scotland--the sky is very much a part of the landscape. The clouds hover then come down and touch the earth. For me, this only added to the beauty and mystical atmosphere.

I thought I'd try something different with the photos this time so you can see more of them and in larger sizes... a slideshow on another site. Please let me know if you have a problem viewing them.

Click to view slideshow