Washout

I checked the weather forecast at 6.30am. It was even better than it had been last night. Sunshine with some cloud. Dry all day.

So, by 7.15 I was in the car and on my way to catch the 9.40 ferry to Brodick, on Arran. I wanted to climb Goat Fell, the hill which lies just north of the village.

Well, about halfway up the hill the rain started. Heavy, horizontal rain. I carried on for a bit, but it was no fun. So, back down again.

I spoke to a couple of other groups of climbers who'd also given up. Like me they'd seen the weather forecast and hadn't expected rain. We all had the right wet weather gear, but didn't see the point of carrying on.

By the time I got to the bottom, you couldn't see the hill for the cloud and rain.

It did get nicer as I hung around for 2 hours waiting for the next ferry, so don't be fooled by the Blip.

I worked in a hotel in Brodick for 2 months when I was a student. It's just behind where I took the shot. If I was doing nightshift I'd get a 2 hour break between 3 and 5am. Sometimes I'd go out and watch the dawn from that spot.