Sunrise at Horgabost, Harris, Scotland

We were not expecting a clear sky for the sunrise but we were up by 4.30am and out by 5am and went to Horgabost beach in the hope of good light. We were lucky to get some beautiful soft pinks and blues in the sky, which I actually much prefer to the fiery reds as I think they make a better photo. 

While I complain about how tiring and demanding these photo tours are, they are so worth it as our leader Lee is very enthusiastic and you certainly feel as if you are here for the photography and the photography alone, which is how they should be - you come away with great shots from being in the right place at the right time. As everyone gets to a location and then wanders around taking their own photos you also don’t all end up with the same images. These trips are not holidays, they are hard work. They are very well organised, meals, locations, and timings are all pre planned so you don’t have to think about it, you can just concentrate on your photography.

We got back to the hotel in time for breakfast - the friendly staff have been very accommodating with our long days and the timing of our meals. 

After breakfast we headed off to Lewis, photographing Croft houses and derelict houses around Tarbet (first extra). We went via Stornoway, where we stopped for fuel and coffees at the garage, on to Garri beach. It is a beautiful beach with some sea stacks. From there, which is on the east coast of northern Lewis, we drove across Lewis to the Dalbeg beach on the west coast (second extra). We had our packed lunch much on the beach enjoying the beautiful view. Then on to the Stac a Phris rock arch for sunset.  It was a 25 minute walk over uneven ground from where we parked the car on a farm - with the farmer’s permission - to the arch. We had wonderful colour below a bank of dense cloud, it looked quite surreal (last extra). The walk back to the car was challenging as it was now after sunset. 

We only got back to the hotel by 8.45pm and had a late supper. The staff have been very kind in keeping the kitchen open late for us, but then they did say it was due to photographers like us that the hotel survived over the pandemic. 

Tomorrow the clocks go forward which means our early morning start will be 5.30am instead of 4.30am, woohoo what a treat! I am absolutely shattered and will be exhausted when I get home.

I took over 300 photos today, I have barely had time to look at them so quickly chose this selection to edit and upload, they most probably are not the best ones but they represent the day.