Castle Stalker

This morning we were outside at the car by 7am all packed and ready to go. We planned to go photograph the old boat at Corpach, a popular subject that has often been photographed but given that the conditions were so perfect - snow on Ben Nevis in the background and a high tide - it was a good reason for it to be photographed again. However as we drew near we saw there was a big blobby cloud above Ben Nevis that changed the shape of the mountain so we decided against it. 

Instead we drove to Stalker Castle hoping to get it in good light. After scrambling up a very muddy and boggy hillside we waited for the light. And waited. It takes patience to be a landscape photographer! Eventually the castle had some morning light on it and we took various photos of it. I think that when the light came it almost looked unnatural, the mountains behind it had a pinkish colour from the early morning sunrise, and then when the light swept across the castle and foreground it was so very golden. We also drove around the loch and took more photos from the other side in normal light conditions (see extra).

We went into the cafe at Stalker Castle for breakfast. The others has full Scottish breakfasts with haggis, black pudding and  potato scones but instead I had a delicious warming bowl of oats porridge made with oat milk and topped with stewed apples and cinnamon. 

We repacked our suitcases in the car park outside, which involved taking off our wellies and changing from our hiking trousers into jeans for the trip home. Only two of us were flying back today, Guy and the other person on this trip are going on to the Assynt region to do another recce of it for a future workshop before going on to Harris and Lewis for another week’s workshop. Guy will then drive all the way from H&L back to his home in Dorset. 

I managed to get onto the earlier flight home so that was great to get back sooner than expected. I have now unpacked, done some laundry and am exhausted so a lazy evening followed by an early night will be the plan.