Sorry for the veiled swear… but it really is. I love Scotland. We try and go at least once a year and I completely favour the Highlands and West Coast (sorry East Coast, you’re lovely too but you don’t do it for me like the West does…) so this time we decided to stay in Dunoon (voucher deal ftw) and do the peninsula.
I’ve blurred out the bits we didn’t do this time so you can get an idea of the kind of ground we covered (a lot!). We started off in Glasgow, but it was pishing it down (typical Scotland) so (after a Twitter recommendation) we did the Kelvingrove Gallery, which I recommend checking out if you’re in Glasgow – it’s free too.
When we arrived, we decided to drive around a little and headed north and west of Dunoon. By then it was approaching sunset, so when we drove past Tarsan Dam (dams are creepy, right?) I had to get some pictures of it against the fading light.
On the way back, we passed a lovely loch just north of Dunoon called Holy Loch (we’d passed it on the way out too, but it looked especially nice during what was now blue hour).
So that was day one. Day two was spent driving the entire peninsula and boy was the scenery spectacular. We drove from Dunoon to Inverary, to Tarbert, Campbeltown and to Southend. Southend was particularly gorgeous and had a weird little clump of land (where I think the castle used to be) and a boathouse:
After Southend, it was back on the road again as we were determined to head to the Mull of Kintyre. We drove over crazy, single-track roads through desolate moors until we got to what felt like the end of the Earth. The road ended in a mystery sign and we walked down what had been the old road, to the most spectacular view and on a clear day, includes Northern Ireland.
We drove back on the opposite side of the peninsula and the stretch of coast there is one of the best I’ve ever seen. We spotted a cemetery by the sea and jumped out for some more pictures, again as the sun was setting.
Most of the drive back to Dunoon was in the dark (like 3+ hours) but the moon was stunning on the loch, so again we stopped for me to try and get pictures. I’d just set up the camera and tripod when the moon went behind a cloud.
Doh! Never mind, it was still pretty.
The next day, we decided to give Glasgow another go and headed for the Necropolis, which should definitely be on your list of things to do if you’re visiting the city.
I love exploring cemeteries so the Necropolis was a delight. There are so many interesting graves, sculptures and inscriptions. And the weather stayed dry!
3 days just wasn’t enough, but we packed loads in and I can’t wait until we go back.
Just want to give a little shoutout and thanks to SRB Photographic whose filters once again proved invaluable in shooting long exposures and bright sunshine. Thanks guys. They’re also on WordPress now, so if you’re a photographer, give them a follow at SRB Photographic Blog.
