Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Over the past few weeks, I have been engaging in a spot of website tuning from time to time. There has been the occasional tweak to appearances but it’s mainly been about tweaking things behind the scenes. There is always plenty of that to be done but, sometimes, a complete redesign can be an unavoidable and, if you’re doing it yourself like I would be, time consuming operation. The last one was a few years ago and there’s plenty of life in what I have so I’ll continue to tweak and improve it as long as I can.

If you are a regular visitor, you may have noticed that the masthead image of the site has changed. Travelling on ferries like I did last month meant that a trap was set for me: ending up with photos of slivers of land dividing land from sea. Even with my alleged (D)SLR-wielding sophistication, such is the beauty of sunlit green land juxtaposed against blue sky and sea that it can happen to me too. Photos like those do have their uses though and they are perfect for creating masthead images like what you see above. A spot of cropping in Photoshop Elements followed by some tweaking of levels, curves and colours is just what’s needed to get the required results.

Speaking of processing photos, it’s probably a good time to look at my photo gallery and freshen it up with some new images and do a spot of pruning too. I am always finding things to add to the blog so it’s too easy to neglect the site’s initial raison d’être. I have some ideas in mind for bigger changes to the photo gallery but I’ll let them develop before anything happens.

Update, 2008-09-29: That evolution remains ongoing and users of Firefox, Safari and Chrome should notice that most corners are now rounded. Visitors with Internet Explorer and Opera will not see any rounding because this is an aspect of CSS3 that is only partially implemented for now. It’d be very nice if it gained more widespread implementation but graceful degradation will do for now. Any other tweaks should be seen by all.

Skye is yet another of those iconic spots in Scotland’s Highlands and Islands that continues to draw me back. My most recent spot of island hopping had me encountering the misty isle yet again, albeit briefly. The story of my most recent stay will wait for a future posting but the stopover has caused me to cast my mind back over previous visits, just like what happened after my excursion to North Argyll at the end of May. Those trips haven’t been as numerous as those to the likes of Lochaber and Lorn but Skye remains an island for which I retain a certain fondness.

The fact that it has been reasonably kind to me with the weather has helped me to see the island in its best light. That certainly was the case for my first outing up there in the last week of July in 1999. Up to that point, the month had been very grey, in Edinburgh at least, so I took my chance when I got it. Travel by coach landed me in Portree at around 17:00 in the evening and I made my way to the Portree Independent Hostel for my night’s stay. The glorious evening drew me out for a potter about the place for glimpses of the Cuillin Hills in the distance. The following day saw me hire out a bicycle and I made my way across the island to Dunvegan and its castle. The day was hot and the hills that the road surmounted, though none too impressive, did take their toll on the legs so my rest in Dunvegan was well earned. Nevertheless, roads were quiet and sights of the coastline and its many small villages kept me entertained as did the sight of MacLeod’s Tables in the distance. For the way back, I took a different route to follow the coast road to Sligachan as far as Bracadale before turning inland on a wonderful if scary narrow road though the hills to Portree. In evening sunshine, the countryside couldn’t have looked any better. The only fly in the ointment is that due to a lack of camera film, I have to rely rather more on my memory than photos for this account but that’s no bad thing. After staying in a different hostel, I reluctantly left Skye to return to Edinburgh, stopping by Eilean Donan (and annoying the coach driver on the side of the road near Dornie because my bag was in the wrong place and buried under loads of others; it’s a lesson that I haven’t forgotten: ask where to put your luggage first!) and Inverness. I may only have stayed a few days but my appetite had been whetted.

It was August of 2001 before I found my way back again, on the first of what has become my now near annual summer Scottish breaks. The weather was more uncertain on this occasion and I made my way from Edinburgh, where I had met up with a friend of mine, through some miserable wet and windy weather; it’s just as well that I was travelling in a coach and under cover at the time. The day after could not have been more different and I took my chance to savour part of the Trotternish. The views of the coast and the Quiraing were enticing enough for me to be putting my then newly acquired Canon EOS 300 SLR through its paces, even from this less ideal vantage point. My trek started at Ellishadder with my taking in a nearby waterfall cascading down the cliffs. Onward progress towards Staffin guaranteed me ample views of the Trotternish ridge. Continuing on towards Flodigarry and beyond garnered closer views of the twisted geological wreckage before I caught the bus to Uig. Its being a port might not make Uig a beauty spot but the day remained wondrous and thoughts of an excursion to Harris emanated in the brain; various distractions meant that they remained as such until recently. A bus returned me to Portree and the next day, a duller affair, saw me leaving reluctantly again with a bus taking me to Armadale and a ferry taking me on to Mallaig, from where I made my way back to Edinburgh again after a stay in Oban and a visit to Mull.

August 2002 saw me crossing Scotland ahead of a band of wet weather that was approaching from the east. A quick run to Skye resulted with my having a short walk around the the Old Man of Storr and I stayed only one night before heading off again. It was just as well because the following morning was well soggy but things cheered up as I made my way southeast again.

My next escapade, a longer affair, took place in July of 2005. In some respects, it was inopportunely timed because the failed 22/7 London bombings immediately preceded the trip. My base this time was Broadford because there was some real hill country wandering in the head. In fact, one of my hikes took me among the Cuillin and the Red Hills while the other was a crossing of the Trotternish ridge. The Cuillin ramble started from Elgol, then having a less usable bus timetable than today, and took me up a narrow path along Loch Scavaig with disconcerting drops into the sea on my left. Even so, any difficulties were more than worthwhile with fabulous views of the Cuillin Hills and Rum on offer in the wonderful sunshine. Reaching Camasunary saw me take a welcome break before continuing along the track to Sligachan under Bla Bheinn. The scenery remained wonderful with the likes of Sgurr nan Gillean and Marsco easily keeping me occupied. The sky might have clouded over by the time of my arrival in Sligachan but I was after having a very good day. Cloudiness dominated the walking the day after too, at least in the early stages. My trek started in Brogaig from where I followed the minor road up onto the Trotternish ridge. Once on the ridge, I headed south to go up and down hills like Bioda Buidhe before going down into Uig via Glen Conon. I was tempted by the idea of mounting Ben Edra and dropping into Glen Uig but I changed my mind en route. During my descent the sun came out and any glimpse back would be towards rounded humps that attempt to belie the existence of the inland cliff that forms their eastern faces. Having a spot of time to spare before the next bus, I found a quiet shady woodland spot, replete with a waterfall, where I could laze for a little while. That opportunity was much enjoyed, a perfect end to an adventurous hike. All in all, I don’t recall getting any rain during my stay on the island but there certainly was a lot of cloud about only for it to disappear at the right moments to allow Skye to display its magic. Broadford served well as a base with all of the essentials that I needed and some good views of hill country to boot. It certain allows for even more and deeper exploration of the area about it than I did.

My having been to Skye only a small number of times has its uses: there are plenty of reasons to return. That’s not to say that Skye hasn’t been a satisfying destination for me but leaving somewhere wanting to go back is so much better than feeling that you’ve seen all that is there to be seen. After all, those yearnings for a return can generate new hiking ideas and added motivation for exploring the outdoors. I am inclined to think that Skye merits another longer trip, perhaps in a season other than summer. Only time will tell what happens but I was treated like I was on my most recent encounter with the place, it will not have been bad to me at all.

My photographic exploits are concentrated in the outdoors but many a report appears in Amateur Photographer regarding photographers experiencing problems with security guards, police community support officers and the like. While it is usually urban photography that is afflicted, it’s never any harm knowing your rights and responsibilities in any case. A guide for the UK is out on cyberspace but PhotoJobo have a commonsense guide with an American slant along with links to guidance for other countries like Canada, Australia and New Zealand too. It’s always useful to know where you stand so that you can both avoid any silliness and keep yourself out of trouble.

Update: It now appears that a recent Metropolitan Police poster has really raised the hackles and the press are beginning to get restless about the situation because it affects livelihoods; apparently, there’s a protest in the offing. A higher profile for the issue might result in a more sensible approach than that which is current, hopefully. For now, we need to be more careful than we were.

As long as I have taking treks through the countryside, a camera or two have come too to capture any of the glorious sights that have awaited me. Digital and film SLR’s have been my staple for most of those treks. From a photography point of view though, the idea of being a walker with a camera does place some constraints on the quality of the photography.

Let’s take landscape photography as an example since the capture of scenic delights is a likely occupation for the avid hillwalker. A high quality landscape image demands a high level of sharpness and that means that tripods are a staple need. Carrying one adds weight and using one slows you down, an advantage for when it comes to making considered images but a nuisance for the impatient too. A monopod with a spirit level is an option but tripods reign supreme.

Continuing the landscaper theme, times of day are another consideration. Golden hours around dawn and dusk come to mind and they in themselves place additional demands on those of us who use public transport. It’s not so bad in winter but summer is another story and thoughts of bivvying and camping come to mind; both of which are journeys that I have yet to undertake, let alone reach an advanced stage on their respective trajectories. Maybe, trots into the local hills from my home would be a good starting point.

Then, there’s the weather. Some sun really helps but clear blue skies are not necessarily the be all and end all that some might think them to be. In fact, having a lot of cloud in the sky with an unobscured sun can produce far more interesting results than a day with a clear blue sky. I certainly find the sun/cloud combination intriguing and enjoy being out in those conditions.

Next up for consideration is the whole area of planning and getting to know an area to find out what it offers. This is where the hillwalking habit really comes into its own. A first visit would allow one to get a deeper appreciation of a location and its photographic opportunities. Noting down what is found and making a number of documentary photos would help too. Apart from the lack of note taking, that is probably the stage that I usually reach. thinking about it, it is from there that I need to progress. Returning to the noted opportunity spots would follow and a spot of scouting for foreground interest would ensue. That might be the point when I start taking out my rarely used Manfrotto tripod in anger or other visits might be needed, especially when the weather doesn’t play ball or my photographic vision isn’t yet what it should be; hopefully, practice and reviewing photos, both others’ and mine, should help the latter.

Time is another commodity of which good photography demands its fair share. There’s a big difference between a standard bimble though the countryside and a trot with a photographic objective. The latter needs a few walks beforehand to get to know the area and plenty of time planned in for one or more stops along the way. That certainly means some adjustments to the way that I do things and 2008 might be a good time to start. I’ll hopefully continue to ply my way along long distance trails but walking with a more avowedly photographic purpose sounds like a good way to make me revisit places where I already have been. Now, I must find a way for that Manfrotto to travel into the great outdoors…

I took my chance while I was at home this weekend to add new photos to the Pennine Way gallery, filling in some of the outstanding gaps. I was planning to head out and about but other things derailed my plans and the largely cloudy skies didn’t coax me out today though yesterday’s sights of the hills from my house were a delight until a large bank of cloud wandered in at around 4pm.

So it was the turn of more vistas from the South Pennines and the Yorkshire Dales to make their online debut. Photography amid Yorkshire’s limestone country is a far easier pursuit than the moorland of the South Pennines; focal points present themselves more regularly in the former while a spot of thought is needed with the latter. That very much became apparent on my view of photographs that I had taken. Having a camera while hill walking does tempt one to pursue drive by photography; I know that it’s not the best type and it definitely doesn’t work with moorland. Maybe, a specific photographic mission with tripod in tow is what’s needed so that there can be lots of walking around looking for decent compositions. The latter is best done out of view of busybodies lest anyone gets the wrong impression…