Early Morning Cromarty Firth
Took a walk down to Ferry Point early this morning.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
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iPhone photography
Glen Glass and the Cromarty Firth
There was a heavy and prolonged thunder storm, last night in Dingwall – following what had been a fine day. The rain was so loud beating in the tent that we had trouble hearing the thunder over it.
I awoke, this morning, (JSC was still asleep) to a damp but bright campsite and had a very good coffee made with my “coffee maker”, sitting outside the tent, watching the rabbits on the field. Eat your heart St*rb*cks this is the only way to appreciate fresh made coffee.
Once JSC got up we decided that we would go walking.
The photos below are from Glen Glass, a little north of Dingwall – as you can see blue sky and sunshine.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
What you cannot see in the photos are the midges – so JSC went back to the car, leaving me to take my photos and try out a bit of gear I bought yesterday – a lightweight midge head net! Not something I had considered before, however the air at the campsite at Cragganmore, last week, was “midge soup”. The other backpacker I met there had a midge head net which she found useful. That got me thinking that many of the wild camping places I plan to visit in the future will probably also be plagued midges.
The one below (modelled for you by JSC) is the Micro Head Net, from Highlander, it packs small,weighs little, (I will weight it when I get home) and cost £4 from Tiso.
We left the forest and headed for the coast – with a stop at the picnic site at Invergordon. The Cromarty Firth was used by the navy in the past as it is a deep safe anchorage. Today the oil industry uses it for the same reasons.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
Another photo using Pano – if you have an iPhone get it – it is easy to use and, as you can see, great results.
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Logie Steading
The weather forecast today was not so great, so we planned a trip to the secondhand book shop at Logie Steading.
Well as you can see from the photos – it was excellent weather.
Click on the Pano image below for a larger version
There is a walk from the visitor centre/shops down to the River Findhorn, where it passes through a gorge.
Below was the view we had from our picnic spot on the banks of the river. Click on it for a larger version.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
So remember if you come to Scotland assume the weather will always be unpredictable!
Dornoch
Jeremy and I walked down to the coast at Dornoch today. We took the small brew kit and had a brew and noodles with tomato soup for lunch.
There was plenty of RAF action whilst we were there with pairs of Tornados performing “power turns” in front of the beach, displaying their underneaths and weapon loads.
Knockan Crag
The exposed rock at Knockan Crag is extremely interesting as it distinctly shows two different geological layers.
It is also unusual as the older rock is on top of a younger rock – this arises through tectonic movements over many hundreds of millions of years.
There is a visitor centre and a well illustrated walk up the hillside to what is called the Moine Thrust, where you can see and touch the rock layers,. From there you can continue up to a great viewpoint complete with benches to sit on and admire the view from. For more details on the Moine Thrust Belt go here to Wikipedia.
I tried out the Pano app from this viewpoint.
I have only looked at the results on my small iPhone screen not on a bigger screen yet but the image on the iPhone seemed OK. The app was very easy go use – and fun. One thing to remember is if you manually select an exposure point then remember to set it on each of the mosaic images.
Other images from Knockan Crag
Statsraad Lehmkuhl
We got to Ullapool and on the walk down from the car park we saw the tops of these masts over the buildings. The Statsraad Lehmkuhl is a really big ship and I could not get it all in the frame – hence the mast detail.
Whilst having coffee I have had a quick a Google and search of the App Store and found a well rated app Pano – for making panoramic shots with the iPhone camera. Below is a quick try out in the cafe. (Not sure what size image to post with the WordPress app so I will use medium as always – and check it later on my PC.)
It has done a reasonable job, in the closeness and clutter of the cafe where there are some parallax errors in making the original images but it looks OK. However it was a disaster on the tall ship – I will try it on some landscape later.
I got far enough back on the harbour to get most of the ship in – and a small detail of the design work on the ship.
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Highland Aviation Museum
On the recommendation of the owner of the Highflight bookshop in Dingwall we decided to visit this small museum run by enthusiasts.
It is excellent – plenty to see with many planes and cockpits you can get inside. There are a range of exhibits in the buildings including one about early Scottish island aviation.
If you choose to come be prepared; once you get to Inverness Airport there are no signs! We went into the airport and had to 3-point turn out of there, but then we found a sign to the industrial park and then the museum. (The local council had removed the signs as part of their preparations for the Open Golf Championships – this is what the staff told me.). So get details from their site below before setting out.
www.highlandaviationmuseum.org.uk
Nimrod MR2 – XV254
Valiant B (K) Mk. 1 – XD875
English Electric Lightning F.1A – XM169
Blackburn Buccaneer S.1 – XK532
Tornado GR1 – ZA362
Handley Page Herald – G-ASVO
Jet Provost T4 – XS176
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