Glencoe Over New Year
After missing my usual February trip to Glencoe in 2021, I thought I would end the year in Glencoe, and hopefully find some snow – obviously this was not to be as it was the warmest New Year on record, but it’s always worth a shot!
As I arrived low cloud lingered over parts of the glen, including over the Aonach Eagach Ridge. I ran up a small hill to try and capture it as a band before it disappeared. It was a little muddy underfoot, but the vista in front of me was amazing, and it was wonderful to breathe the fresh Scottish air once again.
Whilst there was no rain, I went down to the River Coe, where I have been several times before to see the rushing water, and the unique view of the Three Sisters. It’s a bit of a scramble, but always worth it! I was being very careful to make sure that my tripod and camera were secure. The last thing I wanted was to lose my camera on the first day!
I drove down the road to Glen Etive. Since I had last been down the road, there have been a number of signs put up discouraging parking and the large stile giving access to the view in this photograph was in poor shape. Fortunately I managed to get over it without injury and stayed as the sun got lower in the sky. In the distance, the last of the light lit up the mist on the mountain so I used a telephoto to capture just this part.
One of the benefits of visiting in winter is that you don’t have to get up early to see sunrise, and so I went out every morning looking for shots. Lagangarbh Hut is a place I’ve tried finding compositions of before without much success, but as I was driving past on this particular morning , the lights were on and caught my attention against the dark and moody backdrop.
There is a little bridge near to the hut, so as it got a little lighter I headed to it to use the slats and the brook as a leading line towards the mountain and hut.
As is usual on my trips to Glencoe, there was a lot of rain. But, every now and again, there would be a dry spell and then mist would appear over the hills. The shot below from Rannoch Moor demonstrates this well. I had gone there hoping for mist over the still water, but instead it lingered over the hills behind.
Fort William often beckons when the rain gets heavier, and I went for a wander in the forest, finding few people, but a small hut which looked like it would be good to find solitude. It is a treehouse type building called Outlandia. Artists use it in order to connect with nature, and to fire up their creativity. I decided to be a little creative and underexpose to go for a dark shot of the woodland.
The next morning, despite the rain, I headed out to see if I could take some pictures of the River Coe, now there was a little more water in it. Fortunately there was, and even a little bit of colour in the background as the sun rose.
Whilst the water was flowing, I headed back to Glen Etive to take the classic shot of Buchaille Etive Mor. On my previous visits the widest lens I have had was a 16mm so I just wanted to see how much of the scene my new 14mm would ft in. It’s always a dramatic shot, but I certainly would have preferred some snow on the mountain. It definitely wasn’t looking like winter.
Glencoe Lochan is a peaceful place, often with very still water, and deer wandering around, so I went there for sunset. Mist occasionally swirled around the lochan, but I didn’t get the bright colours I had hoped for.
The rest of the time was fairly wet. They weren’t the conditions I had set out to capture, but you have to work with what you are given. Hopefully there will be a little more of the white stuff when I head back in February.