Down the harbour in Portree

It’s January in Portree and it takes a bit of determination to drag my lazy ass out of the lovely warm bed and head down into the village with camera in hand. When I looked out of the bedroom window there was snow on the Cuillin and the sky was blue. I couldn’t lay in bed any more. It was a bit cold. There had been snow the day before and the temperature overnight had turn it all crisp under my feet.

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I went down to the shore and tried a few shots looking toward the Cuillin but the sun was really bright and it was difficult to keep it out of shot. After that I walked round to the harbour and got a little more success. The sun wasn’t right in the lens this time and the colours were much better.

January in Portree

Woke up early this morning (Pat had a doctor’s appointment) and when we walked down into the village the view over the harbour was beautiful. The sun was just appearing over Ben Tianavaig on the other side of the harbour . The air was still and there was a gorgeous reflection on the water. I took a few photos there then walked round to the shore where you can usually get a good view of the Black Cuillin mountains. This morning there was quite a lot of cloud but as I stood waiting it started to clear and I got the view that I wanted.

Loch Loyne

Driving across Scotland to visit the Isle of Skye involves going from Invergarry, along the side of Loch Garry and passes a viewpoint that allows a beautiful view of Loch Loyne.

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Some of the Scottish roads are a bit twisty and this, the A87, is definitely one of these. There are always a lot of tourists on the road and they understandably take their time driving along admiring the scenery but it makes it a bit frustrating for other road users that are trying to get somewhere. On this particular occasion I was stuck behind a “lady” in a little car who was doing around 25mph/40kph with around 25 cars behind her that could not overtake. When I eventually got the opportunity she seemed to take offence and gestured in an unladylike way while flashing her lights. About 5 miles further on I went past the end of Loch Loyne and the view was jaw-dropping. I had to stop. I took a couple of shots and when I was getting back into the car, you guessed it, the lady passed me by. I had to wait a long time to get back onto the road since there were now 40 cars in the queue. I was stuck behind her for another 80 miles.