GET ON WITH IT!

 At the start of April I got to go camping with my youngest brother in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. I had never stayed in this part of Scotland before and so I was really excited as I prepared for this trip. The weather was perfect with clear skies the whole time and despite strong winds at night and freezing overnight temperatures (only minus 4C) I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time I was there.

The scenery is beyond amazing and the big sky is something you don't experience living in or close to cities around the UK. 

Normally whenever I go away I plan meticulously, I have a clear idea of where I want to go, what I want to see and what I hope to photograph. I love the planning process and I feel great satisfaction when everything comes together. I don't like leaving too much to chance however I like to think that I am also quite adaptable so if circumstances change then I can change with them. For this trip, apart from picking the campsite I made no plans at all and that was actually quite a freeing experience as my brother and I just went with the flow. 

On the Saturday afternoon we drove along the edge of Loch Leven to Appin we walked across the Jubilee Bridge and around the bay. On a review of the walk it mentioned views of Castle Stalker so I was keen to see that and I admit I went a bit mad taking lots of different photos of the castle. As soon as I saw it I recognised it from a movie I have watched many times. I sent a quick snap to my family's WhatsApp chat and received a swift reply from one of my sons "Get On With It!". I was really pleased that he had recognised the castle as the one which features in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We watched it so many times when my kids were growing up, so much so that we could recite large parts of the script at mealtimes and even now snippets of the dialogue from the film enter our everyday conversations.

As you can see below I have photographed it from different angles and vantage points, while I was there a couple of other photographers were out doing the same and one guy turned up to capture the scene in oil paint. 

Castle Stalker