Camping holiday 2016 - Part Four: Return to Glencoe

Our next journey was to my absolute favourite place, Glencoe.  I've always loved visiting this beautiful area and it's filled with memories of all my previous holidays.  It also reminds me of my granny who passed away when I was wee. She loved the west coast and I remember my holidays with   her to this area. Every time I return it brings forth all these memories. Here she is in the photo above, fishing in Glencoe with the cottage in the background that I drew for my most recent drawing, 'The Keeper's Cottage'. It really is a very special place for me.

Our first stop was to the Glencoe Lochan which I have walked around many times over the years.  It's an incredibly peaceful place full of wildlife including some ducks who gave us a friendly welcome.

                

It was a lovely still day and the water reflected the scenery around it beautifully.  I loved the reflections of the reeds in the water as they looked like scribbly pen drawings. 

The woodland here reminds me of the Forbidden Forest in Harry Potter.  Some scenes from the Harry Potter films were actually filmed in Glencoe and I remember being very disappointed having missed seeing the cast and crew by a couple of weeks when on holiday one year.  I very much wanted to meet my favourite character, Draco Malfoy played by Tom Felton and I was even more disappointed to hear that the staff from Glencoe Visitor Centre had met him! I still keep an eye out for the areas that I know they filmed in, including the hill where Hagrid's Hut was built.

I took lots of photos of the plants surrounding the walk for some drawing and painting reference.  I didn't alter any of these photos as all the vibrancy was natural and didn't need altered at all. I have so many ideas in my head for future drawing work which is a great feeling.

The lochan itself was created by Donald Alexander Smith who was the 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal. He acquired the Glencoe Estate in 1895 and moved across from Canada with his wife.  Unfortunately she was incredibly homesick so he created the lochan and replanted plants brought from Canada to try and make her feel more at home. 

It's a really beautiful spot for a walk and I really recommend taking some time out and having a wander here if you're passing through the area.

We then headed to the mountains and sat taking in the wonderful views. I could sit and look at the mountains of Glencoe forever. The atmosphere is incredible, whether sunny or rainy.  To be honest, I love it when the weather closes in and the wind howls down the misty glen. The sunny day we had there was perfect for capturing photos though. 

The sun really brought out the detail in the rock face.  I took lots of photos  of the mountains for future drawings as I'm planning on doing more and this time even bigger! I better start ordering new pen refills...

Above is my favourite part of Glencoe as I've always imagined walking up the centre next to the waterfall. There is a path which you can see on the left and one day I'd love to do this walk.  I just need to get my knees fixed first as dislocating knees on a mountain wouldn't be a good idea.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at these photos and taking in the detail.  I'd be repeating myself if I kept telling you how beautiful I think Glencoe is. The photos don't even do it justice as you really need to be standing at the foot of these mountains to really feel the atmosphere. I hope to return again very soon.

If you missed out on my other holiday posts you can see part one here, part two here and part three here. Part five will be coming soon!

Camping holiday 2016 - Part Two: Forestry Walk

One of the best things about a camping holiday is getting to explore the area. Not too far away from the Achindarroch Touring Site we found a really nice forestry walk.  Firstly we headed along the cycle path past the burn that we could hear at night (the best sound to send you to sleep). It was one of those sunny days that had intermittent showers, so not too hot and not too cold.  A pretty refreshing day. 

Along the path were some inquisitive sheep and also some strange sculptures... As you can see below they seem to be pretty jolly tree people with the addition of some cuddly toys. 

The cycle path continued but we turned off onto the forestry path.  By this time the mist was beginning to settle in over the mountains and there was a light drizzle of rain. The air smelt amazing. The rain also brought out all the colours in the trees, moss and lichen. I spotted some more mushrooms too.  I got quite attached to the forms of the mushrooms.  I think I may do some drawings of them soon. 

I also fell in love with all the colours of the woodland. The greens were so vibrant and then there was  moss that was a rich burgundy in colour, others that were every shade of green you could think of. I took so many photos because I kept imagining mixing these colours with paint. I also loved the detail of it all, the tiny leaves, twigs, fragments. As well as a refreshing walk I couldn't help collecting drawing ideas and I now have lots to think about for future work.

We found lots of little caves where animals could live.  When I was wee, this would be the sort of place I would have thought small mystical creatures would live in.  No wonder though as places like this do feel quite magical.

Heading on along the track which was uphill all the way, we continued through the forest, past trickling burns coming down through the trees, creating small pools of peaty water. 

This then opened out to some stunning views of the misty mountains. The drizzle continued but it just added to the atmosphere and it wasn't cold at all. 

We then spotted some interesting footprints in the mud down one of the ditches.  They were really large and long toed.  After some research later, we think that they are beaver footprints. It's pretty exciting to think that beavers past by this way at some point.  The tracks looked quite fresh as well. 

We also spotted the footprints below but were unsure of what these ones were. There are so many different types of wildlife that live in these sorts of areas including Scottish wildcats, pine martens, foxes and deer to name a few. We could smell that a fox had been close by so it could have been fox footprints although from what I've researched, they don't look quite right to belong to a fox. 

After investigating the footprints we carried on up the hill to take in the views. We also heard what sounded like a buzzard and we could see something flying about through the trees so we stopped for a while to see if we could spot it. 

It was in this area that we could smell the fox and strangely we didn't smell it on the way up but we did on the way down.  Perhaps it had passed right by us! As you can see this whole area is perfect for wildlife and apart from the footprints there were lots of signs that animals had been close by from unusual droppings to paths trodden through the foliage.

The mountain across the way looked incredible and was lit up with the sun one moment and then shrouded in mist the next as the weather changed back and forth.

The trees were mesmerising and they gave me more ideas for drawing too.

We spent some time looking around this spot before heading back down.  My knees had done pretty well even though it was an uphill walk.  The track continued on and once my knees have been fixed, I'd love to return and continue on.

There are so many beautiful hidden spots like this all over Scotland, teeming with wildlife, and it was a pleasure to explore it that day.

I'll be posting the continuation of my holiday stories tomorrow so keep a wee eye out.  If you missed part one you can find it here.







SaveSave