Discovering the Outer Hebrides
17.06.2023
I thought I’d begin this update by sharing with you that this time last year we moved out of our home in Rossendale, North West UK to begin a whole new life and adventure in Scotland. It still actually blows me away that we are finally here after eight years of dithering but it was the best decision we’ve ever made. Over the last few months we have done quite a lot of travelling and have revisited Achmelvich Bay, we decided to head up April with the main reason for the trip being to try out the new awning for the campervan. After getting over the initial shock of assembling the drive away awning…what a difference it made to the amount space we had, not to mention additional comfort and somewhere to sit dry and warm outside of the van. As usual Achmelvich looked incredibly beautiful with its turquoise waters and golden sands. I decided not to take any images during this trip and instead we enjoyed some downtime, relaxing, enjoying the sights and sounds of the coast. We also spent some time with the family celebrating Max’s mums 80th Birthday, such a beautiful evening enjoying good food and wonderful company.
Into May saw us head over to the incredibly beautiful Isle of Harris & Lewis, somewhere we’ve dreamt of visiting for years. There genuinely are not enough superlatives that I can use to describe the immense natural beauty of the island. We headed over on the ferry from Ullapool , it’s around a two and a half hour crossing and thankfully we had calm seas, so much so that I fell asleep. The van again came into its own especially with the awning, the first night saw gale force winds, thank god we’d had a trial putting up of the awning session, luckily the awning remained in place overnight and the morning brought much calmer weather. Whenever we stay over in the van in any location we are always respectful of the area, the locals and the environment. Making sure we book campsites or stay in designated parking areas. The isle of Harris has many official camping spots in beautiful locations that allow you to stay over night for a five pound donation payable to West Harris Trust which we made use of.
The island has so many white sandy beaches with turquoise waters that literally blow you away & on several occasions we were reduced to tears by the outstanding beauty. We enjoyed hours of fun on the beaches and even in the water wearing our wetsuits…..how we wish we were back there now. We enjoyed our week in June so much that we decided to head back again for a short break. September will see us return again for around ten nights, we’re hoping to head across the the Uists and explore more of the Western Isles.
Photography plays a huge part in our every day lives, I’m still enjoying attending our local camera club weekly and have been asked recently to present a talk at Donside Camera Club which I’m very much looking forward to. Since returning from Harris we’ve visited Bullers of Buchan and were privileged to see puffins, coastal flowers during sunset at Portknockie and even attempted food photography for the camera club monthly assignment. Given that we enjoy and love photography to the level that we do it is always nice when other people enjoy your work, I was delighted recently to find out that I had been shortlisted in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards, Landscape Category and Commended in Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year, Seascape Category, I look forward to the exhibitions and year books from both.
I’ve was also recently asked to take part in a podcast with Kim Grant from Visualising Scotland. The podcast digs deeper to understand the journeys people have experienced with photography and how they connect to nature via the camera. The experience was great, so relaxed and informal chatting about all things photography related and how we use photography in nature to improve our wellbeing. It was an honor to be asked to get involved and I’ll hopefully take part in a few more this year. Kim has a deep love and connection to nature and hosts Photographic Connections alongside her YouTube Channel. I’ll pop some links below to the podcast and Kim’s YouTube Channel, there are some very interesting stories by other photographers that may inspire you.
@photographicconnections • Instagram photos and videos
We’ve also just released the first date for our photography workshop which will run on Saturday 7th October 2023 4pm until 7pm at Bowfiddle Rock. If you would like to get involved head over to the tuition section to book.
Enjoy the sunny weather whilst it lasts and take care
Until next time
Adele & Max