Beauty of a number of Lochs in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands is an incredibly beautiful place, with immense natural beauty. There are long narrow Lochs, some connected to the sea and most others being fresh water ones, there is one deep one that is supposed to contain a prehistoric monster, there are regions which are very rugged, there are some hills and mountains (not very tall though), and some places that seem very untouched. But most of all, for a first time visitor, it is the bodies of water, the Lochs, which present a lot of beauty. In a number of places, these long narrow bodies of water stretch for long distances with a road running right next to them. You can reach them, park the vehicle next to them, get out and just enjoy the beauty of these lakes of pristine water - and there will be many places where you would not see anybody else around.
In a number of these lakes, one does not even know the name of the Loch next to which you are passing by. Just the road next to the lake, with a parking area and you can just stop there, send some time in perfect peace and then get onto doing what you were doing before you stopped. So, for example, on this road, there is a Loch right to the left of the road, and there is a place where it is perfectly fine to park and get out and enjoy a view of the lake.

Small stopping section on the side of the road next to a lake (More photos / Print of this photo)

This is a view of one of these Lochs. We were traveling from Edinburgh towards Loch Ness and came across the first of these Lochs on the side of the road. Soon, we reached a spot where one could easily pull over to the side of the Loch, and even though the side of the road was located much higher than the surface of the Loch, the view from between the trees was beautiful and showed the expanse of the Loch at this point (the Loch is located on the side of a hill, and hence tends to be not very wide, but can be very long, going along the length of the hill).

Broad expanse of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Print of photo)

Another view of a different Loch. Again, this was accessible from the side of the road and we were again at a higher position than the surface of the Loch. Further, in this part of this Loch, it seems like there is some sort of power generating equipment on the shore of the Loch (either using the waves directly, or which uses the water for cooling purposes and for generating the steam that drives its turbines).

View of shore and shimmering waters of a lake in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Print of this photo)

Another view of the same Loch as above, but from a point that was much further ahead. The gap between the road surface and the surface of the Loch had slightly decreased, but it was still a tricky descent to the water level and we decided not to do it. The trees at this point were slightly thicker, and it was more difficult to get a clear view of the water surface and the horizon, but by moving around a bit, it was possible to get some sort of view.

View of a Loch in the Scottish Highlands, visible through tree branches, with hills in the background (More photos / Print of photo)

Some beautiful landscapes in the Scottish Highlands

The Scottish Highlands is a very beautiful place, with a lot of greenery and large rugged spaces. There are hills and mountains, lakes (Lochs) everywhere, many tracts with extensive greenery and seemingly untouched places, and so on. If you are in Scotland, and head off towards the Scottish Highlands, and are fond of photography, then this place is a visual paradise and can shoot off a large number of shots. Here are some photos from one such place, with natural greenery and light effects.

This is an image where we were climbing to a higher level, on a path that takes us to the main road which was at a higher level. While climbing up, it was late afternoon and because of the slope and the direction of the sun, the sun seemed to be over the horizon and was presenting a lovely portrayal of the light silhouetting the greenery. It was a coincidence, but the light seemed to have a cloud formation emerging from it, and that made for an even more interesting picture.

Sunlight from behind some plants on a slightly higher part of the slope with a cloudy sky (more photos / Print this photo)

This kind of photo would seem nothing great, but people who live in cities typically do not get this kind of view. Lots of trees, nobody else but us in sight, and it being late afternoon, the sun was slowly starting to make its way down; no longer very bright or harsh, and with clouds over the horizon, the sun was covered by these clouds. The trees looked good, although the trees were not overly laden with leaves; with summer on the way in a few weeks, the trees would start developing a lot of new leaves.

Branches of a tree along with clouds in the sky (Print of this photo / More photos)

Yet another photo of a tree, a tree standing on the small slope of a hillock (rather than a hill or a mountain) in the Scottish Highlands. In the immediate vicinity of this tree, the land has more of bushes and grass rather than any other tree. However, the light behind the tree, the spreading of the branches of the tree, all of this make this an interesting location.

An overcast sky in the Scottish Highlands in Scotland, with trees on the hill slope. The aim was to catch the sun behind a tree trunk. (Print of this photo / More photos)

With these photos, the attempt was also to see whether the setting (or slowly going down) sun could be captures just behind the tree trunk, apparently seeming to peek from behind the tree trunk and make a sort of star effect. The photo below does show something like this, and I was satisfied with the final photo (I could have tried HRD and other effects), but the photos here are shown as they come out from the camera, without any effects, and I will continue to promote that.

Sun rays from behind a tree with cloudy sky in the Scottish Highlands (More photos / Print this photo)

Beauty of the Corrieshalloch Gorge, near Ullapool in the Scottish Highlands

Ullapool is a famous stop in the Scottish Highlands, with a beautiful drive leading there. Even though it is a relatively small place, a number of people visit it; it is rich culturally and the views of the harbor are beautiful. But this post is not about Ullapool (will preserve that for some other time). This post is about a natural phenomenon, located just around 20 km south of Ullapool, the place being the Corrieshalloch Gorge and the related Falls of Measach.

Sign for the Corrieshalloch Gorge in Scotland (More photos / Print photo)

Fence and Sign for the Corrieshalloch Gorge in Scotland (More Photos / Print of this image)

The formation of the gorge was due to the ice age around 12000 years ago (or to be more accurate, by the withdrawal of the ice), when the rapid melting of the ice caused erosion of the rocks and formed a deep gorge. It is also called a box gorge, since it is narrow and long, with a length of around 1.5 km and a depth of 60 meters. To make it more splendid, a deep gorge makes more fun when there is a water body falling at one end, and that is what happens here as well, with the river Droma falling a depth of 45 meters at one end of the Gorge, and this fall also causes further erosion.

Corrieshalloch Gorge and Falls of Measach (More photos / Prints)

Falling water at the Corrieshalloch Gorge and Falls of Measach (More photos / Prints)

This is not a waterfall where you can enjoy the depths of the water falling (even though by waterfall standards, the waterfall is not so majestic as the larger ones around the globe). The ravine has steep and sharp walls, and in terms of safety, getting to the bottom of the gorge is not allowed and there are no provisions to allow visitors to the bottom. The place is very rich in greenery, providing a wonderful place to come to. If there is no fear of heights, there is a small suspension bridge over the gorge that provides a great view of the sights, you can see the waterfall as well as the river flowing in a narrow channel way below.

Small wooden bridge over the Corrieshalloch Gorge (More photos / Prints)

Wooden bridge over the Corrieshalloch Gorge (More photos / Prints)

The place belongs to the National Trust of Scotland, and you can enter through the gate, with a honesty box encouraging you to pay 2 pounds for a visit. This gate is located on the south side of the Gorge, and with a car park where you can stop. Typically, a visit to the place should not take more than a hour to two hours at the actual location, unless you just want to stop and enjoy nature and the exquisite geological feature. 

The beauty of Loch Ness in the Scottish highlands

When you hear of lakes in Scotland, they are referred to as 'Loch XYZ', such as Loch Ness or Loch Lomond. Why Loch ? Well, in the Scottish and Irish language, Loch is the word for lake, and apparently since it is not a big or fancy word, and something that is easy to pronounce, it is used widely. So, when you look at maps or local signs, they will refer to these lakes as Loch, and if you speak to people in the area, they are proud of these magnificent bodies of water and prefer to refer to them as Loch rather than as a lake.

Mist and cloud in the morning over Loch Ness in Scotland (More photos / Prints)

There are many such Lochs in the Scottish Highlands, and are important to the local economy. These water bodies are the anchor on which the tourism economy of the Scottish Highlands depends upon, and the number of tourists that come to this area for the beauty, the sceneries, the excellent weather, is very important for the economy of Scotland as a whole.

A Merganser drake in the water of the Loch Ness (More photos / Prints)

These Lochs, atleast the most famous ones, are all sided to one side of a hill or mountain; these Lochs are not very broad (some can be less than a kilometer wide at some points), but can be very long. One of the most famous is Loch Ness. The reason it is so famous is because of the name, with sightings over the years of an apparent pre-historic monster called the Loch Ness monster or Nessie (the more affectionate name). This monster (of which presence there is no conclusive proof) apparently lives in Loch Ness, a Loch that is pretty large (it is not immediately much longer or wider than other lakes), but is pretty deep and as a result, the volume of water contained in Loch Ness is one of the largest in the whole of UK.

Man kayaking on the water of the Loch Ness (More Photos / Buy a print)

The surroundings of Loch Ness are very beautiful, with greenery, hills and some heritage monuments (the most prominent being the ruins of Urquhart Castle). There are many boating cruises on the Loch, and one can even take a kayak or similar boat onto the water and enjoy (there is of course no guarantee of what would happen if you come across the monster - if you survive and managed to take photos, you would get incredibly reach).

Man sitting on steps reading paper on shore of Loch Ness (More photos / Buy print)

Because of the greenery around the Loch, the water of the Loch is very murky, which means that various expeditions in the past to try and determine the presence of the Loch Ness monster have come to naught.