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Loch Awe
Scotland is a stunning country at any time; but when it is dusted with heavy snow, it becomes magical. It's been exceptionally cold over the last few weeks, so many of the lochs are frozen solid - allowing images which would be impossible at any other time. Deciding to make the best of the cold weather, I drove north west up to Loch Awe, braving temperatures as low as -9 degrees. Although cold, it was incredibly beautiful and well worth the journey.
Arriving at Loch Awe, the task at hand was to get to the castle. It stands on a promontory which was originally a small island. Seeing no obvious way to reach it, the next best thing was to get down to the edge of the Loch. This was frozen over but the ice was cracking so I didn't venture on to it. A couple of other photographers were there and they did go across the ice, to another small island. I managed to get a couple of decent shots of the castle, with the snow covered hills providing a scenic backdrop to the castle and the frozen water.
After that, it was off to the Falls of Falloch, a small secluded valley and waterfall on the edge of Loch Lomond at the northern end. This was like Santa's grotto, but without the elves. There were huge icicles hanging from the Falls, with swathes of ice to either side of the water. It was astonishingly cold down there in that valley and I was only surprised that there was any water flowing at all.
The final stop on the trip was to Bowling Harbour, just in time for a magnificent sunset. Bowling is a good place to see because of the hulled boat wrecks which lie there - although getting near them is trickly, particularly when walking across two-inch thick sheet ice and perilously close to the waters edge.
Beautiful though the snow and ice surely are, I still can't help wishing it was springtime again..
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