Lily Loch reflections

Lily Loch

Evening reflections at the Lily Loch Inspirational Image has been a bit quiet recently – three weeks seem to have gone by in the space of one! A summer evening at one of my favourite places, Lochan Mor in Rothiemurchus, otherwise known as the Lily Loch.  Regular readers may notice that the loch and its […]

Spring day at Loch Vaa

Loch Vaa Spring

Spring Day, Loch Vaa A perfect April day – after a frosty start it turned bright and sparkly, the forest around the loch thick with fresh resinous pine scent in the warm sunshine.  Fish were jumping, ducks and geese busy making a clamour – everything seemed to be stretching out to enjoy the sun and […]

birch light

Light in the Birch

Light in the Birch I walked to the Craigellachie lochan arriving just before sunset – the sun sets sharply behind the steep crags which circle the loch.  The birch are about to come into leaf (very early this season after the warmer winter) and have a beautiful purple colour.  I’m amazed at the effect of […]

Evening colours at sunset over the Monadliath Mountains, aviemore, scotland

Peachy

Evening Colours, Monadliath mountains There was a beautiful evening atmosphere with light haze turning the sky completely peachy, as the sun set over the Monadliath Mountains.  I’m just loving the colour. “The quality of emotional knowing has a finer integration with our spirit than anything that comes from barren intellectual processes.  This point of view […]

Loch Morlich Sunset

Loch Morlich Sunset

Sunset, Loch Morlich, Cairngorms National Park We’ve had some fabulous early spring days, misty-hazy days of surprising warmth (when you’re in the shelter away from the Northerly wind).  Come sun-down and the temperature drops instantly about 10 degrees.  I timed this evening trip to Loch Morlich perfectly, with amazing fiery colours developing after sunset. Here’s […]

frog, craigellachie NNR

Frog

Frog, Craigellachie Lochan, Aviemore There is a day every year which marks Spring like no other.  Suddenly, overnight, the lochan is heaving (literally) with frogs.  Frogs are everywhere, in the pond, going to the pond from the surrounding marsh and bog, or returning exhausted from the pond, sprawled across the footpath around the loch.  I […]

Loch an Eilein Ice

Loch an Eilein Ice

Loch an Eilein, Cairngorms National Park Winter really has not happened this year, this is an image from last March on a day of morning ice and stunning clarity of light.  I’m pleased with how it came out, from the stones under the ice in the foreground, to the snowy Cairngorms behind.  I love the […]

Badenoch from Kinrara, Scottish Highlands

Badenoch Sunset

Badenoch from Torr Alvie Badenoch means ‘the drowned land’ and is the name of the district around Kingussie in upper Strathspey.  The Insh marshes form a large part of the district, and are said to be one of the most important marshes in Europe.  The marshes flood regularly in winter, absorbing and holding a massive […]

Winter Birch reflections, Craigellachie Lochan

Stillness

Calm reflections, Craigellachie lochan, Aviemore There’s been a bit of a gap in the Inspirational Image since December.  Partly down to the seemingly endless stormy weather – I haven’t been out at all with the camera in weeks – partly I’ve just had my head down!  Its been unseasonally warm (I’m using warm here in […]

Midwinter sunset

Midwinter Sunset

Solstice Sunset over Craigellachie, from Granish Moor, near Aviemore This is taken from near by the local Neolithic ‘Ring Cairn’ (otherwise known as the Stone Circle, which it isn’t), a suitable walk for midwinter solstice.  Dramatic beams of light striking the clouds, shortly after sunset. Its been a very dark couple of weeks (physically), with […]

Glenfeshie hills, cairngorms national park, autumn-winter

Autumn turns to Winter

Late Autumn colour and first Winter snow, Glenfeshie Hills, Cairngorms A late November day in Strathspey, the near-sunset casting a warm glow across the landscape in contrast to the crisp air.  There is something I really like in the shape and flow of the forested middle-distance hills against the steep-sided hillside behind. It is always […]

sunset looking south over badenoch from Torr Alvie, Aviemore, Scotland

Badenoch from Torr Alvie

Looking south over Badenoch, from Torr Alvie, near Aviemore Torr Alvie is a wonderfully mysterious hill, rising up in the middle of the valley, covered in ancient natural forest (an open mix of birch, oak, beech, pine and juniper).  The ‘easy side’ is a long southwards slope which catches the sun, with a great view […]