A solitary deer, staring back at the camera

This weekend past I went for a short break in the Highlands with Rebecca. A ‘staycation’, if you want to be all buzzwordy about it.

Sunset at Oban

We drove up to Oban first, the main harbour town on the Scottish West Coast, then carried on northwards to the more isolated fishing village of Ullapool, away up near the corner, so to speak.

Eilean Donan castle

I was expecting mountains, lochs and beaches, and although that’s pretty much what we got, it was the barren quality of this part of the country that took me by surprise, and the way the light pours down from the sky, and the continual succession of great vistas at every turn in the road.

The promenade at Ullapool

It was also a chance to try out my new camera (a Nikon D3000 for any nerds reading), and while I’ve yet to read the instructions, some of the pictures turned out not too badly…

View from Stac Pollaidh

Stac Pollaidh

I have no idea what kind of sheep this is

Evening sun on Wester Ross coast

I definitely recommend the north west of Scotland if you need to get away from it all without spending a fortune.