Eilean Donan, Locklash, Scotland

This is an exhilarating drive, 1400km in 13 hours.

Journey started in the southernmost part of the UK, Dorset coast near Lulworth, see another post. Passed this place, this is the second time I am here at Shaftsbury. Had a raved pork pie, yucks by our cooking standards, the cold thing about it is that, its wrapped in puff pastery, but served to us COLD! and the shocking cold further to the 5 degrees C outside is the price, a blimey GBP 5.00! Yes 5 quids! But the view from the rear of the cafe is what I came here for, the famed GOLDEN MILE!

Zipping along at 90 miles an hour, sometimes even on A Roads because we are racing against the sun in October. Then came the Tornadoes GR3, flying next to us, followed by the ultra new Eurofighter Typhoons, a pair just zoomed supersonically below us! We hear them only when they passed us, thats how we know they are supersonic, plus the BOOM! that followed! Magnificent backdrop of Ben Navis Mountain range! 3 degrees out there. Stopped my car, mount my camera on a fence post, set to self timer and 17mm super wide angle and took this shot in the blinding cold wind! Then zipped back to the car for some warming up.

Zoomed out again to take a shot by my travelling partner. Seeing the highest peak in all of Britain, is somewhat awe inspiring.

Then 60 minutes after, we come to this, Glen Coe, the ski area of Scotland! The sun is almost setting in the background and its almost 5pm already! Have been driving for 12 hours non stop except for 30 mins lunch over at Carlisle.

Arriving at Loch Lomond, home of Loch Lomond Golf Club, site of the British Open a few years ago. This is an ammo building that was built with investment money for silk production, and nothing happened. A Scot friend of mine once told me the moral of this story, never trust a Scot with your wallet! Hahahaha.....never wish this for our own heritage, would we?

Finally, we are here. But this photo is grabbed from Wikipedia ...sorry. Got mine too which you can see, very sweet! To get the shot way below in the history section, I climbed down the rock embankment and squatted in the cold sea sod!

Talking about being an enthusiast of castles, a fetish of mine; we dined and waited for the sun to set to grab this after mucking around for 30 mins in the freezing sub zero winds. Finally, we got an ISO 1000, F4, 30 secs exposure with a specially positioned car of mine with high beam on to light up the bridge and the leading edge of the castle positioned off the carpark off A87. 

Crossing the bridge over to the Isle of Skye to have this shot taken with my telephoto 200mm. Set on tripod. The wind is scary, and after this shot, we went over to have dinner to wait for the night lights to come on, which is about 8pm usually.

For this shot, as written above, I climbed down the rocks to squat in the sea water sod. Had to rinse my Original Swat Waterproof Win2X boots to prevent the PU from rotting away later!


















From Wikipedia, something to read about Eilean Donan.

Eilean Donan (Scottish Gaelic: Eilean Donnáin) is a small island in Loch Duich in the western Highlands of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland by a footbridge and lies about half a mile from the village of Dornie. Eilean Donan (which means simply "island of Donnán") is named after Donnán of Eigg, a Celtic saint martyred in 617. Donnán is said to have established a church on the island, though no trace of this remains.
The island is dominated by a picturesque castle which is widely familiar from many photographs and appearances in film and television. The castle was founded in the 13th century, but was destroyed in the 18th century. The present buildings are the result of 20th century reconstruction. Eilean Donan Castle is the home of the Clan Macrae.
Eilean Donan is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scotland. In 2001, the island had a population of just one person.

Early history
The presence of a vitrified fort was recorded on the island in 1912, though the nature of any early fortification is uncertain. In the 13th century, a large curtain-wall castle (wall of enceinte) was constructed. At this time the area was at the boundary of the Norse-Celtic Lordship of the Isles and the Earldom of Ross: Eilean Donan provided a strong defensive position against Norse expeditions. By the late 13th century it had become a stronghold of the Mackenzies of Kintail (later the Earls of Seaforth), who were vassals of the Earls of Ross. A tower house or keep was built at the north-east corner in the 14th century, and in the 15th century a smaller defensive enclosure. Having lost control in the 14th century, the Mackenzies obtained a charter of Eilean Donan in 1509, and in 1511 the Macraes, as protectors of the Mackenzies, became the hereditary Constables of the castle.
In 1539 Iain Dubh Matheson, chief of the Clan Matheson, died whilst defending the castle against the Clan MacDonald of Sleat on behalf of Clan Macrae and Clan Mackenzie.