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what can wax can wane
It was a tough day. It was cold and stormy. I wasn’t at my best, for those things plus some other stuff. It looked like our already-brief stop to photograph this castle was going to be rained out by that kind of rain that’s mostly sleet, falling so sharply that it hurts.
But there was a sudden change – the clouds lifted for a bit and looked dramatic long enough for a photo. I know that summarizes Scottish weather, but it’s also a reminder to myself (and to you, too, if you need it) that sometimes you have to just wait out the turns, the phases, the moments without so much worry.
Eilean Donan Castle
Isle of Skye, Scotland
photographed 11.8.2023
three arches over the River Sligachan
According to legend, if you stick your face in the water under the bridge, hold it there for seven seconds, and then let it dry naturally, you’ll be blessed with eternal beauty.
Instead of doing that (because it was cold AF)(and also because I didn’t know the legend at the time)(but mostly because it was cold), I opted to make a few photos of the fast-flowing water under the stone arches of the bridge. (It was built between 1810 and 1818.)
Sligachan, Isle of Skye, Scotland
photographed 11.8.2023
claws
This was in the old part of the graveyard, the part my friend Kim called “Creepytown.” I was glad we were there in the autumn: a summer view from this spot would be very different and less creepy. And way less of something I’d want to photograph.
Carbost, Isle of Skye, Scotland
photographed 11.8.2023
88 years
Some very cold flowers on the grave of someone who lived for 88 years. (Just a few minutes before this, there’d be rain and sleet-that-was-nearly-hail.)
Carbost, Isle of Skye, Scotland
photographed 11.8.2023
where the lochs meet
Oh, look! Another castle.
This one is strategically located where three lochs – Loch Long, Loch Dutch, and Loch Ash – meet. It’s been there, in various configurations, since the early 13th century. It was abandoned and fell into disrepair, until this happened: “For the best part of 200 years, the stark ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected, abandoned and open to the elements, until Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.”
Also: is “Farquar Macrae” the best name you’ve ever heard?!
Eilean Donan Castle
Isle of Skye, Scotland
photographed 11.8.2023
One Day | One Image 