We spent the day with Leonie in Oban yesterday. Having watched the weather forecast, we were reasonably confident of a fine day, and at 7 am the ground was frozen hard with an icy crust. In fact, it was almost lethal – you couldn’t really see it, but if you stood still you found yourself drifting eerily sideways.
By the time we got to Glen Ogle, which is a beautiful valley just north of Lochearnhead on the A85, it was raining; as we drove higher, the rain turned to driving snow. After the blizzard passed, the conditions were just spectacular, so we stopped for some photos.
The wind was bitingly cold, and the sky turned a deep shade of grey as veils of snow were swept across the summits, to be replaced by flashes of brilliant blue sky. As we made our way through Crianlarich and down through Strath Fillan towards Tyndrum, we could see herds of red deer on the highest slopes.
We reached Oban safely, and the three of us spent an enjoyable afternoon pottering along the beach at Tralee Bay. As usual, a number of interesting pebbles made it back home with us. There wasn’t a lot of wildlife to be seen – a few ringed plovers and a redshank at Airds Bay, and a heron in some reeds as we walked to Tralee beach. The wind was cold enough to make your eyes water, but we could feel a slight warmth from the sun, which was very welcome.
On the way home the stars were brilliant, but we saw nothing of the northern lights that were visible as far south as Yorkshire on Sunday night. Yorkshire! And we missed it up here! How on earth did we manage that? I’m keeping a careful eye on Spaceweather, but sadly the odds aren’t great for a clear night tonight.
-
- Loch Iubhair
-
- Sparkling droplets – trees near Loch Iubhair
-
- Snowstorms in Glen Ogle
-
- Mountains from Glen Ogle
-
- Mountains near Tyndrum
-
- Loch Awe with Kilchurn Castle (far left)
-
- Airds Bay
-
- Rainbow over Morvern
-
- View over Dunstaffnage Bay
-
- Tralee Bay (1)
-
- Clouds & reflections at Tralee Bay
-
- Tralee Bay (3)
-
- Heron near Tralee Bay
Photos copyright © Colin & Jo Woolf
Wow!! Superb photographs, Jo.
Thank you, Bob!
My favourite photo is “Loch Iubhair “.
Thank you – it’s a beautiful place.
This is a duper photo series Jo, I especially like the sparkling droplet and the mountains near Tyndrum!
Thank you! We picked just the right day, because the weather has turned wet again now. It was a lovely day out.
Great photos – my favourite is the one of mountains near Tyndrum – I love the light….
Thank you – it was a wonderful sight! We were lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
Beautiful scenes and great photos of them! What a great trip that must have been!
Yes, it was a bit of an adventure! The stars on the way home were amazing, with the mountains still glowing white in the darkness.
Very nice shots!
Thank you very much!
The Tralee Bay clouds & reflections image is fantastic. Well-done!
Thank you! We were pleased with those. It’s such a lovely place.
nice pictures ! , looks a little bit like new zealand…
Thank you! I haven’t visited New Zealand but I know how beautiful it is.
Amazing pictures! I really enjoyed looking at them
thanks for sharing!
Thank you – glad you enjoyed them!