Recently, with our boys away, my wife and I set off on a small road trip. We headed north from our home in Newcastle, bound for the west coast of Scotland.
Back in our youth, before we knew each other, we were both very fond of Scotland — well, I was born there — and for years Kath has been keen to return to Camusdarach, the coastline where she enjoyed family holidays as a child.
Now, one of the things I love about human life is the infrastructure we build for ourselves. Not all of it, but some of it.
I love the machinations, how it all comes together in order to move people around. My friends and colleagues will know that railways tick the biggest box for me but I also got pretty excited when I learned that we were making use of the Corran Ferry on this little road trip of ours.
Waiting for the ferry to arrive at the Corran Narrows on Loch Linhe, Scotland
From the photograph above you can see that the crossing is very short but it’s certainly one of those wonderful pieces of infrastructure that I so enjoy.
I captured the scene on my iPhone and processed it using Nik’s fantastic Snapseed. You can see this image on my Instagram feed too, if you’d care to join me.
The ferry powers against the current (ferry glides) to reach each side and I noticed that the loading ramp is specially angled so that it can sit against the flow while vehicles drive on and off.
As I watched the water boiling past, herons flew up and down, seemingly so close to touching the surface; I relaxed when I realised they probably knew what they were doing.
Memories also started to flood back of the last time I was at the Corran Ferry. It was with my Dad, Step-mother and Sister (then a toddler). We were travelling to spend Christmas with friends on Ardnamurchan way back in the winter of 1995.
On my return, I knew that I would have to dig out the photographs from my archive. I did that, loved what I found and I’ve scanned the prints to share them here with you.
Here’s how the Corran Ferry looked in that freezing winter of ’95, as captured by my Dad…
Waiting with my Dad’s old Saab 95 to board the Corran Ferry, Christmas 1995
Like a film set, the water steams with cold at the Corran Narrows, Loch Linhe, Scotland, 1995
Once we’d made the icy crossing, we headed along the A861 from the ferry and then the B8007 to our friends’ home.
My lasting memories are of the snow, the ice, the cold, the starry nights and the magical climb of Ben Hiant on Christmas Day.
And let’s not forget the lovely sounds of my trusty old Nikon F3HP, which is now resigned to simply looking handsome on my studio shelves…
My Sister (two years old at the time), Ardnamurchan, 1995
Climbing Ben Hiant, Ardnamurchan, Christmas Day 1995
The climb as captured by my Dad…
Time to Print…
Both my trips to this area in 1995 and last week have been perfect. We plan to go back again and again.
Perhaps most of all, I enjoyed making the time to nurture my own photography. This week, I have been collating the images and making digital negatives of a selected few in readiness for creating Platinum/Palladium Prints, which I will show you once they are ready.
Not sure what I’m talking about?
Don’t worry, all will become clear in time as I beef out the pages of this new blog with photographs and descriptions of the processes involved.
Our Route to Camusdarach…
The journey we planned worked well for us. If you think you’d like to pay a visit, you might find the following helpful…
We drove north from Newcastle on the A68 via Jedburgh (narrowly dodging horrendous rain storms and flash floods as it transpired), eventually making our way to the epic scenery of Glencoe on the A82.
Of course, we then took the Corran Ferry (£7.00 for a single) and joined the A861, breaking our journey at The Strontian Hotel on Loch Sunart.
Beyond Strontian, we stopped off for a few short walks (there are many dotted along the route) on our way to Camusdarach campsite.
Our return journey was similar but we took the faster route via Fort William, avoiding the Corran Ferry, breaking the journey at the beautiful Knockderry House.
I’m a little addicted to TripAdvisor (particularly the 1 Star reviews!) and you can see my reviews of these locations there…!
Many Britons have yet to discover the truly stunning locations we have right here on our doorstep, so let’s not talk about it too much, eh?
Helpful Publications…
We found these publications helped enhance our travels…
As I mentioned on Twitter recently, we’re so fortunate in the UK to have the Ordnance Survey making such detailed maps for us. We used these three on our trip — the Explorer range are particularly detailed for fans of the great outdoors:
The short walks I mentioned? We found those in Walks Mallaig and Ardnamurchan (Hallewell Pocket Walking Guides)
:
Dreaming of the Future…
For idle moments, I took this book from my shelves at home in the hope that I might rekindle another side of my life, kayaking.
I had a good read of this whilst lying in the tent and dreamed of the future:
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Jack Lowe 