A fascinating day full of adventure. At John o’Groats, board a FERRY for the 45-minute crossing to South Ronaldsay, one of the Orkney Islands, where a local coach and driver-guide await you. Cross the four Churchill Barriers and overlook Scapa Flow, where the German fleet scuttled itself in World War I. Visit the ITALIAN CHAPEL, built by prisoners of war in 1943 from scrap metal, concrete, and other materials. Then, head for SKARA BRAE, where you see the fascinating remains of a 5,000- year-old Neolithic village and visit SKAILL HOUSE. Yet more highlights: the Ring of Brodgar, the Orkneys’ Stonehenge, and finally Kirkwall, the small and picturesque island capital. Return to the mainland by FERRY in the late afternoon.

Getting There

John had been warning us that the weather was looking pretty bad and it was unlikely we would get to visit the Orkney Islands. This was very disappointing, as the reason several of us had chosen this tour over other tours is because it is one of the few, if not the only, tours that actually goes to Orkney. Because the weather is so unpredictable, our plan was to proceed as normal and assume the ferry was running.

Fantastic weather!

After breakfast, we hadn’t heard anything from the ferry company, which is better than a definite no. Being halfway through our trip, Steve (our bus driver) had the day off and we had a relief driver. Unfortunately, he didn’t know the bus well or the bus had an actual problem. At any rate, we returned to the hotel after a few minutes. After alot of fussing, Steve got it working again. Still, bad omen.

By now we were late, so there was no stopping at Dunnet Head, which is the northernmost point of mainland Scotland. But we wouldn’t have been able to see much anyway. Got to the ferry and it was not running. The Trafalgar tour group was stuck too. John didn’t give up. There was a new ferry, the Pentalina that had recently started service so we would try it. He said it was a catamaran, whatever that was. Doris said she had been on one before and it was pretty small. So now John needed a headcount but warned that the journey could be pretty rough. What he failed to mention was how massive the Pentalina was. I think if we’d known that, more people would have gone. But only a handful backed out. They went to the Castle of Mey instead and seemed to quite enjoy it.

Our savior!

The first part of the ferry ride was so calm, I wondered what the fuss was about. Then we got into open water with no land blocking the winds. Lots of ups and downs, but nothing bad. When we got to Kirkwall, the weather was much the same. Really windy, cold, and rainy.

Italian Chapel

First stop was the Italian Chapel. Built by Italian POW’s during WWII, it is a very small, but beautiful piece of art. We stopped for a few minutes; long enough to make a good photo and leave a small donation.

Ruins

Next was Skara Brae. It is the remains of a pre-historic village; around 5,000 years old! There are numerous photos in the gallery. It was difficult to appreciate what we are actually seeing with the yucky weather. Here is where I will drop a very valuable photography hint. If there was one piece of equipment that was more important than anything else, it was my lens hood. It was hugely helpful in keeping the rain off of my lens.

A short walk away is the Skaill House. This was the home of the local Laird (Lord) who discovered Skara Brae. There is a replica of Skara Brae House 1 by the visitor centre which is really good. The centre also has a very nice gift shop and cafe.

Skara Brae - House 1

Lunch was at Plout Kirn. Interesting place. You sit down and instead of ordering they bring out plates of light sandwiches and bowls of soup.

The Ring Of Brodgar was next. More than 300 feet in diameter, it’s rather difficult to get the whole thing in one photo. The best guess for its origin is 2500 to 2000 BC. I only have one photo, due to rain drops on the lens (see above) and, ahem, people in the shot.

Less than a mile away are the Standing Stones of Stenness. Much more compact, at only about 100 feet in diameter.

Kirkwall

Done with the major sightseeing, our final destination was Kirkwall. I think normally we would go inside the St. Magnus Cathedral, but there was a wedding at the time. That was still kind of neat, as it’s more traditional than here. Horse-drawn carriage and a bagpiper. So we just walked around the town for a while.

Finally, another WWII relic, the blockship. During the war, ships were sunk to block German U-boats from attacking Orkney. The photo is a bit blurry due to water drops, since we were inside the bus.

Full Gallery

Continue an unforgettable journey and follow the coast road to majestic DUNROBIN CASTLE, for centuries the seat of the Dukes and Earls of Sutherland. Visit the formal gardens and enjoy a fascinating FALCONRY DISPLAY. Before dinner you may want to join your Tour Director for an optional excursion to a local pub.

Introduction

Now we come to the second half of tour. The towns are much smaller and the hotels are more… interesting. We only had one stop today, Dunrobin Castle. There aren’t many photos, especially since we were not allowed to take photos inside the castle, as is often the case. So we’ll go over some history first, then onto the castle.

One of the most infamous events of Scottish history is the Highland Clearances during the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, thousands of people made their living via farming, but residing in poor conditions. The short version is that the aristocrats, or landlords, sought to “improve” the plight of the common people by moving them to coastal areas where they would take up fishing instead and live a better life. Whatever. The reality is that these people were forced off their lands, often violently. In their place, was set up more profitable (for the landlords) sheep farming. Convenient.

Driving up through the highlands there are 3 monuments that we ran across pertaining to the Clearances. The first is the Fyrish Monument. Read the link for details. I don’t think our guide mentioned it in detail, if it all. From the pictures I’ve seen, it offers a spectacular view on a clear day. I, however, can only offer this:

Next is a massive statue of the 1st Duke of Sutherland. Again, supposedly the Duke and his wife were appalled by the living conditions and were responsible for thousands of relocations. Consequently, he has become one of the most hated men in Scotland. In 1837, a few years after this death, a 100 ft. statue of him was erected on top a major hill. This monument dominates the skyline, which does not sit well with the locals. Its removal has been attempted multiple times, both legally and illegally. I am not sure how much longer it can stand.

Further north up the road is the small town of Helmsdale. In 2007, The Emigrants Statue was placed here to commemorate the success of the Scottish who survived the Clearances and persevered.

Back to photography. The statue is very scenically placed, right next to the coast. There’s a beautiful stone bridge in nearby, too. The weather was pretty miserable, so only a handful of us braved it to take photos. The following picture alone made it worthwhile.

Dunrobin

The home of the Sutherlands is Dunrobin Castle. Situated on the coast, it is certainly a good representation of the fairytale-like palaces. Much of this is due to the remodel in the mid-1800′s. The castle itself originates from the 14th century, at least.

At this time of year, the sun rises directly behind the castle. Plan your visit accordingly (see above photo). The rear (?) of the castle looks out over the North Sea.

The gardens are amazing. I know I say that every day, but with this much rain, it’s unavoidable. With them in the foreground and the castle in the background, you can’t miss taking a good photo.

Something else you shouldn’t miss is the falconry display performed twice a day. It is much better than anything I’ve ever seen in Texas and includes a wider variety of birds. I will cover this in detail in a later post regarding wildlife.

Giant Rhubarb!

We had a light and very good lunch at the cafe in the castle before getting back on the bus to Thurso.

Thurso

Far up the road is Thurso, the northernmost town on the mainland. It’s a small town, with not a lot to do. We elected to not partake in storytime at the local pub and instead walk around and relax in the room. We did the quick half-mile walk up to the northern coast. That’s pretty neat to look out over sea so far north. We were able to make out what I think was Orkney, our destination for the next day.

Our hotel was the St. Clair. I liked this hotel. While not much to look at on the outside, the inside has been remodeled. The bathrooms look brand new, although I can’t say I’ve ever been in a smaller one. It’s amazing there is room for the door to open. The people were nice, if somewhat overwhelmed by us. The bar was welcoming and wifi is free. The only bad thing about the hotel itself is the plumbing (flushing, I think) is very loud. This is not good when there are dozens of people there. The only bad thing we ran into regarding the town (and John had warned us about this) are the cars. Apparently there is nothing else to do at night, and the kids with no taste put those awful exhausts on their cars and just up and down the streets at night. We have a name for those types of people but I won’t say it :)

This hotel worked well for us and I hope it works well for them, too.

Favorite Thurso sign

Full Gallery

Since we were there around sunset, the light turned into that lovely warm glow. I snapped off a quick photo of a Northern Mockingbird just before he took off, which I really like. Doris got one of him actually flying toward the camera, which was pretty neat.

Canon G1 X

Lately, everyone has been jumping on the mirrorless DSLR bandwagon. Canon, it seemed, missed the boat. However, with the new G1 X, they have tossed their hat into the ring. There is one big difference between this and everyone else’s camera: it does not have interchangeable lenses. The lens is a 28-112mm-equivalent. At this point, I was still excited. Until I saw the picture. This thing is not pocketable. That combined with the $800 price tag leaves me wondering. While it will definitely sell, the size and price are holding it back. For $700 or less, you can pick up an entry-level DSLR with better quality. If the G1 X does not fit in your pocket, then why not get something bigger and cheaper? Granted, purse-bearers won’t have this problem. But it remains to see how good the lens is. I am disappointed though.

Fuji X-Pro1

Possibly a more exciting announce is Fuji’s X-Pro1. The sensor has been redesigned to eliminate the need for a low-pass filter! In theory, this means a much sharper image. Fuji is claiming it will even perform better than a full-frame camera. If so, we can only hope this technology will spread out to every other camera. Low-pass filters need to go the way of the dinosaur.

Other News

As Jim pointed out, the Lightroom 4 Beta has been released. This figures, as I had just downloaded the 3.6 trial. I’m also testing DxO Optics Pro 7. I am mainly looking to consolidate my tools. Right now I use 4 tools to process my photos and while it’s quick, it’s annoying. This will become evident once I publish my workflow.

Mills Pond

Located in the Well Branch subdivision, you wouldn’t know about Mills Pond without looking at a map, really. Right after getting out of the car, I saw a Wood Duck. Good start! First time I’ve seen one not in a zoo. AFAIK, it was the only one. I took dozens of photos, but here is the first one I took. Still processing the others and will post the good ones later.

Wood Duck

This is likely not a complete list of everything there, but here are the photos I kept.

American Wigeon (green)

Northern Shoveler

American Wigeon (blue)

Lesser Scaup

Cinammon Teal

Great Egret

There are currently 4 photos of the Great Egret in the gallery. It was quite photogenic.

Hornsby Bend

Hornsby was suprisingly eventful, with several new birds for me. Not pictured are a pair of Eastern Bluebirds at the entrance as I have better photos. But it’s only the second time I’ve seen them out there. Also missing is a Rusty Blackbird because I’m not sure that’s what I photographed. While I know they were out there in large quantities, getting a photo was very difficult. The snipe was taken at 600mm (300 + two 1.4x extenders).

Loggerhead Shrike

Ring-billed Gull

Wilson's Snipe

Northern Shoveler

American Kestrel

Walnut Creek Wasterwater Treatment Plant

One of the birders at Hornsby suggested I stop by the Walnut Creek Wasterwater Treatment Plant. I had seen it mentioned before on TPWD’s East Austin Birding Sites, but never looked in on it. Turns out it’s pretty close to Hornsby. Two ducks of interest for me, though I’m not sure what the second one is. I’ve found similar ducks but no exact match. If you know, I would love to hear from you in the comments section.

Pied-billed Grebe

Unknown Duck

I have decided to go back in time and start looking at something my dad mentioned a couple of years ago, which is a mirror lens or maybe even a spotting scope. 300-400mm works well in a blind, but out in the ‘wild’, it’s just not enough. Mirror lenses are generally slow and manual focus only, but very cheap and lightweight. However, almost everything I want to photograph sits still so it should be ok. A 600 f8 would be a good start. I wonder if there are any recently made….

This one is like a combination of at least 3 ducks!

At CULLODEN VISITOR CENTRE the story unfolds of the crushing Hanoverian victory over Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Scottish clans. Then, call at CAWDOR CASTLE, setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth and home to the Thanes of Cawdor for over 600 years. Back in Inverness, the rest of the day is at leisure. Our recommendation would be to join the Loch Ness Experience optional excursion, which includes a cruise on the loch followed by supper.

Culloden

Being a couple hundred miles further north today means a drop in temperature. Nothing unpleasant, but definitely cooler. No rain! Our first visit today was to the nearby battlefield of Culloden. By now, we were much more versed in Scottish history. This was the final battle of the 1745 Jacobite uprising led by Bonnie Prince Charlie. After more than 260 years, there is obviously little, if any,  evidence of the battle. There is a large memorial cairn and a farmhouse built a few years after the battle.

The visitor center is pretty good. To avoid the crowd (us), we did the self-guided audio tour of the battlefield and afterwards toured the visitor center. If you go, do everything in the opposite order of what we did. First, take photos of the Highland cattle by the parking lot if they are there. We did not, and this was our only opportunity to take photos without a window in the way. Then go through the visitor center, followed by the battlefield. The latter is the least interesting, IMHO, since honestly, it’s just a big field. I would rather read and look at the artifacts, especially when it’s nice and warm inside.

Cawdor Castle

Supposedly the castle is the setting for Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but I have no idea. Not a Shakespeare fan really, and I had never heard of the castle before. But it’s a picturesque castle, nonetheless. As usual, we were not allowed to take photos inside. Now, I think it was this castle, but I may be wrong, where they had fake people (wax)? posing. It freaked the heck out of us. It’s just weird and creepy. Anyway, it’s a neat place and almost worth going just for the gardens. The gardens also provide a really nice foreground when taking photos of the castle outside. Of course, with the overcast conditions, everything is dreary. Ah well.

Inverness

By the time we got back to Inverness for lunch, it was clear blue skies and actually warm. The River Ness (flowing from Loch Ness) divides Inverness. With all the recent rains, the river was extremely full. We ate  lunch at one of the cafes on the river.

Loch Ness

Can’t come to Scotland without visiting Loch Ness. The bus dropped us off at the visitor center for a walking multimedia tour. John had warned us a bit about it, and he was spot on. Honestly, the tour itself is kind of confusing, as you don’t know where the movie projection is going to occur. Once it starts, there’s a shuffle of people trying to move around in the dark. But the worst thing, is that by the end of the tour, you’re almost totally convinced there is no monster! They should be trying to do the opposite. I wasn’t expecting much, but it’s rather a letdown. My recommendation is to just stick with the gift shop. It was, after all, the second largest one on the tour.

After that, we divided into groups to take boat tours of Loch Ness. Ours was pretty small and it was hard to understand the pilot/driver/captain. Regardless, it was alot of fun actually being on Loch Ness. The scenery is great for photos, too, and Urquhart Castle overlooks the loch. I wish we could have gone there and tromped around.

We ended the day with dinner by the visitor center (very good).

Full Gallery – Day 6

With perfect weather upon us this week, I decided to make one last birding trip for the year. Today I hit up Mills Pond, Hornsby Bend, and the Walnut Creek Wasterwater Treatment Plant. It will take me awhile to ID everyone, but the highlights were easily a Wood Duck (!!!) and a Northern Harrier an American Kestrel. I may or may not go to Pedernales tomorrow morning. I will have a full post on today’s birding another time.

The year ahead shows a ski trip (probably Breckenridge) and a one week fall trip to Oregon. That still leaves one more week. Most likely we’ll extend Oregon for another week, but all options are open. I had hoped to visit the Rio Grande Valley in January, but I’m pretty sure my personal leave is currently negative, so that’s not happening.  Hopefully in 2013.

So part of what’s been keeping me busy is the hunt for a new camera system. It’s not going well, due to there simply being no good options:

Pocket Camera

DPReview has their review up of the new Canon S100. The image quality is not showing the improvement I was hoping for. However, DC Resource shows noticeable improvement. I am going to look into this some more, but will likely get the S100 once the price drops. The GPS is logging would be nice, and the HD video even nicer. A side benefit is that it uses the NB-5L battery, which is the same as what Doris’ new SX230HS uses. Less parts is part of my goal this year.

Super Telephoto

I’ve been looking for something that can shoot 400mm f4 at a reasonable cost. This actually didn’t take long, as there is nothing out there. Manufacturers seem to have abandoned the f4 market, which we will discuss at a later time. Canon’s 400 f4 retails for $6100. No…. The only other option is a 300 2.8 with a 1.4x extender, which makes 420 f4. Unfortunately, these lenses start above $3000 and weight at least 5 pounds. Well I guess I’ll be saving money! I might upgrade my 1.4x from version 2 to 3, as the new one is showing better performance. If I upgrade to full-frame, I will likely replace the 300 with something that includes 400 f5.6. Slower, but I’m pretty much always shooting at 5.6 anyway with my teleconverter always on. And with FF, I don’t mind shooting at a higher ISO to help compensate.

Wide-Angle

This is a pretty tough decision. I have the Canon 17-55 f2.8. I would like something that is wider and has less chromatic aberration (purple fringing). I’ve looked through the reviews of existing lenses and I cannot find anything better and wider for a non-full-frame camera. This likely means moving to FF. There are at least a few good options: Canon 16-35 f2.8, Canon 24-70 f2.8, and Canon 24 f1.4. The latter is not cheap, but there is nothing better without moving to a more expensive tilt-shift. Which is what I should do, but dang it’s expensive :)

DLSR

I really wanted a 550D, but with the wide-angle issue, that looks like a non-starter. Right now the 5D Mark II is the likely path. I’m hoping it will drop to $1500 this year. I would be tempted to get the 60D as a backup, just to not have to deal with different batteries :)

Over the elegant Forth Road Bridge and through Fife to St. Andrews. Cross the Firth of Tay and from Dundee, head into the Highlands with a lunch stop in pretty Braemar, home of the Royal Highland Games. Drive through the Grampian Mountains to visit a WHISKY DISTILLERY.

Introduction

Today we left the comfort of the big cities (Glasgow and Edinburgh) and began our journey to the more remote areas. With over 200 miles to cover, our stops were briefer. You’ll see many photos of the countryside. These were all taken from inside our barreling bus, so they likely only stand up to scrutiny at smaller sizes.

St. Andrews

First stop was the world-famous St. Andrews Golf course. Well, not so much to me. It is located on the coast, so you do have a decent view of the North Sea. We walked around some, but for us the most interesting things were 2 or 3 new birds, including a European Swallow. Don’t get those in Texas. I’ll be covering wildlife in detail later in this series.

Lunch was at Braemar. It’s a small town, of course. I wasn’t feeling great today, so we didn’t stray out of the hotel where we had ‘lunch’. I think they were overwhelmed. We just had soup.

Glenlivet Distillery

Our final destination was Inverness, but not before touring The Glenlivet Distillery. Getting there was definitely half the fun. We caught glimpses of several castles along the way.

It’s a steady elevation rise through the Cairngorms National Park. We saw a few deer but for the most part it was only sheep around. We passed through at least a couple of ski areas, but there was no snow on the ground yet. The higher we got, the worse the weather got, too. Rainy, cold, and windy. One photo stop at a relatively high elevation was so windy, we didn’t even spend long outside.

Sheep in the foreground, windmills in the back

With lots of time to enjoy the views, I think I figured out why I like the Scottish hills and mountains better than the ones I’ve seen in the States. They are mostly tree-less. Scottish hills are covered in grass, heather, etc.

ANYWAY. We got the grand tour of The Glenlivet Distillery, such as it is. It’s a very simple operation. So much so that it only takes two people to operate it. Walking through the building at the different stages is a truly intense assault on the nose. The smell of whisky is so strong, a not unpleasant scent :) I was particularly fascinated by the warehouse where they store the casks. With no extreme temperatures, there is no need for climate control. It’s really cool to see dozens and dozens of casks, just waiting for years to be opened.

As with any good tour, free samples were awaiting us at the end.  You’re only allowed to have one, but if you have a buddy, you can swap. We tried the 18-year-old, which I rather liked, and the cask strength. Wow, that is intense.

Not sure if I mentioned this already, but John specifically recommended not buying whisky and having it shipped home. The UK VAT is so high, that it is much cheaper to buy the stuff at home. However I did find something to buy in their awesome gift shop. By now I was truly fed up with the weather and got a hooded, waterproof jacket for about $50 USD. Quite the bargain really. I wore it for most of the remainder of the trip. Of course if I had just brought my ski jacket in the first place, I would have been set.

Inverness

We arrived at Inverness late in the afternoon. With nothing planned we walked the streets for a little while. Typical Old World streets, but there was one absolutely spectacular rainbow. After dinner, we hit up the bar and took advantage of the free internet. Looking back we made one mistake; we should have taken advantage of the laundromat right by the hotel.

Full Gallery – Day 5