Sights and Sounds One hundred and Six

The final days.
So the holiday is over. The last day on Ronay we spent sorting out our packing and chilling out around the house. We didn't want to go go hiking as we didn't want to get our boots wet which we would be traveling in. Sophia finished up the movie and i think it came out pretty well.  For the BBC competition the movie had to be under 2 minutes which made it quite challenging.
So if you have two minutes sit back and check it out here.



 In the evening Sarah cooked the final meal which was Pork Belly Confit. It was so outrageously good. She served it with mashed potatoes, cabbage and cauliflower all topped with a delicious sauce. She is such an awesome cook!

The next morning we got up and patiently waited for the boats to arrive to take us off the island. Julian, Dusti and myself left first so we could get to the airport. We took the little boat back and the weather was turning quickly. The waves splashed up on the boat as it navigated back to the harbour.

We packed up the car and drove to Benbecula Airport officially the smallest airport i have ever been to.  We flew out in a small twin prop plane that held 37 passengers.

The flight was pretty smooth and within the hour we were in Glasgow and our time on Ronay was over. It was pretty sad leaving everyone as we all split on our various paths back to normal life. We shared a great experience on the island and I am sure what i wrote on this blog could never do it justice.
After a taxi ride into Glasgow and a meal out we headed to the hotel and our vacation came to an end.

Sights and Sounds One Hundred and Five

Days 13-14
Wow. The holiday is coming to an end. Our wifi has been pretty spotty for the last couple of days and I have not been able to post to my blog or even to Instagram. I'm sitting here in Benbecula Airport waiting for our flight to Glasgow therefore i have jumped on the first decent hotspot and i shall try to review the last couple of days with the best detail as i can remember.

Thursday was an "epic" day (as Frankie would say). We started early with a film production meeting with Sophia. We went over all the scenes and the scripts and prepped our actors. The plan was to film all the scenes in the morning then i could give Sophia a crash course in FCP X and she could edit in the afternoon. Kate, Victoria and Mannie were the stars. Frankie was the sound man. Dusti was in charge of sets and I filmed. All closely watched by Sophia. We managed to finish filming about 2pm. I downloaded all the clips to FCP and gave Sophia the run down.

After a quick cup of tea Dusti and got dressed for an afternoon hike. We wanted to walk to the East of the Island and around to the South and back up to the house. It was quite blustery but partly sunny and there was no rain so we were luck yin that respect. The scenery was so cool We walked through the valleys around lilly laden lochs with Mak showing us the way. It was truly spectacular. Some areas looked truly prehistoric. The ground was incredibly saturated and often times our feet would sink several inches down even when we stood on the heather or bracken.  We made our way to a great view of the sea and could see the Isle of Skye in the distance.

We decided to head south as we had to get back to the house by 4:30 as we were on dinner duty that evening. The goal was a summit we named Julian's Point as he was the first in our group to conquer it. The funny thing about Ronay is everything looks so much closer than it is. We would go up and down these rocky hills and think the Julian's Point was the next one and still it stared back at us in the distance. We saw several herds (?) of deer on the mountain side. They would look back at us for a few moments then run off and over the top to escape the intruders of their island. We eventually got to a position where we could see the peak and i was spent. Mak and Dusti continued up as i sat on a rock and ate a Snickers!

 

I watched Dusti and Mak go up the steep incline and conquer Julian's Point and took some photos of their achievement. As Dusti headed back down we decided met in the middle and make our way back to the house. Mak ran off ahead towards the end and i saw him being greeted by Sarah when we were still a good bit away. This type of  terrain is Mak's heaven and he effortlessly runs up and down and constantly has to wait for us slow humans.

Once back we had to think about dinner plans. We both took showers and started prepping. Dusti and I chose to make shish-kabobs. We made veggie and steak ones. It took a little while to prepare and i had to work on a very dodgy grill in rather unpredictable conditions.

Somehow working with Julian to get all the food cooked on the smallest charcoal grill ever the meal was a great success. we also served baked potatoes and dusti grilled some fresh tomatoes with cheese. For desert Julian and Sarah took a bunch of bananas and slit the skin then loaded them with chocolate. They then covered them in foil and placed them on the grill until the chocolate was melted. I have to admit i was a little weary but they were really nice and i think will some ice cream would be even better. We will definitely be try that when we get home.

Sights and Sounds One Hundred and Four

Days 11 and 12.
Urrgh. Horrendous weather has greeted us as we have awoken the last two days. The wind on Tuesday was outrageous gusts up to fifty miles an hour. Dusti went out in it with Sarah and hiked halfway up a mountain and got blown about and soaked. I wanted to take pics but there was no chance i was taking my gear out in that. I spent the day editing images and relaxing.
Sarah made dinner which of course was a fabulous. A whole wheat spaghetti dish with veggies and bacon in it.  It  was also Frankie's birthday so we indulged in delightful orange cake that Sarah had also made. Sarah's dad made a superb card for Frankie which showed him exploring the Scottish land closely followed by a deer and a hunter. I took a snapshot of it.

Frankie has spent much of the time here exploring with this foxes tail attached to his belt. He explains to us that it allows him to become one of his alter egos so the card really is magic. Frankie is a really great guy and has had us all laughing a great deal. I told him he needs a YouTube channel. I'm pretty sure he'd be a hit very quickly.

After dinner we got into a long interesting discussion about making a short film whilst on the island. Sophia, Matthews daughter is about to start university this September and will be studying film and expressed interest in doing a project like this. I am all over this as i have always wanted to make a film too but never had anyone to do it with.  She wants to enter the film in a BBC competition too. With Final Cut Pro and all the cameras and gear and talent we have I think we are going to pull this off. By the end of the week i may be able to post the final product depending on bandwidth or i may have to wait due to the competition rules. I can tell you we have spent a good bit of time preparing and Sophia has written a great script and we have a shot list story boarded out. We hope to shoot tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

Speaking of weather there is a chance it will brighten up for our last two days so along with filming the movie I hope to get out and shoot some more of Ronay and hopefully some of the wildlife.

I did get a short window this morning to shoot a couple of long exposures of the house we are staying in. Before i came on this trip i knew this is one of the shots i wanted to get right. I'm pretty happy with these.

After Frankie and Kate's Risotto dinner we headed out to try catch another sunset. We ended up with a rainbow over the bay which was pretty cool.  Fingers crossed for two last days of half decent weather.

Sights and Sounds One hundered and Three

Day 9 and 10.

On Sunday we spent the morning settling in to our new surroundings. Unfortunately the weather was a little dodgy and we couldn’t get out that much but that was okay since most of us were still recovering from the massive journey to get here. I managed to catch up on the blog a little and spend a few minutes editing some photos. I think this one below maybe one of my faves of the trip so far.


I spent the afternoon just wandering around the area closest to the house. I could spend hours just looking at the view. The  landscape is so cool and seems to change along with the weather. 
The water often has a very tropical blue look which is rally strange but i can assure you that’s the only characteristic that is similar to the tropics here. The people who did live on Ronay for a short time many years ago were really up against it. The conditions here change so quickly. The only good thing is you can see the threatening weather approaching which is good for us in our house but maybe still a little rough for the cave dwellers that once inhabited the island.



The evening meal was prepared by Matthew and was absolutely delicious. I think most of it was spa nosh influenced. Along with some baked chicken we had these potato onion dishes that were amazing. He had spent most of the afternoon cooking and the results were pretty awesome.

With Tor and Manny’s pies yesterday and these meal the bar was getting set pretty high. 

After the meal we sat around the dinning table and played liar dice which is a game based on rolling dice and lying about the outcome to the player to your left. It was quite entertaining and Dusti and i did fairly well but made a few rookie mistakes. I’m sure we will have a chance to redeem ourselves later this week. 
With clouds covering the evening sky there was no chance of a sunset this evening
so we headed off to bed.



Monday morning started out like Sunday evening finished. The winds were whipping up and rain was blowing through  the bay towards the house. The winds was quite loud at times. After breakfast i consulted the weather app on my phone and made the bold prediction it would brighten up (no ones weather predictions seem to be accurate out here). I went so far as to predict the time the with would get better and went up stairs to gather my gear to go on a hike. Dusti actually beat me to it and was out of the door by 9:30 when it was still raining. Her and Mak headed straight out the back and over the mountain not to seen again for several hours. At 10 am i walked out and looked to the South West where to my delight i saw the cloud back ending and blue sky breaching the horizon. Finally a day to get out a bit. I have to admit if it rains all week i still have had the best holiday ever. Spending time with mum and dad then We coming up here has been fabulous and to top it off think i may have taken some of my best photos ever on this trip (all those YouTube and lynda.com tutorials are paying off!).


So i ventured out to the West side of the island on my own. I wanted to try a couple of long exposures. One problem i am having is how windy it is. I brought a tripod but it isn’t sturdy enough for some of these gusts and any vibration will ruin a long exposure.  I managed to find one spot fairly shaded with a view back down to the house which worked okay and i also set up the go pro to shoot a time lapse facing out towards North Uist.

I wandered around by myself taking photos of flowers and old ruins and the sun slowly began to peak from behind the clouds. It actually became quite warm. I looked up to the North and saw the silhouettes of Dusti and Mak at the top of the highest peak on the island. I waved but she never saw me. Looking back towards the house i saw Sarah and her dad along with Kate and Frankie also venturing out.

 I was hoping to see some of the deer that roam the island but i all i saw were the occasional tracks and quite a bit of poop! We were told by the locals that the deer actually swim between islands. Who knew deer could swim?

.....Well later that day Tori and Manny said they saw the deer swimming and we have since read in the guest book other visitors have seen them swim too. I'm really hoping to get some nature pics but nothing yet.

Ronay is much larger than we anticipated. There is no way we will explore it all not even between us all. One of the toughest things is the ground is so soggy. Without waterproof walking boots you wouldn’t be able to get around at all. I’m so relieved Dusti bought me some this last christmas. And even with my recently sprained ankle i have managed to get up and about pretty well.

After about two hour on my own i headed back to the house for lunch. Dusti was still not back but as i sat in the sunshine at the front of the house saw her and Mak again this time at the south of the island on the top of another mountain. She is a true hiker!

A couple of hours later she and Mak returned and Dusti described her trek and told us she got lost for a little while after she had run into to Manny and Tor. She managed to managed to make it home and after a shower she joined my at the front of the house to soak up the sun. 

It was at this point Julian headed out with Mak for another trek. This one i wished had gone on as some of the views he got were unreal. I am hoping the weather will pick up so i can do the same trek.

 For dinner Sarah’s parents cooked Chilli and again the food was outrageously  good. The pressure is really building to provide a good meal. We are supposed to be doing shish kabobs on Thursday on the grill (i’ll post a pic of the grill later this week). It going to take a miracle to keep up the standard and if it rains it’s going to be even more challenging.



After dinner i grabbed my gear and headed out again this time with glass of bourbon and coke to keep me company. Make followed along for his fourth or fifth outing of the day. He’s an amazing dog and i think he’s is on his dream holiday. With all this family and a giant island to run around with no leash on what’s not to love if you’re a dog? Or a human for that matter. 

I climbed halfway up the mountain slightly behind the house which would give me a view of the sunset. There was still some clear sky however the forecast was for heavy clouds to move in. I perched my self on a small stone and set up my gear. I had the GoPro on time-lapse and i had my Canon on the tripod. I waited patiently for well over an hour sipping on my cocktail admiring the stunning views.






To my dismay what started out so promising ended up a little disappointing. I did get a couple of sun rays but the clouds moved and the sun disappeared.

I packed dup made my way back down and went to bed!

Sights and Sounds One Hundred and Two

Days 5-8

Finally have some time to type and catch up. The last few days as seen us travel allover the place. I’ll attempt to recap. 

We packed up on Thursday and said farewell to Knaresborough. It’s always fun to visit the town and of course see mum and dad. We drove down the M1 to Barnsley the cut across the Pennines through Glossup to Buxton. The drive took quite a while but the views of the Peak District were pretty cool.

After a brief lunch dad said his farewells and headed home. Julian, Dusti and I took Mak out to The Roaches for an afternoon walk. The Roaches is a rock formation in Staffordshire about 20 minutes from Buxton. The last time we visited it was freezing cold. This time it was glorious sunshine. There were loads of hikers and climber out. The walk up offers some really awesome views. You can see all the way to Wales. Mak got in his exercise (along with the rest of us). The way he freely navigates the rocks and trails was awesome and was a good preparation for what he is experiencing here on Ronay.

In the evening we went for a dinner out at the Buxton Tap House followed by a stop off at Monk (Victoria’s boyfriend’s bar) for a couple of cocktails then it was on to Victoria’s Salsa class. Dusti and Sarah participated and Julian and i watched and cheered them on :)

We go back to the house and slept hard (if only for a short time).

On Friday morning the alarms went off around the house about 5:30 or so. We managed too all be ready and packed by 6:30 to start our mega trip to Scotland. Victoria and Manny drove on their own. Sarah’s Dad and mum took Kate and Frankie and Sarah’s brother Matthew drove his daughter Sofia. We all left at different times and would meet up at different stages and continue on together.

julian had planned out a coupe of stops for us on the way as Mak certainly need to stretch his legs a few times on our lengthy journey. The first stop was Hadrian’s Wall just outside Carlisle. It was build by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to keep out the Scottish clans way back in the day. It stretches across North England and i had visited the Eastern side before as a kid and it was not so impressive in fact in places the wall was only a couple of feet high but this section of the wall was pretty cool. We walked along for about half an hour and ran into a couple of women hikers from the US who were walking the whole wall. Mak chased his frisbee and i think we wore him about just enough for the next leg of the trip.



We continued north in Scotland and around Glasgow. The rain began and didn’t stop for a long time. The ride was very twisty and turn along with  offering some spectacular scenes it also offered some traffic headaches. At one point two truck traveling in opposite directions couldn’t get passed each other. It wasn’t until a guy from one of the cars stuck in the queue helped guide them. We also saw a car overturned from skidding off the road. 

Some of the mountains were awesome it really was a shame it was such poor weather. Our next Stop was Fort William to get a bite to eat. We chose what looked like the best option which was like a welcome center (tourist trap). Once inside we found out they weren’t serving hot food anymore and only offered cold sandwiches and drinks. We each had a cup of hot chocolate and a biscuit and got back on the road. It seemed for the next hour or so all we kept seeing was places to eat that served “hot food all day” and it became a bit of a joke. We eventually made a last turn on to the road which would send us to our accommodations for the night in the village of Glenelg. The rain  stopped as we drove up a mountain side and Julian pulled over at “viewing area” and we saw the spectacular Scottish landscape.


After a few pictures and we were ready to eat get to the cottage. Once there Matthew and Sofia showed up about 10 minutes later. It was a cool little house that was stuck in 1950. It reminded of my grandmothers house with peculiar ornaments and old fashioned furniture. It served it’s purpose though and we had a huge field behind us where Mak could run around. In fact he made friends with a couple of other local border collies pretty quickly.

After we were settled in we headed out to dinner. Luckily Sarah was able to book us a table at the Glenelg Inn. It was a short 5 minute drive from our location. We arrived at 8pm and as we walked in we were greeted by a roaring fire and the sounds of gaelic music. It was like walking in to a scene of a movie. All the tables were filed with people eating and drinking the local varieties and ales and food. It was really cool. We all ordered drinks then decided to order several plates of food which we passed around so everyone got a taste. Included in our meal was traditional fish and chip, local scallops, venison stew and venison steaks and langoustines (which a like huge crawfish). Followed by a dessert  of Sticky Toffee Puddings which we didn’t share! Afterwards we headed back for a good nights sleep.



Saturday morning we got up and prepared for the last day of travel which would have us end up on the Island of Ronay. This proved to be quite an adventurous day. The rain started as we pulled out of the drive. Our first stop was only 10 minutes away as we were to take a small ferry to the Isle of Skye. The Kylerhea Ferry was small little boat that could only hold about four cars. The center of the boat had a circular ramp that rotated over the dock so the cars could drive on to it. We stayed in the cars as turntable rotated back into place and the boats engines cranked up. I have to admit it was a bit nervous sat in the car as we cruised over. Thankfully it was a pretty smooth crossing.



 The rain was pouring down as we drove off the ferry and headed up the mountain on the Skye side. The scenery was unreal. It looked so prehistoric and there were hundred of waterfalls cascading down the mountain side. No video or picture can recreate the grandeur of the sights we were seeing. The rain was lashing horizontally in the style of a South Carolina storm but the temperature was a little different! We followed Matthew in his Mini weaving around the side of the mountain on the tiniest road i’ve ever seen. Fortunately we only saw one car coming in the opposite direction and we timed it well as we met at a small passing shoulder where we could let them by.

We drove onto the major road that runs through Skye and headed towards Portree which the capital. The clouds were not giving up and the rain was intense. We stopped in Portree for our food supplies for Ronay and then it was on to Uig to catch the big ferry to the Outer Hebrides.
We did have chance for a photo pop on the drive when the skies suddenly opened and the sun shone on one of Skye’s famous scenes. It was fantastic.



In Uig we met up with Sarah’s parents Tony and Celia and also with Kate and her boyfriend Frankie. We had to wait about an hour before we could drive on to the ferry so we wandered around the harbour to take a few photos. Once the traffic started moving we found ourselves quickly parked in the bottom of the Ferry. Kate and Frankie were registered as walkers so they could take Mak with them otherwise he would have to stay in the car which would not have been fun for him. Once on the boat we gathered on deck as we left the port. The sun was out and the view was very cool. Despite being extremely windy it was really good crossing. Dusti struggled  with a little bit of see sickness but managed. 




Once on the Outer Hebrides we were started our final leg of the journey. A ten mile drive to Ceallan where we would meet our host who would ferry us over to the island. We pulled up at the dock and met the final members our party, Victoria and Manny. A gentleman named David was going to help Neil (the property manager) carry us over to Ronay as he had a larger boat. There was 12 of us and we were toting a weeks worth of food, drink and other supplies. We found out later that David is the owner of the whole of North and South Uist and has OBE and was an Earl! He was really nice guy and you would never have known it. I did get the impression he was posh though whilst chatting with him. 

Each car took turns backing down the boat ramp to unload everything onto the boat. Matthew and Manny rode over with Neil and the rest of us took the Earl’s boat!
It was a short ride of about 10 minutes to get to Ronay. We were told it’s pronounced Rona and on some maps it’s spelled Ronaigh. There is only one house on the island (the one were are staying in) and Sarah had seen an ad for this place in the Sunday Times newspaper and organized the whole trip. The excitement on her face was plain to see as we turned into the bay where the house dock was. We were all very excited it had been a very long trip but judging by the initial sight it was going to be well worth it. 

From the outside the house looked small. I was sitting below a rocky cliff in a pretty dramatic fashion. We unloaded all the supplies and luggage and Sarah gave us orders to our rooms.
I was eager to unpack quickly so i could shoot some photos. The light was awesome. The sun was out and the clouds were dramatic. 

Julian, Dusti, Mak and myself headed out on a pre dinner walk to ease of the island. It was spectacular and to top it off although we were caught in a brief rain shower we were treated to a rainbow or the mountain top towards the sea. The scenery was stunning. It’s going to be a really cool week of photo ops. 

One of the arrangements for this week is that each couple has been designated a night to cook. This first night was Victoria and Manny’s turn. We were treated to two meat pies and a homity pie, boiled potatoes and Kale with some Stilton Cheese and a Ham. It was quite the spread. The meal was delicious.

After dinner i tried to catch the sunset. I went up the closest mountain with Kate, Frankie, Victoria and Manny. Unfortunately, we whereabouts 10 minutes too late. Hopefully we’ll catch one later in the week. 





Sights and Sounds One Hundred One

Day 5. Photo Ops!

The forecast for today was the best so far and i knew getting up early would give me the best chance to shoot some decent pictures of the castle. I decided i would get up early and walk into town by myself. It was a cool morning with an abundance of blue sky and wispy white clouds in the upper atmosphere. My mission for this holiday in a photography perspective is to get at least 5 photographs that i feel really happy with and i felt today i would need to get one of those shots. I walked up the high street and passed all the market vendors setting up for market day. I saw one guy unloading a palette of freshly baked pies, scones and sausage rolls. I walked up to the castle remains and began to think about my desired shot. The clouds weren't really doing what i wanted but i went ahead and set up for a long exposure. I got a couple of different compositions from various angles which i had scoped out the day before with Dusti.

 I also to this one from lower down without the ND filter. The distortion from the wide angle on the lens was pretty horrific but nothing a little Photoshop could straighten out.

I walked down the steps at the back of the castle and headed down to the river again. I know i have photographed this area a thousand times but the light was a little different so i thought i would just check it out. Plus i had my ND filters with me this time. I got this pretty decent shot of the viaduct. 

I also shot the row boats again from another angle. I liked the repeating patterns. After about two hours i decided to walk back to mum and dad's house so we could decide what to do with the day. The original plan was to go to Whitby on the caost which would have been pretty cool but i wasn't sure the about the weather and it's also a decent length drive. Instead we decided to go up in to the Yorkshire Dales and visit The Coldstones Cut. 

There is a really large quarry up near Pateley Bridge which recently had an art installation placed above it. Basically it's a stone viewing platform which lets you look over the Quarry in one direction or over Yorkshire in the other. We drove through the country roads and the sun was shinning and the clouds had great contrast and form. It was going to be good for pics. As we pulled up to park the car however mother nature put the brakes on and the heavens opened. Dust and i sat for about ten minutes before just going for it in the cold hard rain. Dad stayed in the car hoping for it to let up some.

The trail up was rocky and steep in parts but offered great views. The purple thistles poked their heads up from the pastures in every direction.

Dusti and i actually got to the top really quick and took a quick look and headed back down as the weather the got worse and we were getting soaked but as quickly as the rain came on as we reach near the bottom it stopped and we were greeted by my dad who was heading up. After a brief discussion we decided to go back up (thanks in part to my dad's knowledge of the weather patterns up there as he predicted the sun would be out for a while). I really glad we did as it really turned out pretty spectacular.  Here are a few images from the trail including some pretty cool panoramas (make sure to click on the images to see larger versions).

All in all the little hike was well worth it. Some lovely views of Yorkshire and some pretty trippy weather. We head to back to Buxton tomorrow and begin our Scottish adventure on Friday. So it's farewell to Yorkshire. It's always so nice to visit the place i was born.

Sights and Sounds One Hundred

Day 4. More Rain.
We got up having slept for a good nine hours. I was really hoping for the weather  to be a little brighter but it was pretty miserable. We went to town so Dusti could buy some local Yorkshire wool to do some knitting while on the Scottish Island next week and we also retraced her jog from earlier so she could post some photos. The lady in the wool shop was very kind and Dusti some needles for free since she didn't bring any with her and Dusti bought several skeins of wool of which she is knitting a couple of scarves with (we'll probably need them next week the way this British summer weather is panning out). I didn't take my DSLR with me and low and behold as we were eating lunch the sun poked out from the thick gray blanket in the sky to say hello and i began to wonder if i was going to miss some dramatic skies above the castle. Well we finished lunch and headed back outside and within five minutes it was raining again. We pretty much ruled this day out as far as doing anything too interesting. In the evening we did get a visit from my Auntie Rosemary and Uncle Ian which was fantastic. We had a fish and chip dinner followed by a delicious chocolate cake. After they left i went to bed early with the intentions of getting up at 6AM to photograph the castle. The weatherman were predicting partly cloudy weather especially for the morning so i was eager to take advantage and shoot some long exposures.

Sights and Sounds Ninety-Nine

Day 3. Washed Out.
Northern England in the summer = rain and we are getting first hand experience of that right now. I don't mind so much it being colder and even cloudy as we get plenty of sun in SC but i was really hoping to get out and go to a few places in Yorkshire over the next few days and the weather is not cooperating. The forecast for the next three days really a big downer therefore my photo ops are looking a bit grim. The sky is so flat with no contrast exactly what i was hoping to avoid. I am really hoping Scotland will be a different story. Funnily enough the forecast from Friday through next week in Knaresborough is lovely!

We did pop into Harrogate my birthplace yesterday.  This is where the PBS show Last Tango in Halifax is filmed. It's a pretty nice town a good bit bigger than Knaresborough. My dad dropped us off in the morning before the rain started. We first went to find Dusti and embroidery kit (new hobby) at Dutton's Buttons and then we went for a walk through the Valley Gardens.

Throughout the streets were hanging baskets of flowers and flower beds. I noticed a several signs saying "Harrogate a Town in Bloom" and it really was. I guess they need something to brighten up the summer days!

After a stopping for some lunch we walked around for another 30 minutes or so before the rain started at which point we decided to call it a day. The rest of the day was spent inside looking out the window at the drizzle but at least Dusti got started on her sewing.

Fingers crossed for some improved weather.