We had arranged a visit to Glencoe in December, but the uncertainty surrounding the Coronavirus and lockdowns meant that we were not 100% certain if we could travel to the day before we were due to set off, I contacted the Hotel and they informed me that they would accept us.
So off we set on our 4 hour car journey, setting off after work which meant the whole journey would be made in the dark, and accompanied with monsoon like rainfall all the way to Glencoe. The roads from Lock Lomond onwards were quite treacherous as there were large amounts of standing and flowing water on the roads surface.
We arrived safe at the hotel from where we checked-in, unpacked had a bite to eat then retired for the night, full of anticipation of what the next few days would bring.
After breakfast on the first day with heavy cloud cover and rain forecast in the early afternoon, we decided to take a leisurely hike along a pathway eastwards from the hotel to scout out any favourable compositions, and to find the Cauldron Falls,(more of this later), as we trekked the sky's opened up with shafts of sunlight breaking through the clouds and patches of blue sky visible.
We made regular stops to take photos as we went. mostly looking back down the glen towards the prominent mountains of Buachaille Etive Mor and Beinn a'Chrulaiste.
My mistake for this walk was that I had put a pair of wellingtons on my feet as I anticipated paddling in water to take the waterfall photographs, big mistake, after 5 miles of walking I had two irritating blisters on both ankles.
Has we re-traced our route back to the hotel the weather began to close-in and the forecasted rains arrived, we had a warm cup of tea in the hotel then decided to have a run about seeking out other photography locations. This turned out to be a good decision as the rain became very heavy and the wind began to blow quite strongly.
Day two began with me doing some research on where the Cauldron Falls were located, it was then that I realised my mistake, I had chosen the wrong river to look at, we needed to walk along the West Highland Way to find the falls, so, plans made, suitable clothing worn, hiking boots on my feet this time and off we set in very inclement weather conditions, heavy overcast sky's, rain falling and a ice-cold biting wind to contend with. We walked a short distance, I then turned left and headed off into the scrub to locate the river and to find the falls, whilst doing this Carole remained on the path but soon became cold and wet with her standing waiting, she made the wise decision to return to the warm hotel from where I would catch up with her. Back to these falls, they were not the Cauldron Falls, but they made an interesting composition so I set up and took a couple of images. After this the choice was, do I go upstream or down stream? My intuition was downstream, so off I set, walking through waterlogged peat marsh and crops of heather which made my progress rather slow. After 20 minutes or so I stumbled across the Cauldron Falls which I recognised from other photographs and literature that i had read. This was the first time that i had been at this location, the high volume of water flowing over the falls reflected the recent wet weather that this area has had, this high water level created problems with getting low and close to the falls as I wanted, but as it always the case, you can only work with what you are given. I spent some 40 minutes at the falls, spending most of this waiting for some decent light, but to no avail, I was constantly cleaning my equipment to keep it clear from the rain and spray from the falls. The images that i took at the Cauldron Falls were nothing special due to the weather conditions and light on the day, but at least I had found the falls for future reference.
As I walked back towards the hotel I phoned Carole to see how she was, she suggested that I continued on my own and she would settle down for a relaxing day spent in the hotel.
With this decided, I then headed for the River Coupall falls on the Glen Etive road, I was conscious that the weather conditions were far form ideal, but I have been to this location before from where I was hoping to get some different compositions.
On arriving at the road side parking I was surprised to find that I was the only person there, never before being in this predicament. I was shocked at the state of the ground around the falls, a reflection of the high volume of people who must visit this location, the whole area was basically a peat bog with very little vegetation remaining, everywhere you placed your feet they sank into the sodding wet ground. The falls had a high volume of water coming over them, the most that I had seen, this caused some issues in setting up on some compositions, but provided some original opportunities.
I did not spend to long here, the compositions were the same as those I had taken previously, but I was fighting the continuous rain and wind which was not much fun.
From here I wanted to get to the "S" falls further down the Glen on the River Coe, my research suggested that I would need to park at the Three sisters car park then trek up the Glen towards the location. So car parked, kitted out for what was going to be a wet and winding session, and off I set, following the path up the Glen, this petered out shortly after the branch to the Hidden valley as i expected, so i continued to follow the river, gaining height along the top of the cliffs. Then the immovable obstacle came into view, the near vertical drop into the small tributary flowing into the River Coe. This left me with no option other that gain height towards the road. I climbed over the barrier and trekked up the road, over the bridge then back over the barrier from where I could descend into the Glen to the "S" Falls. Kicking myself as there was a parking place on the opposite side of the road about a 100 meters further along, you live an learn as they say.
Descending the steep slope down towards the river needed some concentration as there were boulders everywhere and it would have been so easy to turn a ankle or worse on this undulating surface.
I set out assessing the location and picking out compositions of the falls with two of the Three sister Mountains in the background. I took photos in both portrait and landscape orientation using focusing lengths from 16mm to 55mm, and using long and short exposures.
Its surprising how time flies when you are at a new location and engrossed in the workflow to achieve the best images you can, I was surprised to see that I had spent 1 hour 20 minutes here!.
Again the weather was against me, rain, sleet, high winds were a constant problem, but overall I am happy with the images that I took on the day, whilst they may be portfolio quality, they reflect the conditions and atmosphere of the day that I was there.
I then had the pleasure of climbing out of the Glen and walking a mile or so down the road to get back to the car, if only I had parked it at the single parking place just up the road!!
From there it was back to the hotel, to dry my equipment and clothing ready for the next days adventures.
