Photo by Dougie Salteri

Mellon Udrigle is a small crofting community that sits at the end of a single-track road, North of the village of Laide in Wester Ross, North West Scotland.

( Mellon fom the Gaelic for ‘little hill’ and udrigle being derived from Norse and meaning ‘gully’ or cleft).

My first visit there was close to five years ago when I was new to photography, and though I thought I knew something about light my technical knowledge was minimal.

I had been staying down the road in Laide when I first visited the beach at Mellon Udrigle in the early evening. My memory is one of rocks glowing pink in the late rays of the day and a vista of magnificent mountains beyond. My attempts to capture it did not do the place justice, though the memory is there.

My second visit was in November 2008, I decided to stay at Mellon Udrigle this time. The first day was one of sunshine and showers, it was a pleasure to be able to dash back inside after each drenching. There were some good moments in the week, but I felt the spot had a lot more to offer.

Having recently acquired the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III, and not having had the opportunity to put it to the test I decided to travel back North to this spot of memories and take the camera with me.

The drive north was not promising, nor was the forecast and it was with something of a heavy heart that I arrived in Ullapool. I’d arranged to spend my first night in a B&B and had had a vision of visiting some spots I knew in Inverpolly and the coast around Achiltibuie. Let’s just say I visited the spots, and they are still in my list of places to visit again. The  B&B, was delightful with very welcoming hosts.  A fellow guest, who I know only as John, was a fascinating character from Belgium. He knows the Highlands like the back of his hand having spent many vacations there. He did not have his own transport and, as many times before was using public transport, the Post Bus and Shanks’ Pony to get around. He is a wonderful artist, I did get to see a couple of his pieces of work one being a beautiful picture of the island of St Kilda. What was most impressive was that he will not paint a mountain unless he has climbed it. I wonder if there is a photographer out there who does the same?

After a disappointing dawn and a wander to scout a couple of new spots I’d seen on the map, I took the road back to Ullapool. Stopped for groceries in the former Somerfield (now Tesco) and managed again to part with some money in the Ullapool Bookshop.

I arrived at Mellon Udrigle too soon to get in the chalet, but a walk in the brisk wind around the headland watching the Arctic Skuas, cormorants and the odd gannett and the view over the silver, sandy channel to Opinan soon took care of the time.

The next 24 hours continued much in the same vein as the light was concerned but, as I’d journeyed north immediately from work I was ready for some rest. In retrospect that was about the only rest I got for the week, apart from the four hours sleep at night! After the first couple of days of grey and rain, someone decided to switch the lights on and it was time to get out and play.

Having murdered, by drowning a 5D and a 20D, and having had a close shave with a 10D and a rock  I wanted something that might have a better chance of survival. I recalled  a story about Andy Rouse dropping a 1D series camera in the sea and that it had survived. As a fan of getting my feet wet I had hankered after the 1Ds Mkll, but with the Mklll on the market I knew I’d buy it at some point.

What had put me off most was the knowledge I would have to upgrade a pile of stuff to go with it.

My main camera for the past 3 years has been the 5D, and it has served me well. I found it easy to use and the menus easy to navigate. I’ve shot some with the 1D MkllN mainly for wildlife so I have some experience with the weight and feel of the series in my hands. Unfortunately I find landscape photography not as sedentary a pursuit as its wildlife counterpart. My experience of running around with the extra weight on my back was limited. But, you know, you get used to it, or I seem to have done so far. That’s with a heavier tripod too, the last gave up the ghost on the Mull/ Ardnamurchan trip.

This was my real first test of the camera. So far I am pleased with the results. Some good results using higher ISO’s, a big and clear LCD screen and rock solid to hold. After a dreary start to the trip there was a lightshow, with a sunrise the like of which  I’ve not seen for a long, long time. I could turn a 360 degree circle and there was red in the sky in all directions. It was difficult to know in which direction to point the lens.

I will let the images speak for themselves, but it may take a while and a good deal more shooting to share a critical review of the camera.

Accommodation

192 Polbain (B&B)

Clean, warm and very homely with views out to the Summer Isles from your window. Midge my hostess was very understanding. She let me have a light breakfast and made me up a packed lunch with gourmet bacon sandwiches, enough for two people. It is possible to walk from the door onto the surrounding hills, where you will find more than a boulder or two to set the scene against. There is a bar a little further up the road that does evening meals in season.

Ceol Na Mara (self catering)

Basic, but easily adequate, self-catering chalets on the beach. Separate laundry facilities. Plenty of parking. One of the best settings you could have, you only have to open the door and walk out. If you’re too lazy to do that then you can sit and watch the light paint its magic from the window.

Kildonan (self catering)

Five years since I stayed here. Very clean and comfortable with all the facilities you might want. A short walk through a field down to a rocky shore with bags of interest for photographers. Be prepared to wake up early, the sunrise from here can be magnificent.

Best time to go

Late spring, before the midges get going and autumn when the colours in the trees aroud Gruinard Bay, Loch Maree and the Badachro are should be stunning (if conditions have been favourable the fungi are amazing).  Winter can have it’s magic, but many may find it too bleak and wet and there few facilities open to divert your attention.

Other places to visit in the area

Just a very small sample of what there is to see, but places I have visited and spent some time at are:

Loch Maree and Torridon

Shieldaig, by the Applecross Peninsula

Inverpolly, Achiltibuie and the Summer Isles.

Loch Assynt and the Stoer Peninsula

The Lighthouse at Rhue and Ullapool (Pay a visit to the Ceilidh Place while in Ullapool. Great place for a coffee or a beer, good food, artwork and a bookshop to browse for titles of local interest).

Gruinard Bay

When the light is bad

Sit back and listen to the sound of the wind and the rain. Go look for otters, take a boat trip to look for wales and porpoise. Look for macro stuff on the beach. Look at your maps and guide books and go out to scout different locations.

Dundonnell Woodland

When the light is good

Keep going, you don’t know when it’s going to get better.

Melanie, May 2009.

Rain and Scotland go together, it’s the package you sign up for if you decide to go. As I sit here I can close my eyes and imagine the rain falling outside, in my mind I can see the unique blue light that radiates from the water in the North West Highlands and I know that one day it will be home.

A romantic notion and an image it is difficult to yearn for if your travelling time is limited and, if it is a spot you may not return to again. For photographers it can be hard keep the enthusiasm going when you have days and days of wet and grey. Most travellers would feel themselves fortunate to spend a week in Scotland without wet stuff coming out of the sky but it is often water in the atmosphere that provides photographers with the light we dream of.

During the weeks preceding the Ardnamurchan/Mull trip we had snow, frosts, mist, beautiful sunrises and exquisite light at the end of the day. It was disappointing to arrive on Rannoch Moor with snow deep on the ground but rain all around. Not the conditions I’d have wished for to try out a new camera. But, when you find yourself in some of the most magnificent scenery that Scotland has to offer, the desire to go out and get something is always strong.

That kind of set the scene for the coming days, though on Ardnamurchan any snow had gone. The dreary days ahead gave us the opportunity to make the most of the accommodation. It is part of my dream to look out of the window to the sea. As the rain falls and the wind whips up the waves I can sit comfortably warm inside with one of the many books yet on my wish list to read. Shoreline Cottages are just the place to make this dream a reality. From the windows we could watch the clouds scudding by, watch the rain fall on the decking and watch all the birds that came to feast on the pickings left for the pine martin (Claire will tell you the tale)

On one of the dreary days we journeyed to Mallaig and Arisaig (a very welcome cup of coffee in the Spar store, as the 2 nearby cafes were closed), it made a good reconnaissance trip. The day could have been a write off but for the uplifting experience of spotting an otter silhouetted against the skyline on a rock as it finished its feast. It returned to the waters of Loch Ailort to its cubs and we were able to watch the three of them dip and dive and play together. They were not close enough to photograph well, but they did make us smile and gave us a feeling of triumph.

In the rain and grey we kept an eye on the forecast and made ourselves go out, to at least explore and we did find some light, it may be that the subject matter was not what I had in mind and that it was too cold for some people to hold a camera.

Then there was the time it all came together at Ardnamurchan lighthouse, though it was a bit of a wait in a wicked wind before the sun slipped through the break in the cloud to make the rocks glow.

I’m always suspicious of those who use the description of ‘interesting’ for any outdoor activity, but it is the word I would use for our crossing from Kilchoan to Mull. The ferry took only 2 cars, and it was necessary to reverse down a wet and windy slipway and up a steep ramp onto the ferry that bobbed quite violently in the waves. Not a manoeuvre for the faint hearted! The crossing was wild, but I was glad to be inside the car as the foot passengers on deck got more than a little wet.

A revisit for me to the Isle of Mull, my last having been close to three years ago and I had a dream to replicate some of the light I caught there before. It was not to be. The spell of dreich weather followed us like a cloud of midges at sunset on a still summer’s day.

Once again our accommodation provided us with a luxury retreat and we had the added bonus of it being on the path of a sea eagle that flew over us at breakfast though, unfortunately, before we had the chance to realise what we were seeing. Again here the wildlife abounded and it was a very special moment to watch an otter run over the dunes at Calgary. Dougie, I think, caught a glimpse as it ran in front of his wide-angle lens and into the sea at his feet.

As the grey continued it added to the mood and we did find stuff to point our lenses at. These boats are well known and were so close to our accommodation it was difficult not to stop and take them in. The island though is scattered with abandoned boats, you just need to explore to find them.

Something I try to tell myself at home is that you need to keep getting out if you want to capture something special. It’s easier to put into practice when you are away from home as you want to see as much of a place as possible and are always looking for spots to return to. We’d had a day driving around in thick mist and an unsuccessful otter hunt, we were tired and hungry, but some light moving down from the north spurred us on – - -

As I sit here putting together these few words I know I want to be back there. The rain of Scotland is part of my blood. Rainy days I can deal with, I need a little more help with Mondays.

Recommended Reading

Walking The Isles of Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree

Walking Glenfinnan The Road to the Isles

Both the above are delightful volumes from the Clan Walk Guides and both were used in this and previous trips.

For a little sense of history of the places visited try these from Birlinn:

Night Falls On Ardnamurchan

The Field Of Sighing

Island Voices, Traditions of North Mull

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