I would like to spend a month in the UK, Scotland specifically, in September of this year. I would appreciate any insights, suggestions or other advice from any of you that have experience in the area. I would also appreciate any contact information you may have for any photography guides with whom you have had a good experience with in the past. I am primarily a landscape photographer but am also interested in photographing birds.
Outdoorsafe wrote:
I would like to spend a month in the UK, Scotland specifically, in September of this year. I would appreciate any insights, suggestions or other advice from any of you that have experience in the area. I would also appreciate any contact information you may have for any photography guides with whom you have had a good experience with in the past. I am primarily a landscape photographer but am also interested in photographing birds.
We flew to Ireland carry-on only, which meant I took a small camera. (Sony a6000 and 3 lenses). Some of my landscape and interior pictures were good enough for stock photos. A GPS, with the European map in it, is a must if you are driving. Most of the roads have no signs.
hi. went to scotland couple times..first time i contacted "tours by locals" in edinborough..there is a guide named will.he was a photographer for lonely planet few yrs ago then moved back to scotland..i can't remember his last name but i recently looked at the site and he is still doing tours..his tours are listed by duration or by area..he was very helpful not only with the history tour but with camera help as well..i highly recommend him.scotland is one big photo opportunity. there are a few folks on this site from scotland/uk,hopefully they will give much better info..enjoy your planning.jim
addendum..just checked..he is listed as william r. i also misspelled edinburgh.,jim
G Brown
Loc: Sunny Bognor Regis West Sussex UK
Are you going to hire a car or reliant on public transport. I ask because Scotland is sparsely populated once you get out of the towns or Cities. There can be an awful lot of heather between views. So Research is going to be key. The Scottish Tourist Board and 'oddly' Wikipedia are great sites to browse through once you have an idea about your 'main locations'. Transport in towns and cities are very good. (Trains are more often on time than in England) All our Taxis are registered and the buses often take in 'more scenic routes' and go to outlying hamlets on a regular basis. The Scot's are proud of their country - even the village postman has been known to take 'the odd visitor' out on their rounds.
In Western Scotland - Whisky and tourism are the main industries. Outside of the cities they have the lowest crime rates in the UK. BUT All you Americans are rich....apparently, so take a little care. See if the local Tourist Boards lists boat excursions (we don't call them tours) or Mini trips by coach..(Loch Lomond from Glasgow) will be one. But towns further north may also have tours of their local area. (many towns have a 'tourist office' open Mon - Friday)
Have fun and watch out for the midges.....buy a head net and gloves!!!
Be aware of fast-changing weather in the highlands. A sunny day can become cold and windy and put you at risk of hypothermia if you're not prepared. I remember that lodging places in the highlands had notices and posters warning people.
I live in Scotland and my advice is hire your own transport and make sure you have good waterproofing for your camera. I think September is a great month to visit and midgies shouldn't be bad but bring something to deter them if you plan on doing some walking in the countryside. If you are going offroad and walking at say Rannnoch Moor or Glencoe take wellies, waterproofs and a monopod to act as a walking stick, or walking sticks as heather can be devious. You can see eagles on the west coast eg Mull and grouse near the ski resorts Glenshee and the Lecht and elswhere. Red squirrels at various northern locations and Red Kites at Argaty. Not sure about Puffins in September but check out the Isle of May. I don't know any guides.
Rachel Jones Ross, a Canadian photographer, has a great tour of Scotland. She is a Sony Ambassador.
https://www.astralisphotography.com I was scheduled to go with her but my plans fell through. It is on my bucket list.
Here is a link to my wife's pictures taken while hiking the Highland Trail. I wish I had been with her on that trip and I would love to go myself. She and the others did "Inn to Inn" hiking. A lot of walking but the scenery is really fantastic. I have some Scottish ancestry so my genes woke up when I saw the pictures.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/catoctin_vigneron/albums/72157638671845203
Last year I went on a tour of Scotland, specifically the Highlands. The tour was arranged through Road Scholar. We stayed at the Aigas castle land which is now a national preserve. Wonderful guides and opportunities for landscape photography. When I returned I had many images that I put into a photo book.
Scotland is a wild and wonderful environment to photograph. Have fun!
When we were in Edinburgh we went out to North Berwick.
From there we took a zodiac over to the Isle of May to photograph the Puffins.
This was in May so not sure if they would still be there then but I know there were lots of others.
Can’t remem the name of the company but if you google I’m sure you will find.
I spent the month of may in Scotland long ago. Rented a car and headed north, mostly along the coast. Favorite stops along the way to the Isle of Skye included Crinan and Rannock Moor. Then crossed to the east coast at Dornoch where I spent the night at the Dornoch castle hotel, my favorite place to stay in the entire trip though I also stayed at some very nice country house hotels. I followed the east coast down to Edinburgh, pausing for the obligatory side trip to Loch Ness. After Edinburgh I ventured into the lowlands, which should not be overlooked, and from them back to Glasgow and Prestwick airport. I've been to Scotland since but that was my favorite visit. Hard to do it justice in less than a month.
We went on a 8-day bus tour from Stuttgart to Scotland end of September last. Temperature was mostly in low 40s except in the highlands where it got down to high 20s. I suggest checking Interra-Reisen if you are military (USO tours, don't know where you will start your tour though); our tour was very personalized with the owner as one of the guides and bus owner is the driver as well.
The Highlands is really an amazing place; check out Urquhart castle and Loch Ness area.
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