Kilchurn Castle

SCOTLAND 2012 - Loch Awe

One of the first shots of the day from Sundays trip North. Dawn light at Kilchurn, my friends hadn't been here before so it made a good place to start the day and the conditions were looking great but alas we could have done with a bit more cloud cover but you can't have everything and after all's said and done I'm happy with how this turned out!

Nice crisp winters morning at Loch Awe and Kilchurn Castle

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A delightfully still afternoon at the aptly named Loch Awe in Scotland. Kilchurn Castle's ruins are at the far right of the frame.

This is a view of Kilchurn Castle at the Northern edge of Loch Awe in Scotland. It was a sunset that never really happened but the location and the...

Nice crisp winters morning at Loch Awe and Kilchurn Castle. First time I've managed to get out in all of December, on a trip with some friends, Loch Awe was the first stop of the day.

Scotland

One of the most photographed castles in Scotland and so difficult to get a different perspective on it, this is my latest, through the morning mist.

Standing at the head of Loch Awe on what is today a low, rocky mound, but which, in medieval times, was an island, Kilchurn Castle was built, probably, around 1440 by Margaret, wife of Sir Colin Campbell, first Laird of Glenorchy. This original 5-storey keep, later extensively improved and extended, was to be well-tested in battle it was used to garrison Hanoverian troops in the tumultuous days of the Jacobite Risings.

Kilchurn Castle at dawn is a great place to be, you may not get an amazing sunrise but what you will pretty much always get is a dramatic scene, the mist and cloud often roll over the loch and the mountains to the rear until the sun rises and burns all the mist away, had this place entirely to myself this morning which can be unusual as anglers often camp here on the shores, the castle was shrouded in mist at first so it was a case of setting up and waiting for a break, the water was really still so with that in mind I didn't do too much with the foreground rocks as I've shot that before and there would be no garuantee of the same conditions again, so I'd use the mirrored reflections for that instead, and a longer exposure to drag the clouds along.

The morning wasa great one to just stand about taking the odd image and just watching the scene unfold hence the title of the image, I wild camped near to here in a great little spot a few weeks ago myself and the peace and quiet is fantastic, on the occassion I came here for dawn again and although the conditions weren't great I did see my first Osprey catching a fish in the loch, amazing well and worth getting up for!

Nobody knows exactly how many sunrises this castle has seen in it's time, but being built sometime in the 1400's it's more than I will ever see.

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Had one more look through the folder of Loch Awe shots and decided to process and post this one, pretty much the last from that mornings adventure. Ironic in the sense it was one of the first shots taken that morning and the stronger colours hadn't really came through yet. The ruins of Kilchurn Castle lie across a frozen Loch Awe, the reflections of Beinn a'Bhuiridh on the left and the ridge of Beinn a'Chochuill in the centre and also Beinn Eunaich on the right are showing on the water of the loch, along with the drifting clouds.

Looking down Loch Awe from Kilchurn Castle

Chateau Kilchurn Castle

Standing at the head of Loch Awe on what is today a low, rocky mound, but which, in medieval times, was an island, Kilchurn Castle was built, probably, around 1440 by Margaret, wife of Sir Colin Campbell, first Laird of Glenorchy. This original 5-storey keep, later extensively improved and extended, was to be well-tested in battle it was used to garrison Hanoverian troops in the tumultuous days of the Jacobite Risings.

Beautiful day out around Kilchurn and Glencoe with friends yesterday, was hoping there would of been a bit more colour and cloud in the sky early on but made do with what was there!

The ruins of Kilchurn Castle, or is it Winterfell, lie across a frozen Loch Awe, sunlight hits the slope of Beinn a'Bhuiridh on the left and the ridge of Beinn a'Chochuill in the centre and also Beinn Eunaich on the right.

SCOTLAND 2012 - Loch Awe

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Kilchurn Castle reflected on Loch Awe. This is the view from the railway line at the back of the Loch Awe Hotel.