distinct culture was lost in the 9th
century, when they amalgamated with
the Scots in response to Viking raids.
I’m brought abruptly into the 21st
century as the oil platforms moored
in the Cromarty Firth come into view.
The platforms are a fascinating
photographic subject, as they look
so incongruous near to land. Some
say they’re waiting to be scrapped,
others that they’re in for repairs.
As I follow the shore through the
Dalmore distillery, I manage to get
stuck on the inside of the security
fence without meaning to. After
extracting myself, I’m then blocked
by a fenced pipeline manufacturing
facility that’s not marked on the map.
The building is kilometres long, and
it’s getting dark. I decide to camp here
and think of a way around it tomorrow.
I’ve just walked across Cromarty
Bridge to the Black Isle for the third
time. The first crossing was aged 10,
walking from John O’ Groats to
Glasgow with my mum; the next
was aged 21, walking from Land’s
End to John O’ Groats solo. It feels
like a happy place, just as I remember
it, accentuated by blue skies and
the myriad of combine harvesters
out in the fields.
Camping for the night at South
Sutor, I’m woken by heavy breathing
outside the tent. I point the torch and
see a herd of cows pushing against
the fence a few feet from me. They
are still there in the morning, and
I eat my porridge to the sound of
a splattering cowpat orchestra –
a true test of mind over matter.
It’s raining in Findhorn, and my eye
is drawn to the only colour around: a
TV screen in a living room, showing a
sponge cake being assembled. Must
be The Great British Bake Off. With my
mind full of Pictish spirals and towering
oil rigs, I head due east along the
Moray coast towards Aberdeen.he Dornoch Firth Bridge
takes me from Sutherland
to Ross and Cromarty. I need
to push against the wind to
cross it. I’m soon following a long
stretch of beach, but the tranquillity
of the scene is accompanied by a pair
of Eurofighters circling overhead and
strafing the bombing range at Tain.
Uniquely, the Picts are much in
evidence here: for a few days, I become
mildly obsessed with seeing as many
of their traces as possible. Full of
mysterious swirling symbolism, the
Nigg Stone is one of the last records
of the Picts in Easter Ross: theirAncient meets modern in the Scottish
landscape on Quintin Lake’s photo walk
Perimeter
T
Perimeter
Quintin Lake
Roving photographer
Quintin is two thirds through his
6,000-mile photo walk around
the whole of the UK coast.
http://www.theperimeter.ukI used a telephoto lens to
compress the perspective and
emphasise the difference in scale
between the town of Cromarty
and the jack-up oil rigs looming
overhead. I did a lot of moving
around to try the most effective
position for the shot, then waited
for the clouds to balance the
image. The scene could be from
science fiction, yet it shows the
priorities of the present moment,
when we are reliant on fossil fuel.This month’s route
Dornoch to Findhorn
11 days, 182 miles
Total so far: 5,145 miles100 DIGITAL CAMERA^ DECEMBER 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com