64 DigitalSLRPhotographyDecember 2 019
1231) The Black Rock Cottage in its snowy winter surrounds.
2) Coupall Falls and Buchaille Etive More in perfect winter
weather; this is a location where you can happily spend hours
discovering new compositions. 3) A less wintery view of
Coupall Falls in Glen Etive. 4) The River Etive flowing through
GlenEtive.5)A calmduskat Lochainnah'Aclaise.Alternativeviews
Afewmilesdowntheroadis a turn-offfor
theGlencoeMountainResort.Drivealong
theminorroadforabouthalfa mileand
you’llarriveat BlackRockCottage,oneof
the mostphotographedbuildingsin
Scotland!Thecottageis bathedin morning
light andmakesagreatsubjectwith
mountainsloomingupbehind.Thereare
oneortwolarge bouldersin theforeground
too.On a crispwintermorning,withfresh
snowontheground,itlooks stunning.
BuachailleEtiveMor(TheGreatHerdsman
of Etive)is themostfamousmountainseen
fromRannochMoor.It hasa distinctive
pyramidshapeandcanbe photographed
frommanydifferentspots.Oneofthebest
is nearthelargeironbridgethat carriesthe
A 82 overtheriverEtiveneartheKingshouse
Hotel.Youcanshootfromunderthebridge
itself, lookingalongtheriverwithBuachaille
EtiveMorrisingin thedistance–in calm
weatheryoushouldget a nicereflection.It’s
alsoworthfollowingtheriveronfootacross
the moorlandandcapturingother views.At
one point the riverflows over some large red
rocksthatmakegreatforegroundin a
shottowards the mountain.Nearbythere
arealsosomeslabsofrockalongtheriver
bankwhereyoucanget agreatviewdown
GlenEtive.Aneasieroptionis thestreamthat
flowsneartheA 82 at theturn-offforthe
GlencoeMountainResort.Youcanparkby
thesideoftheentrance,wander 50 m down
theroadandshootfantasticimages.There’s
alsoa smallbridgejustasyouturnoffthe
A 82 ontotheskiresortroadandtheview
fromhereis trulyfantastic.
While onRannochMoor,youhavetotake
a drivedownGlenEtive– watchforthesign
that takesyouofftheA82ontoa minorroad.
Thefirststopis CoupallFalls,a famoussmall
waterfallontheRiverCoupall.There’sa
smallparkingareaamongsometreesneara
smallbridge overthe river.Parktherethen
followthepathacrosstheroad 50 morso
andyou’llbeat theviewpoint.Theclassic
shothasthesmallwaterfall– whichoften
freezesin winter– in theforegroundwith
BuachailleEtiveMorrisingupin the
background.It cangetbusyhere,butyou
neverhavetowaittoolongfora tripodspot.
There arealsoother shotstobe taken –the nearbywoodlandlooks stunningunder
snow,plusa walkupriverwillreveal
alternativeforegroundinterest.
Drivingfurtherintotheglen,thescenery
opensupandtherearesomebeautiful views- oneofwhichwasmadefamousin the
JamesBondmovieSkyfall(it’sevenmarked
onGoogleMaps).There’sa lotofexposed
granitedownbythe riverthathasbeen
sculpturedovermillionsofyearsbythe
flowingwaterandmakesgreatforeground
interest.Ifyoukeepdrivingtotheendofthe
roadyoureachtheheadoftheloch.In calm
weather the scenelooks amazing,with
mountainsreflectingin theshallow water,
plusit’s a great spot for sunset.
DID YOU KNOW?
There’s a tiny railway station on
the eastern side of Rannoch
Moor, one of the most remote
in Scotland. You can take a train
from there to Fort William
and enjoy the wild scenery
as you go.