http://www.digitalcameraworld.com OCTOBER 2019 DIGITAL CAMERA^103have arrived and the ferry must be
open, I imagine. To my surprise, there’s
a basic cafe in the lighthouse buildings
that I didn’t know about. I open the
door to find an assortment of
bedraggled hikers who’d slept in the
bunkhouse (which I also didn’t know
about), enjoying tea and breakfast.
The next evening, I’m picking my way
through the craters at the Cape Wrath
bombing range. It’s scattered with
armoured personnel carriers in varied
states of destruction. I’ve double-
checked the range isn’t firing today,
but it’s still disconcerting to walk
across fresh craters, surrounded
by scattered gobs of peat. In some
areas, artillery shells poke out of the
pockmarked landscape, the whole
scene scattered with parachutes
from illumination flares. It’s like
walking into a dystopian WWI painting.
At Durness hostel in a 12-bed dorm
room, 11 bunks are taken by a group in
the same motorbike club. I’m pretty
sure I’m witnessing a world record for
the volume of synchronised farting,
burping and snoring. Next morning,
one of the lads says, ”I felt sorry
for you, with us lot in here – you’ll
be going for a rebate!”
In the hostel kitchen I chat to a
couple from Lancashire who are
touring Scotland in a van. ”Every
guidebook has exactly the same
views and photos,” they tell me. The
comment resonates strongly with
me, and seems to validate what
I’m doing with my whole project.
It’s midnight on the summer solstice,
and it’s still bright enough to walk
across the moor without a torch.
It’s hard to describe how benign the
landscape feels with clear paths, fields,
trees and regular shops and cafes.
The flatness of Caithness ahead
feels as if the landscape is letting
out a deep breath, after all the
contorted drama of the northwest.t’s midnight by the time
I leave the moorland and
reach the track to Cape
Wrath, Scotland’s remote
northwest point. Overcome by relief
and emotion, I collapse to my knees
to kiss the road in the pouring rain.
Exhausted, I pitch the tent below
the lighthouse as the beam swings,
diffused through the dense rain above.
My feet were white and crinkled from
the wet when I fell asleep, and are now
hard and calloused. I treat them with
cream to keep the skin supple. As I’m
putting on my still-wet trousers, I hear
the sound of voices. The first bus mustQuintin Lake encounters varied landscapes
and people as his photo walk continues
Perimeter
I
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.ukIn this image of Farhaid Head,
the low light angle brings
both the distant cliffs and
the foreground grass into
dramatic relief, adding depth
to the composition. Tonally, the
dark clouds contrast with the
landscape, evoking the rapidly
changing weather typical in the
far north of Scotland. The fine
details of the foreground dune
grass are enjoyable for the eye
to move around and linger on.This month’s route
Ardmore to Strathy
10 days, 145 miles
Total so far: 4,800 miles