Herb Riddle's photos

The Caledonian Canal. Almost the last of the locks of this most famous canal that runs from Fort William to Inverness via Loch Ness. The big bridge behind is the Kessock Bridge carrying the A862 which would be the first and last big bridge of the whole NC500 journey. The NC 500: The Scottish 'North Coast 500' is one of the world’s most beautiful road trips. A route of just over 500 miles (516) of stunning coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains, remote fishing villages and hidden gems.

A look at Inverness Castle on the River Ness. Inverness Castle sits on a cliff overlooking the River Ness in Inverness, Scotland. A succession of castles have stood on this site since 1057, although the present structure dates from 1836. WiKi The NC 500: The Scottish 'North Coast 500' is one of the world’s most beautiful road trips. A route of just over 500 miles (516) of stunning coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains, remote fishing villages and hidden gems.

The Culloden Viaduct is a railway viaduct on the Highland Main Line, to the east of the city of Inverness, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It was designed by Murdoch Paterson and opened in 1898 as part of the Inverness and Aviemore Direct Railway, which was built by the Highland Railway. The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby ending the Jacobite rising of 1745. WiKi The NC 500: The Scottish 'North Coast 500' is one of the world’s most beautiful road trips. A route of just over 500 miles (516) of stunning coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains, remote fishing villages and hidden gems.

The NC 500: The Scottish 'North Coast 500' is one of the world’s most beautiful road trips. A route of just over 500 miles (516) of stunning coastal scenery, white sandy beaches, rugged mountains, remote fishing villages and hidden gems. The start and finish of this route is Inverness. Here we are at the railway station, the gateway for many on this route. However this route is by road from here on. Hang on to your hat -here we go. Official free Map download: www.northcoast500.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NC500-Official-Map.pdf NB when we did this in 2014, the NC500 did not exist. It came into existence in 2015 Now as I set off from here I shall in fact virtually travel along the coastal route clockwise as our Ipernity friend Roger also sets off from here but will travel anti-clockwise. We aim to meet each other around Durness on the NW corner of Scotland.

This taken from the car-park at the side of the castle. A nice fence with an even nicer view. Oh to see this in the ‘Golden Hour’ or with a beautiful azure sky but alas it was not to be. One can only imagine what it would be like to have these views from your big inside windows here. Have a good weekend.

Bluebells are a delightful plant and we can never get enough of them on our country walks. Whilst up in the West Highlands of Scotland two months ago, we saw many and here we have a snap-shot of some just on the outskirts of Plockton. Enjoy full screen

A tunnel wall here leading to the loch and more of our walk to and from Duncraig castle. The railway line in question is the Kyle line, from Kyle of Lochalsh to Inverness. We are very close to Duncraig station here. See PiP Enjoy the day.

Between Fort William and Loch Ness there are two other Lochs: Loch Oich and Loch Lochy. This is the larger of the two, Loch Lochy with its most splendid reflections to the North West in this case. The two photo panorama was taken at the popular viewpoint stop at Letter Finlay. "Loch Lochy is a large freshwater loch in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. It is 15km (9 miles) long with an average width of 1km and a mean depth of 70 m (230ft), it is the third-deepest loch of Scotland." WiKi Essential full screen.

Take a seat and enjoy this view over Loch Carron towards the village of Plockton from near the Duncraig Railway halt and its castle (PiP). The pier and indeed the nearby tree-topped Island (Sgeir Bhuidhe) are actually part of the castle estate HBM, enjoy the week.

After a fine shoreside walk we come to Duncraig Castle which as you can see is in reality an old Mansion. We are allowed to wander through the grounds and past the building itself. "Built in the 1860s, Duncraig Castle was used during WW2 as a naval hospital and from 1945 to 1989 as a domestic science college. It earned TV fame when it was bought by the Dobson family in 2003 and their attempts to refurbish it were made into a reality show, The Dobsons of Duncraig. After the being made into a luxury B&B it has recently been bought again by a mystery buyer. " www.whfp.com/2022/09/30/castle-for-keeps-mystery-buyer-snaps-up-historic-property-near-plockton-on-the-market-for-2-85-million See PiP for modern lawn control on here. There were three or four of the auto grass mowing machines running around that very big lawn. Enjoy full screen

As we continue toward Duncraig Castle the Loch opens up for us here. The beautiful village of Plockton is just beyond the headland on the left. In the distance we see the mountains of Applecross. The PiP shows us the way to the castle and back to the village. Best full screen Enjoy the day.

A view of this lighthouse and fenced pier on the small Island of Eilean Bàn taken from high on the Skye bridge itself. Built in 1857 by David and Thomas Stevenson. It was discontinued in 1993. There were originally two lighthouse keepers resident with their families on the Island in a nearby cottage. When the lighthouse keeper moved out the lighthouse residence cottage (see PiP) was bought by the writer Gavin Maxwell (Ring of Bright Water fame). After his death the cottage became derelict but has since been restored as a visitors centre. Have a good weekend.

Today was to be an exciting one with a walk along this Loch to Duncraig Castle and then on to the village of Plockton and beyond. As per usual, the weather started poor but we had high hopes for better to come. Our path goes along the top of the small wall on our right here and the village will come into view on our left shortly. The peak is ‘Carn a Bhealaich Mhoir’ at 343metres. Best full screen Enjoy the day.

Part of the walled landscapes around Llyn Barfog (The Bearded Lake) in Wales. Essential full screen. Have a good day.

This was seen from the harbour of Kyleakin on the Isle of Skye. The seagull was a late arrival :) See PiP for harbour scene. The castle, an ancient seat of Clan Mackinnon, was a fortress commanding the strait of Kyle Akin between Skye and the mainland, through which all ships had to pass or else attempt the stormy passage of the Minch. The present building dates back to the 15th century, but is traditionally reputed to be of much earlier origin. WiKi Best full screen Enjoy the day.

Who says we have to have sunny clear blue skies for good landscapes. Here is one taken on my recent Scottish trip. A wonderful walk to and from the Drunbui Railway halt here and since it is Spring the yellow gorse is radiant too. We are actually at a place called Port Cam, south of Plockton which is north of Kyle of Lochalsh in North West Scotland and I am looking north over Loch Carron. Enjoy full screen

Taken near ‘Greenfield Reservoir’ not far from my hometown of Oldham. This has not in fact been here that long and I have never seen anybody sitting on it. For sure, it’s a work of art, no doubt by a keen local craftsman. HBM, enjoy the week.

This natural public park area lets you take your car to a splendid viewpoint. Here we are on the top, after a further short walk, with views across to Skye and north to the Applecross Peninsular. Across from us is the Skye village of Kyleakin , another hot spot for bridge photos and the old Skye ferry harbour. The water is Lochalsh itself and we see the Skye viaduct to the bridge too. A very cloudy day with spots of rain and we were to come here again with no better luck with the weather. The PiP shows the bridge from the lower shore viewpoint on the Plock. Best full screen Enjoy the day.