JayOh (John Owles)'s photos

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The dramatic ruins of Castle Girnigoe on an overcast day of mizzle and rain, interspersed by all too brief periods of brightish stuff.

The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

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The flat, featureless landscape of Caithness

Now we turn East across the top of Scotland and start to make our way back towards Cornwall. There is a severe visual shock when, after a few miles from the Kyle of Tongue, the ever changing wild mountain scenery of the Northwest Highlands turns to the endless, flat wastelands of the cat people (Caithness). These are the lands of the Clearances and for me, despite the undoubted beauty, they hold an atmosphere of desolation and loneliness.

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