Hold Onto Your Tripods We're Off to Middle Earth and The Lost Planet of Magrathea

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It was another night of wind and rain, so we were not sure if it would be worth it when we got up early to head out for the sunrise. Our plan today was to go back to the Eilean Glas Lighthouse on Scalpay Island.

There was a break in the rain as we were driving, but it started pouring again as soon as we got there, so we waited in the minibus for a while until it stopped. We knew that once we got to the lighthouse, there would be no shelter and it would be too far to pop back to the minibus for shelter.

There were intermittent rain showers and, again, the constant wind, which kept blowing our tripods over. It’s a rooky mistake turning away from your tripod in the wind, particularly when you're on the edge of a cliff, but there were no major disasters.

I slipped over in some mud and got a wet and muddy bottom. I really must invest in some water-proof trousers (the other more experienced photographers were appalled that I was wearing uncovered jeans all the time). Some had been on workshops to Iceland in the depth of winter, which I would find extremely difficult to cope with, without some major clothing changes (although it hadn't been too bad when we went there in a September - see Bracing Ourselves For The Cold Wasn't Necessary). I always seem to come back from these photography workshops with a shopping list - more sturdy tripod, water-proof trousers, replacement coat (see Health and Safety is Secondary to Photography), drone…!

The sky was constantly changing and there was a bit of colour, but it was not the sunrise we were hoping for. After standing in the cold, one of those basic teas and coffees at the lighthouse (see More Suffering for Our Art Form) would have been very appealing, but we didn't walk down as there was almost zero chance of it being open at this time in the morning.

After breakfast, we headed south. This part of the island looks not very like Middle Earth (as in Lord of the Rings), but without the Orcs and Hobbits, just the usual thousands and thousands of sheep. I'm also reliably informed that some episodes of Game of Thrones were filmed here, although I'm one of the few people in the Western World who has never seen it.

Our first stop was to see some Sea Turf. This is where the water has cut lot of channels into an area of green turf, which has formed lots of interesting patterns. It was definitely worth a few photographs from the top of the nearby cliff (the drone also came into its element here), particularly when a rainbow momentarily appeared.

Next, we went back to that same beach at Luskentyre, but it was a bit uninspiring so we moved on.

Next, we planned some photography rebellion at the distillery coffee Shop, although that was curtailed as the coffee shop was shut (on a Saturday!) One of the group also took the opportunity for a follow-up purchase at the tweed shop.

Our plan was then to head to the sea stacks at Mangersta (although every time we talked about that I couldn't help but think of the mystical planet of Magrathea in Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy). On the way there, we were able to make an emergency coffee stop at the pizza container that we had seen previously (see Health and Safety is Secondary to Photography), although getting an order for six coffees at once did stress him. Whilst there is definitely a steady stream of customers, he is not used to any stress, running a pizza take-away in the depth of Middle Earth, as Orcs don't eat pizza. And neither do sheep.

We should have skipped the packed lunch and gone for pizza, although six pizzas and six coffees would have definitely sent him over the edge.

We made a slight diversion to another big wide beach, Uig Sands. The wind was blowing the sand across the beach and, after we had left our bags to take photos of the patterns in the beach, we came back to find them almost buried in sand.

Word of advice: when going onto a long beach take a note of the point you entered so that you have some remote chance of trying to find the way back.

The sea stacks were definitely worth the long drive, although it was unbelievably blowy (even by the standards of this week), so we were desperately holding onto our tripods before they got blown down onto the crashing waves below.

The light shining on the stacks was perfect. We were also treated to yet another rainbow - actually the ninth of the day.

It was then an hour and a half drive back to Tarbert and that was, sadly, the end of the photography.

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Photos

Eilean Glas Lighthouse
Back to the lighthouse for sunrise.

Sea Turf
And another of the many rainbows.

Ulg Sands
A big, wide, very windswept beach with sand blowing across.

Pizza Menu
Can we just have six coffees please?

Middle Earth
Barron, rocky and absolutely no trees.

Mangersta Sea Stacks
Braving the wind from the top of the overlooking cliff.