Back to an old favourite. / May 3, 2026 by Carlton Doudney

It was another return to Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn) under winter conditions. Leaving the car at 4a.m. armed with axe and crampons I quietly tip toed past Ardvorlich House, they wouldn’t hear me but it just feels polite at that time of the morning. It’s pretty much up hill from the start getting steeper and steeper as you go, just take a deep breath and keep putting one foot in front of the other.

For the first part of the climb I was following the beam of my head torch in the dark, it wasn’t until around half way up there was enough light to dispense with it and go by the ambient light, it was the blue hour and time to make haste. A little slippy in places and before long the soft snow gave way to firmer going, time to deploy the crampons for safety. I made it to the summit with a couple of breather breaks along the way without any drama and with time to spare. But with a hazy atmosphere there was to be no alpenglow that I’d hoped for.

Down jacket on, it was around -6℃ but the gentle breeze cut through like a hot knife through butter, relief once on and some heat started to build up.

With the the sun higher in the sky more light began to make its way through and more compositions began to make themselves known but not before just managing to capture the moon setting over the distant hills.

Ben More with a little inversion in the glen

A chilly photographer armed with winter mountain safety tools

With the sun higher in the sky it was time for a breakfast of hot coffee and croissants and to drink in the glorious views on this winters day. Mind you there wasn’t too much hanging around with that chilly breeze.

All too soon it was time to pack up and head down before the normal people started to arrive, i.e. those that don’t get up at silly o’clock in the morning to be on a summit for sunrise. Sure enough a third of the way down I met the first couple, wearing trail running shoes, ouch; people seem to forget that it may be warm and sunny down below, but high up on the mountain winter is still in charge.

I stopped off on the descent to capture a few more images to complete the story of the day.

I love returning to previous locations numerous times, like visiting an old friend and catching up, I couldn’t resist stopping off to capture this magnificent moment of a glorious Ben Vorlich in the early afternoon sun by a calm Loch Earn. Hard to believe a few hours before I’d been standing on that summit, bye for now old friend and thank you for a great day out…

Slog... / April 17, 2026 by Carlton Doudney

That was the only description for it, but first things first, this was plan ‘B’. Initially I was going to do Ciste Dubh in Kintail a single Munro with a ridgey Corbett in front of it, nice. I settled in and did the three and a half hour drive enduring many road works along the way to arrive at a snow burdened landscape. There was so much snow it was unbelievable and there lay the problem, there was too much snow, I know, I know. It was around 30-40 cm deep and none of the parking areas had been ploughed, there was literally nowhere to park, it was grim. Try as I might I could find nowhere to park, the nearest cleared lay-by was miles away. In the end there was nothing for it but to abandon the plan. I was here so I thought I could at least go a few miles down the road to have a quick look at Eilean Donan Castle, scene of the film Highlander and of course many other films.

So I drove all the way back arriving home quite late thoroughly exhausted and to say in the least a bit disappointed. I threw a pizza into the oven and me into the shower, I wasn’t to be outdone, a new plan slowly filtered into my mind as I enjoyed the hot water splashing over me, hmm.

Fionn Bheinn Is a single hill accessed from the village of Achnasheen which is renowned for being a bit of a boggy affair to summit, with all the snow this would be the ideal chance and on checking the weather forecast there was a weather window in a couple of days, great, time to recover.

With the gear sorted a second time I set off, a little later than planned as usual, another long drive but at least up a different road. Too many hours later I arrived in the village of Achnasheen and pulled into the car park, there was a space, sort of with a bit of almost off roading in the snow.

It was a beautiful day and I duly set off out the wrong end of the car park, this was a bad omen. Setting off again in the correct direction I crunched my way over compacted frozen snow up through a yard and on to the open hillside. That was the beginning.

The snow was soft and ankle to knee deep, this would be the story for the rest of the ascent with some traps being deeper. It wasn’t long before it was time to disrobe as I started to over heat, the layers were coming off and being strapped to the pack, just next the the crampons and Ice axe that I would drag all the way up and never need. It was at this point I wished I had snow shoes or even the Telemark skis with climbing skins attached currently sitting back at home. The fact that there were a number of ski tourers descending and having fun didn’t help either.

I pressed on taking several breathers, the soft deep snow exhausting, press on stop wait for heart, lungs and legs to recover and press on again. I reached a point where I thought I must be close to half way by now surely? I checked my position on the GPS, much to my dismay I was barely a quarter of the way up. I dumped my pack in the snow for a seat, it was time for a lunch of ham and cheese pitta, I needed refuelling. So I pressed on and met a girl on the descent, we chatted about the difficulty of the snow and she was sure I would make it, she had more confidence than me at this point.

I pressed on using every trick in the book, pick a point to aim for, get there and rest; count 20 paces then stop and count to 20 before pushing on. Before long it was starting to get dark and I struggled on pushing past the constant thought of turning back; I was here and didn’t want to have to return another day. Before long I had to don the head torch, it was too dark to see much any more. Another check of the GPS, a look at the contour lines and check the altimeter on my watch; I was so near yet so far. Head down, keep going.

Suddenly I was there at the proposed camp, I could of cried but I was too dry. First order of business was to get the tent up, the ground frozen and rocky. I scoured around and eventually found a flat patch of snow, that would have to do, luckily there was little wind, the guy lines more for show than anything else. It should take five to six hours up and down in the summer, it had taken me six hours just to get up and this wasn’t the summit just the bealach between the summit and another small hill; the summit would keep until the morning. Food and a large hot mug of tea were the order now. Wow did that tea taste good.

Next morning was dull and overcast, I headed to the summit with little hope of the sun breaking through for some alpenglow, the light was flat as a pancake. But making it to the summit was at least a satisfying moment.

I headed back for breakfast, I had little liquid water left which meant the dreaded snow melting, a large pile in the pot for a dribble of water.

Melting snow for my morning cuppa and porridge

I packed up now fed and watered, it was to be the same heading back down in the deep snow and not any easier as I’d hoped. Just to rub it in there were more ski tourers having a great time. It had been a disappointment photographically with the dull light apart from one brief bust of sunlight on a distant Slioch.

What a joy it was to be back down and on a solid footing again, I made it back to the car and an icy bottle of part frozen fizzy water; it was good to get the boots off and sit in a seat.

It had been the slog of slogs, an adventure to be sure, but by just putting one foot in front of the other and repeating multiple times I made to the top. Back at home I was now looking forward to another hot shower and pizza. What a trip.

Someone's in my spot... / March 24, 2026 by Carlton Doudney

Okay, I visit this location often, it’s a great viewpoint reasonably accessible and not too much of a strain to drag camping gear up the slope. I’ve been coming here for many years and have noticed as time goes on it has become more popular probably in no small part because of Youtube.

So I was horrified to see after chugging up the hill to see a tent already in my favourite spot, this forced me to scout around for another location. It’s not the first time but before it was because of excessively windy conditions and I found a slightly more sheltered pitch on an otherwise exposed hill.

After scouting around and of course returning to a previously spied spot I set about setting up, with some difficulty. The ground was frozen solid and at first I thought I wouldn’t get a peg in, but putting my knee behind it, much to a complaining hand one then another went in, secure. It was a blessing and a curse, getting the pegs in was a challenge but it would have been too boggy a spot if it were not frozen. I always peg out, you never know if the wind might pick up in the night.

Rannoch Moor dominated by Lochan na h-Achlaise and Loch Ba

Getting late in the day with everything set up I grabbed my down jacket, having slowed down now It was getting chilly, I crunched through deep frosty grass and immediately set about capturing images before the last of the daylight disappeared. One advantage of knowing the area is that I know where to go, It might be the same location each time, but each and every time the conditions are different.

Soon the light was failing and it was time to get some dinner, macaroni cheese and a large cup of tea, I was hungry by now and as usual hadn’t been taking in enough fluids, that tea was so good. I snoozed for a bit listening to some music but was out the door as soon as I noticed there were some clear skies.

It was supremely frosty under foot but thankfully no wind, none the less with the sun out of the picture the temperature had gone south dramatically and it was soon time to get into my humble shelter and snuggle into my sleeping bag.

Next morning sunrise wasn’t anything to write home about, but it had been a good trip with some great weather and I was already looking forward to a return.

Thankyou whomever was in my spot I quite liked this spot as well…

Rain ? / September 24, 2025 by Carlton Doudney

Ah, who cares, heavy showers and extremely windy conditions forecast; so what? Well it did mean a trip to the hills was off the cards, there comes a point when you have to make an informed sensible choice especially on solo adventures. So, a road trip it was be, even so it was mighty windy and torrential showers were the order of the day.

It had been many years since I’d done a road trip such as this and I was quite looking forward to it, a change to lugging heavy loads of equipment into the hills and being car based means little to no limit to what I could bring with me not to mention a differnt set of logitics to take into account such as fuel for the trip.

As usual it was a later start than planned, hmm, by about four hours, (must work on that :) ), the up side was that I got to experience conditions different to which were originally planned to which I had to adapt. My first destination was the venerable Stac Pollaidh (stac polly), a small hill but with outstanding character.

I attempted to find a spot I’d stopped at years before, nothing ever looks the same on a revisit and it was a bit further on than I remembered. I knew where I wanted to be for sunrise so no searching for the ideal spot was required. The wind was ferocious and opening the back of the car was a test of strength and endurance. It was clear that I couldn’t keep a stove running so I gathered all I needed for my evening meal and dropped down to the side of the loch where there was a modicum of shelter and could pile some rocks around the stove. Sitting there with the wind howling as dark menacing clouds raced overhead was raw, elemental. It was fantastic, far from the usual bombardment of what often amounts to gibberish we endure in modern life.

It was a tardy start next morning followed by a hasty bail out of the car as I grabbed boots, camera bag and tripod tripping and stumbling in a frantic hurry down the heathery hillside to the beach below.

With my captures in the can it was time to move on. My next port of call was further north to Ardvreck Castle. Being later on it was crawling with tourists like ants moving over the small promontory. A long exposure took care of the problem.

Heading back south I decided to take the scenic route to Lochinver photographing a shot of Suilven as a spotlight of sun broke though the clouds. The wind was so strong I had to brace myself against a fence post to try and steady the hand held shot.

I retraced my steps of earlier on driving back past Stac Pollaidh and following the single track road that follows a path around the back of the mountain. I had to stop dodging yet more heavy rain showers and wind as this view appeared.

I ran and dived back into the car to continue on the tiny strip of tarmac that twisted and turned with laughable tiny passing places. It was a superb location which begged slow movement to take in the scenery.

The small road almost goes into sea or so it seems.

I passed through Lochinver on my way to Loch Maree my next stop off with the intention of capturing images of the mighty Slioch (The Spear).

I paused at a view point at the top of the pass that leads down the long steep decent into Kinlochewe, I crouched behind the car to get a blurry view of this magnificent scene. I was soon back in the car heater on full.

I found a spot to stop off just off the road and it was time to do battle with the weather as I cooked my evening meal.

Next day was an epic game of cat and mouse dodging heavy showers and sheltering from the wind in pursuit of of Slioch imagery.

I was having a ball and decided to stay another night, this meant sourcing fuel for the car and myself, luckily the garage in Kinlochewe provided both.

Chicken sandwich and a mug of tea for dinner

With the promise of some clearing skies and a moon I had to try for some astro orientated shots across the loch.

The moon hides behind a cloud over Loch Maree

The next day dawned sunny and a complete contrast to the previous days, I decided to make my way back through Torridon on the long twisty roads, it turned out to be quite a long road but with such scenery it was a joy.

What an amazing few days with challenging conditions, lots of photography, some timelapse photography but most of all a jolly good time was had.

Rain? Who cares…

There's gold in them hills... / April 25, 2025 by Carlton Doudney

For nigh on thirty years I’ve driven past this hill and each time gazed up at its’ mighty grassy shoulder wondering what’s up there as I sailed on past to the western hills. I few months ago I took an afternoon recce and knew I had to return, this was that time.

It is a relentless climb up a steep and largely pathless grassy slope and just 13m shy of the magic Munro target of 914m at 901m, there is a brief respite three quarters of the way up where there is a small body of crystal clear water that tastes so sweet it is like nectar of the gods, forget your fancy bottled water. This means no need to carry water for most of the ascent saving around three kilos of weight.

Breaking over onto the small plateau like summit there are views a plenty but the first order of business was to find a pitch for the tent, not so easy as the summit is pretty rocky with a thin layer of moss.

With my camp set up it was of course time for afternoon tea as any civilised person should entertain and with that enjoyed a tour of the summit to plan shots and their timing. I’d hoped to capture some Milky Way images but there was too much moon that night lighting up the sky and washing out the lesser stars.

Dusk soon was upon me and a shot over towards Ben More revealed a fine example of Earths’ shadow or the Belt of Venus.

Ben More, Stob Binnein and Cruach Ardrain at dusk

After a short relaxation for the tired legs it was soon dinner time with Pancetta and chicken pasta, lots of olive oil and parmesan followed by coconut cakes, oh and a little whisky and chocolate to round it off with :)

I took a little nap while listening to some music as I waited for the skies to darken for some night time photography.

The next hour or so was spent setting up cameras for stills and for timelapse capture and trotting back and forth tending to their needs, a tired brain working out the various parameters.

With all the planned images captured it was time to retire and curl up in the embrace of a warm sleeping bag for a couple of hours before emerging for a sunrise shoot.

All too soon the alarm was singing in my ear and reluctantly I crawled out of my warm cocoon to struggle getting the boots on. Up and with a stretch that was all that was needed as the fresh air washed over me and the enthusiasm kicked in.

With the sun up I took my last shot before breakfast with lots of hot coffee followed by a short nap having been up half of the night. As the sun ascended higher in the sky I awoke as things were getting a little toasty in the tent, it was time to pack up and head down. It had been a great little adventure and a location I intended on returning to.

‘But wait’, I hear you say ‘What about the gold?’ Well on the way back down there is a rocky outcrop which I looked at briefly on my last visit but decided to explore a little more this time.

I dropped my gear and clambered down into the crevasse to examine what I thought at first was a cave, I then decided that it looked man made, a mine, a gold mine. My thoughts wandered to how this would be a great shelter in bad weather. Exploring over I climbed back out and I continued with the tortuous descent.

Back home I did a little on-line digging and found out it was a mine, just not a gold mine but in fact a lead mine, oh the disappointment. Guess I might as well cancel that Amazon order for a pick axe…

Memories... / March 11, 2025 by Carlton Doudney

A short piece from a trip of yesteryear in photographs from one of my favourite locations…

It’s fun to look back at past adventures both for the memory and to inspire new exciting escapades…

Rookie Error... / January 16, 2025 by Carlton Doudney

It was a rookie error and I’m guilty as charged, I always advocate checking out new kit, get a feel for it, see where all the parts go, especially if it’s a new camera. In this case it was a new tent, a two person ideal for the longer hours of winter where you will likely spend more time not to mention a bit more room to organise things and generally move around.

The Kuiu Storm Star was the tent of choice, two vestibules, lots of space, three poles with good venting options, it looked simple and not unlike my Soulo tent, a single person tent from Hilleberg. I’m a man why do I need to look at instructions? Err….

I’d chosen to visit my favourite Rannoch Moor spot as I knew it well and it would be easier to set up in a known space. Well it was a bit windier than forecast but okay I thought it’s not too bad. At this point I realised that the guy lines were still in their factory knot format, i,e, tightly done up, I pegged out the fly sheet to prevent it all blowing away then proceeded to with difficulty untie the knots; all ten of them. There may have been some cussing, but the wind luckily carried it away.

After some broken nails and aching back and knees I undid the last knot and stood up, it seemed windier. I started to put the poles into their respective sleeves and hit the first snag, they didn’t seem to cross over quite right, in the now howling wind I held on to the poles moving them back and forth trying to work out what was wrong. With the strengthening wind I stood there braced against the buffeting, hanging on to the loose poles thinking I might have to call it quits when I remembered a small area a bit further down that I’d glanced at a few times before. I took the poles out of their sleeves and quickly jaunted down to inspect plan ‘B’. It was surprisingly sheltered from the northerly belting over the moors.

I portered everything down bit by bit and started again, realising that the pole location was different from the Soulo even though they looked kinda the same. Now it was evident that scrunching up the fly to transport it to the new location had tangled all ten guys, a little more cussing was in order. Finally with that sorted and the spaghetti guy line mess straightened out it was starting to look good, fly up and lines going out. I quickly got my gear inside only to note that I seemed to be on a bit of a steeper slope than I thought. I ended up putting my pack and everything I could spare under the sleeping pad just to get it somewhere close to level.

I awoke the next morning to a frosty -7ºC quite pleased with my little shelter and slept quite well considering the construction holding up the sleeping pad.

It wasn’t a spectacular sunrise and the trip was more about trying out the new tent, but I managed a few images, the starry night ones being my favourite.

Breakfast and coffee time in the morning sun.

On returning home I watched the instructional video, oh, ahh, he does it like that, hmm. Note to self, follow own advice and familiarize self with new gear before leaving home… :)

Explore... / November 1, 2024 by Carlton Doudney

Checking out a new location is always fun, the new the unexpected; but it’s a double edged sword because sometimes it’s a winner and often nice but not great for photography. I think this could be a winner.

It was a horribly steep pull to the summit from the start, the legs got a good workout.

Beinn Achaladair enjoys the afternoon sun.

A late start meant it was getting dark on my descent and fully dark once back at the car, legs aching feet sore and thoroughly exhausted I slumped into the drivers seat, this one is a winner and I’ll be back…