I'm back! :)

You're making me really crave a long hike, Xander. I haven't been on an overnight hike in years. *sigh* Scotland is most definitely on my list of places to visit before I die; I want to see the lighthouses and castles. Great pics!

Good to see you again Xander. Looks like you had fun and those are some great photos you have there.

Those are some great photos. I really wish there were places as nice and clean as that around here. In this area, it just wouldn't be safe to try a long hike. There's way too many people around.

That's a great pity Thoul. People making a mess is never good. Thankfully the only place I've ever found rubbish laying around is on Ben Nevis, which is to be expected from all the tourist types who go there. Seriously, who tries to climb a mountain in shorts, T shirt and sandals and carrying all their stuff in plastic bags? And it's only on Ben Nevis that you see these kind of people for some reason. Bloody weirdos. If the blisters don't force them down then the cold conditions will send them running back down.

Tanith, I don't know about light houses, I've only ever seen one and it was a really old disused one on a very small island well off the west coast of one of the western islands. However as far as castles go there are plenty to see, the most obvious ones being in Stirling and Edinburgh, the only things worth going to those places for.
Others I know of are the castle Torosay (I think) on the Isle of Mull and Fyvie castle in rural Aberdeenshire and Blair Castle in Blair Atholl. There are plenty more scattered around too, but I don't know off the top of my head. There are a few ruins to be found on Skye as well.

Anyhoo, maybe that'll temp you to see them at some point. It's that or hiking that are the only things worth doing around here. Thankfully I got to do them before I join the masses and disappear to another country. The amount of people who leave this country every year is quite amazing but not surprising. To top it all off, a friend of mine who originally moved here from south Africa years ago can't wait to get out either, so go figure.

Great pics, Xan! You really do have an "eye"!

Thanks RW. I guess I do. I've read some books and such but I've never really applied any of the techniques learned there. I find it hard to put much effort into it when the subject is framed by the viewfinder and, honestly, I don't see why I should bother beyond taking the photo. I've got the PSP photo software too but I can never think of how to apply any of it to what I have.

Whatever. Anyways, enjoy the photos while you can. I'm going to get round to taking my facebook page off in the future, because I have no use for it anymore.

Xander wrote:

Tanith, I don't know about light houses, I've only ever seen one and it was a really old disused one on a very small island well off the west coast of one of the western islands. However as far as castles go there are plenty to see, the most obvious ones being in Stirling and Edinburgh, the only things worth going to those places for.
Others I know of are the castle Torosay (I think) on the Isle of Mull and Fyvie castle in rural Aberdeenshire and Blair Castle in Blair Atholl. There are plenty more scattered around too, but I don't know off the top of my head. There are a few ruins to be found on Skye as well.

I'm kind of a lighthouse nut (is there a such thing?) and Scotland has a pretty neat lighthouse history. I like the connection with Robert Louis Stevenson's family. Bell Rock Light is a very famous Scottish light, unusual in that it's one of only a handful of lighthouses completely wave-swept. A lot of the lights are in need of repair, but that's the case with lighthouses across the world, since they're almost obsolete. I, however, see them as an important part of maritime history. I'm a beach person in general. If you check out the "picture of you" thread in the Parlor, you can see me looking at Bodie Island Light, a lighthouse on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

As for castles, there's just nothing that old of that size that's man made in the USA, and I'm just absolutely fascinated with how ancient they are.

Come to think of it, a lot of lighthouses will be found on the islands up north as well as around the west coast, seeing how that area is heavy with shipping traffic. I remember seeing one working on my way over to Ireland years and years ago.

If you're going to castles make sure and have your photographic memory switched on properly. Some of these places prefer that you don't take photographs, which is fair enough I guess. And no fooling around with the armour or swords you may find. They might frown upon that too. Plus, if you want one, if I remember correctly, there was a place on the isle of Mull that was selling them. From short sword to claymore size. If I went back today I know I'd probably nab one. But be prepared to explain this to customs.

Xander wrote:

Thanks RW. I guess I do. I've read some books and such but I've never really applied any of the techniques learned there. I find it hard to put much effort into it when the subject is framed by the viewfinder and, honestly, I don't see why I should bother beyond taking the photo. I've got the PSP photo software too but I can never think of how to apply any of it to what I have.

Whatever. Anyways, enjoy the photos while you can. I'm going to get round to taking my facebook page off in the future, because I have no use for it anymore.

You're so welcome, the praise is very deserved!

Ah, Facebook. If you don't mind my saying such, I would recommend the page deletion. Facebook does not have a good reputation (marketing reasons for one, but a friend of mine's computer caught a virus from Facebook as well). I advise you to join the bandwagon of GoogleBuzz... it's pretty awesome, but then again, I'm biased as a fan of anything Google-related.^^

Rune_Walsh wrote:

Ah, Facebook. If you don't mind my saying such, I would recommend the page deletion. Facebook does not have a good reputation (marketing reasons for one, but a friend of mine's computer caught a virus from Facebook as well). I advise you to join the bandwagon of GoogleBuzz... it's pretty awesome, but then again, I'm biased as a fan of anything Google-related.^^

Not at all. Come to think of it, I remember something about this a while ago. Something about a facebook app actually being a virus of sorts. It was easy enough to find at least. And I must confess to being uncomfortable about having to download things just to upload photos. I've certainly never had to do so before. That and my profile being stagnant for months now along with all the pointless quiz requests I get is pushing it.

While I doubt I'll ever do another weblog thingy or that again, i'll have a look at google buzz and see what's what. I know what you mean though, I'm a chrome user. I used to use Firefox but it took (and still takes) ages to even get started. When I tried Chrome I was hooked. Copied my bookmarks over and that was that. it has one or two niggles for me but it's still better.