Glencoe Lochan & Glen Etive, Scotland, Winter
Somewhere new and somewhere old.
Somewhere new and somewhere old.
The draw of Glen Etive is always strong, especially with those world-famous views towards Buachaille Etive Mòr. But before we revisited what is quickly becoming known as the “Skyfall valley”, we wanted to check out somewhere new (to us).
At the foot of Glencoe, beneath the prominent peak known as the Pap of Glencoe, there’s a fair amount of woodland one can enjoy. Within that woodland one can find a small tarn known as Glencoe Lochan.
It’s super easy to get to and thankfully, on this occasion, it offered us almost perfectly clear reflections of the surrounding mountains.
After exploring the lochan, we then drove downGlen Etive for compositions of the “the Buckle” and more.
An absolute corker of a day.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 lenses. RAWs converted and corrected in Capture One for iPad, developed using RNI Films’ Kodachrome film profiles, then finalised in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
Glencoe Lochan & Glen Etive, Scotland, Winter by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Glencoe Lochan
From the village of Glencoe, the Pap of Glencoe is ever-present. The word “pap” comes from Middle English, meaning “breast”.
In the distance, this magnificent stag was happily chewing cud and enjoying the winter sun light.
The beck below the woods looked absolutely gorgeous; the water was unbelievably clear. One to think about a swim in.
The woodland beneath the Pap was chock-full of delightful scenes like this.
Soon enough we arrived at the lochan to find perfect reflections of the various mountains around.
Glencoe Lochan was planted in the 1890s by a Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, using trees from the Pacific Northwest of Canada. He did this to alleviate his wife’s homesickness, who was missing Canada after moving to Scotland.
In the morning winter sun, reflections of Beinn na Caillich looked sublime.
Looking west from one of the many jetties dotted around the lochan, the pyramidal peak of Sgorr Dhearg (1,024m/3,359ft) was looking crisp.
I spotted an opportunity to focus-stack some evergreen foliage along Glencoe Lochan’s eastern shore, the reflections leading the way towards Sgorr Dhearg.
I bet this place looks absolutely insane in autumn.
Glen Etive
After stopping off at the Glencoe Ski Resort cafe for a bite and a coffee, we made our way towards Glen Etive. But first, I just had to nab this iconic building and composition. This is Blackrock Cottage, a private building that’s been featured in hundreds of photos with “the Buckle” behind it.
At the top of Glen Etive, the River Coupall crashes into the River Etive in a series of impressive cascades. It is perhaps the photographer hotspot for photos of the Buckle, and I’m no different. How can you say no to a scene like this?
Lisabet and I clambered up the River Coupall, seeking compositions of the Buckle.
To date, this is perhaps the finest shot of the Buckle I’ve ever taken. I knew there had to be a reflection in the river somewhere…
Down at the foot of Glen Etive, right on the shores of Loch Etive, I spot this little group of trees beautifully framing Stob Dubh.
Those same trees act as a leading device in another composition involving Stob Dubh.
Directly opposite our shore, Ben Starav (1,078m/3,536ft) dominates the eastern shore of Loch Etive.
The final composition of the day. Beautiful Scots pines and Stob Dubh in the distance.
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The Lost Valley, Glencoe, Scotland, Winter
After nearly a decade, it’s time to tick this one off the bucket list.
After nearly a decade, it’s time to tick this one off the bucket list.
Early on in my photography journey—almost immediately after I learned about the wonders of Glencoe—I discovered and read about a “secret” valley above the main Glencoe valley itself.
It captivated me immediately.
This place is known in English as the Lost Valley or the Hidden Valley. In Scottish Gaelic it’s called Coire Gabhail, meaning “corrie of bounty” or “the hollow of capture”. Legend has it that this hidden valley was used by members of Clan MacDonald to hide cattle and other livestock. Whether the livestock was their own or belonging to others, we’ll never know.
The day dawn completely clear and very cold, with temperatures not breaking above freezing point. It’s not a long hike from Glencoe up into the Lost Valley, but it was definitely made harder with all the ice everywhere.
The reward, however, was more than worth it.
All photos taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using my Vivitar “Series 1” 28–105mm f2.8–3.8 zoom and Laowa 9mm f2.8 ultra-wide lenses. RAWs converted using Capture One for iPad, developed in RNI Films using an Ektachrome 100 film profile, and finalised in Affinity Photo 2 for iPad.
The Lost Valley, Glencoe, Scotland, Winter by Ian Cylkowski is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Parking up at the main car park at Glencoe, two of the Three Sisters of Glencoe immediately hold my attention. On the left is Geàrr Aonach (689m/2,263ft), and to the right is Aonach Dubh (892m/2,296ft). The snowy peak catching the light in the middle is Stob Coire nan Lochan (1,115m/3,658ft).
A vertical, and tighter, composition that allows the beacon of Stob Coire nan Lochan to really stand out.
As we began hiking up the trail in between Beinn Fhada and Geàrr Aonach, the sheer ridge face of Aonach Eagach was being drenched in morning wintersun.
The trail in between the two sisters involves careful stepping and scrambling as you’re essentially climbing alongside, and above, a gorge. The falls in the gorge were looking icy cold.
After much slipping, scrambling, and an inadvertent dunk in the river, we ascended above the rake to be greeted with this. Coire Gabhail, the Lost Valley. What a sight!
My longer lenses allow me to really zoom in tight on particular scenes within a grand vista. Here, I enjoyed the line created by the shadow of the valley side as it frames the golden crags and leads towards the snowy peaks of Stob Coire Sgreamhach (1,072m/3,517ft).
Despite the icy conditions of winter, there were still a fair few people about. A small party of Spanish-speaking people were elated to have made it to the Lost Valley.
Despite the incredible sight of the snowy peaks at the head of the Lost Valley, directly above you Beinn Fhada’s crags lean peerlessly over you, reminding you of just how small you are.
I located a small waterfall trickling down Beinn Fhada’s flanks that was freezing up. It’s little pool below already comprised of shards of ice.
A bit of ice-cold scrambling was in order to nab this composition with my ultra-wide 9mm lens, but I enjoy it.
With my 9mm lens still equipped, I went on the hunt for more subject matter that would be suitable for ultra-wide compositions. This boulder field with a single tree in the middle caught my eye and I lined up the shot.
Another dead tree covered in frozen moss and lichen made for a nice ultra-wide focus stacked composition.
I clambered along the valley side a little more to get past the trees and find a unhindered view of the Lost Valley.
One last look back at those magnificent peaks of the Lost Valley before gingerly scrambling back down the gorge again.
What an experience. Never to be forgotten.
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Glencoe, Highlands, Autumn
Glencoe is a place that fills me with total awe every time I visit.
Glencoe is a place that fills me with total awe every time I visit.
Whether we’re heading towards the Isle of Skye or venturing further north towards Torridon and beyond, I always appreciate a “pit stop” around this epic place.
Glen Coe is an east-west valley of volcanic origin and is perhaps world famous for the Three Sisters of Glencoe. These are the three “peaks” that rise suddenly from the valley floor, like giant knuckly fists punching the sky.
In reality, the peaks are actually spurs jutting out from the main mountain range of the area, which is hidden by the Three Sisters: Bidean nam Bian (pronounced BIT-yan nam BEE-an, meaning “peak of the mountains”, 1,150 m/3,770 ft). The Three Sisters in question are, from east to west: Beinn Fhada (692 m/2,270 ft), Gearr Aonach (689 m/2,263 ft), and Aonach Dubh (892 m/2,926 ft).
There’s more to Glencoe than the Three Sisters though. There is, of course, one of Scotland’s most famous sights: the “Buachaille”, or Buachaille Etive Mòr (pronounced BOR-kaleh etiv MOO-or, meaning “The Great Herdsman of Etive”, 1,021 m/3,351 ft). From the east the mountain presents itself as an almost impossibly perfect pyramid and is an arresting sight on the way to Glencoe.
Glencoe and the surrounding area is a challenge to portray its mood and scale accurately. I hope I have achieved some semblance of my autumnal experience here.
All shots taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using both my Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. Shot using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
After leaving the car and clambering down the valley I found this interesting glacial erratic, which I tried to line up for a composition with two of the Three Sisters: Aonach Dubh (right) and Gearr Aonach (left).
A family play by the calm waters of the River Coe. The giant 10 km ridge in the distance is Aonach Eagach, which rises to 967 m/3,175 ft and borders the northern side of the valley.
It’s possible to clamber right down into the valley bottom of Glencoe, which near its eastern end forms a steep and deep gorge. With my ultra-wide 9mm lens I was able to get a more unusual perspective looking from the gorge towards the top of the Gearr Aonach.
A true autumnal scene of Glencoe, looking westwards with Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh on the left and Aonach Eagach on the right.
Trying to capture the mosaic of colours on the valley floor, looking centrally towards Gearr Aonach.
Previously in my photographic exploits I’ve always found it hard to capture all three of the sisters. With my ultrawide 9mm lens, I was astounded to be able to capture this composition.
Heading back out of Glencoe and towards Glen Etive, where the River Coupall joins the River Etive, there are a series of wonderful falls and cascades surrounded by seriously vibrant autumnal foliage. One can nab some particularly delicious compositions involving the Buachaille here.
A tighter composition of the giant pyramidal peak of the Buachaille, featuring some of the wonderful autumnal foliage around the Coupall/Etive river junction.
This peak is Stob a’ Ghlais Choire (995 m/3266ft), which marks the eastern end of Glen Etive.