Weekly Photo Challenge: Ascend

What remains of St John’s Church sits on on a hill overlooking Gamrie Bay and the fishing village of Gardenstown in Scotland. The walk up from the beach winds through reasonably steep and rough grazing land, there is evidence of recent slips but that doesn’t seem to bother the cattle.

St John’s Church is said to have been originally built in the 1190s and it has a long and bloody history. The ruins are visible from Gardenstown and celebrate a victory over the Danes in the 11th century. It was once known as the ‘Kirk of Sculls’ because of the three skulls (supposedly Danes) that decorated the church interior. The skull and other symbols adorn many of the headstones in the graveyard.

Ascending to the ruins of St John’s Church.

The ruins of St John’s Church, Gamrie

I plan to make my contribution to this week’s photo challenge: ascend the return of more regular posts. New challenges are posted every Wednesday at The Daily Post Photo Challenge should you wish to join in the fun or you just need blogging inspiration 😊

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Travel theme: rain

This week’s travel theme from Ailsa at Where’s my backpack is apt. When travelling, I have a knack of attracting heavy rain either directly or indirectly to the point where my family suggested that I holiday in drought affected areas. When visiting Los Angeles in the early nineties we experienced rain that led to flash flooding, then there was heavy rain and flooding in Europe when I visited in 1999 plus several holidays to New Zealand have resulted in very soggy shoes. Nothing much has changed with rainy weather impacting on my last three holidays but I don’t mind the rain and I love the drama that rain clouds inject into a landscape.

A rainy afternoon in Edinburgh

Watching the rain roll in over Edinburgh

A spot of colour on a rainy day in Venice

Wet feet in Venice

Gardenstown in the Scottish Highlands

Travel theme: Colour

Where’s my backpack has colour as the uplifting travel theme this week. I typically don’t wear a lot of colour but I love to see it and my artwork is often quite colourful. In order to fulfill this week’s challenge I trawled through my photos from holidays in Scotland 2016 and Europe 2015, that was fun.

Unison handmade pastels

A splash of colour, Victoria Street Edinburgh

Barrels of colour pigment at the Unison pastel factory

Tulips in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh

Flowering gorse, Gardenstown

Gardenstown sunset

David comes in many colours in Florence

Flares create colourful smoke at a protest in Paris

Colourful entree of empanadas at an Argentinian restaurant in Berlin

Venetian window display

Travel theme: four

Ailsa from ‘Where’s my backpack‘ has chosen a travel theme inspired by St Patrick’s Day and the luck of the Irish this week. I have no photos of the elusive four leaf clover lucky charm however I hope you’ll enjoy my selection of ‘Four’ themed images regardless.

Four artists in Crail, Scotland

Four numbers featuring the number 4

Four archways, home to Venice emergency services

Four more of Venetian arches on the canal

Four corinthian columns in the Borghese Gardens, Rome

Four gnomes in Paris

Rugged up and exploring Berlin

Travel theme: Paths (of Scotland)

My posts are few and far between at the moment as I struggle to find focus and think of things to write about. Thank goodness for Ailsa’s latest travel theme on Where’s my backpack? as I have some paths to share from my 2016 trip to Scotland.

Wild garlic in flower almost conceals this path through the trees at Dairsie Castle.

A well worn path past holiday homes at Crovie in the Scottish Highlands

A path of daisies leads you up the hill for fabulous views of Gardenstown

Pittenweem pathway from St Fillan’s Cave

The ruins of St Andrews Cathedral

The Fife Coastal path, St Monan’s

Up the garden path

Wordless Wednesday: sunset departure

Pink sky at night sailors delight, Gardenstown Scotland

Wordless Wednesday: Castle rock

Edinburgh Castle, historic fortress built on volcanic rock

Iconic photo tour of Edinburgh

My flight from Australia arrived early morning and to help my body get used to the different time zone I was determined to keep busy until the sun set. A walking tour of Edinburgh combined with photography advice seemed like the perfect way to adjust to UK time and enjoy the sights. My art teacher was also arriving that day so she and I had signed up to join a small walking tour of Edinburgh’s old town led by local photographer Will from Iconic Tours.

We met Will outside the main entrance of St Giles Cathedral where he took us through aperture and shutter priority, two settings that would make taking photographs easier without relying on auto. The clouds above us were ominous, the tour would go on regardless and Will had a plan if the weather really turned to shite. The technical aspect is not all that we learned, we were encouraged and guided to look at potential subjects from a different perspective.

Inside St Giles Cathedral

Detail of the caarved stone portico at the main entrance to St. Giles Cathedral

Dragon gargoyles on St Giles exterior

One of the numerous characters carved into the facade surrounding the main entrance

View of St Giles from Parliament Square

The statue was erected in 1685 as a tribute to Charles II (1630-1685). This life size stature depicts Charles dressed in Roman military dress. It is situated in Parliament Square, in front of the Parliament Buildings and behind St Giles Cathedral

The Royal Mile forms the main thoroughfare through Edinburgh’s old town, popular with tourists it is home to many shops selling whisky, fudge, tartan scarves, kilts and various other souvenirs. Groups of tourists following guides in kilts compete for prime position in front of the main sights, the sound of bagpipes being played fills the air and attracts the interest of happy snappers as does the various street performers now using the pedestrian zone as their stage. The red phone booths are perfect for experimenting with shutter speed, stopping people in their tracks with a fast shutter speed and creating a feeling of movement with a slower one. Here we also try using manual mode, previous experiments helps me understand the theory however the time it takes for me to capture the shot is longer and the experience a little frustrating.

As the main square fills with people we venture to quieter parts of town to hone our skills, such as the Council Chambers carpark, Advocates Close and Parliament Square. Will shows us a series of golden handprints in the footpath, recipients of the Edinburgh Award and we listen to him tell the tale of John Knox and his final resting place which is now a carpark near St Giles.

Crowds on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh

Traditional red phone booths on the Royal Mile

Author JK Rowling last year became the second recipient of the Edinburgh Award and her handprints can be seen in the City Chambers quadrangle.

Writing dating back several centuries can be seen above a doorway in Advocate’s Close

Playing with depth of field

Experimenting with shutter speed on the Royal Mile and starring tour guide Will

View of the Scott Monument from Advocate’s Close on the Royal Mile

Getting off the Royal Mile and exploring the other parts of the old town is a must, Victoria Street is a colourful and beautiful part of the city lined with popular restaurants, bars and cafes. It is easy to see why it is so popular with photographers on instagram. Will recommended a few places for dinner and some cheap eats for lunch, sadly we never got there but it is something to look forward to on my next trip to Scotland, whenever that may be.

The Princes St Garden is a beautiful place to take a walk in spring, the tulips are in bloom and the garden beds are filled with vibrant colour. Viewing the castle from below the rock will give you an appreciation of the effort and engineering that went into creating such a formidable looking and enduring structure, Edinburgh Castle dominates the skyline.

Three hours well spent, the tour only cost $100AUD and in addition Will emailed a document containing all his tips and advice. Had I not signed up for the tour I probably would have found myself wandering aimlessly all afternoon and I would have missed all those wonderful photo opportunities.

Edinburgh Castle

Looking up at the castle from the Princes St Gardens

Princes Street Garden and the Scott Monument can be seen in the background

The Call Statue. The Scottish American Memorial, or Scots American War Memorial

Edinburgh’s old town skyline

George Heriot’s School from Victoria Street

Gorgeous blooms in the Princes St gardens

Experimenting with the ‘ghost’ technique

Deacon Brodie’s Tavern

Victoria Street, Edinburgh

Edinburgh Castle as seen from the Princes Street Gardens. The Ross Fountain can be seen in the foreground and has stood in West Princes Street Gardens for more than 140 years.

Wordless Wednesday: Pink sky of Scotland

Pink sunset over Gardenstown Harbour, Scotland

Glorious pink sky for our last night in Gardenstown

Wordless Wednesday: Delights of Pittenweem, Scotland

Local tavern

This way to the Cocoa Tree

Inside Cocoa Tree cafe

St Fillan’s Cave, Pittenweem

Pittenweem gull and harbour

Seaside village of Pittenweem