Photographing Ireland and Scotland

[Eride]

Hey guys, I'm planning a 2+ week trip to Ireland and Scotland this June and I'm looking for some advice. Have any of you ever been? I'm wondering how to space my trip out, how much time to spend in each country and for any other general advice you might have. I'll be going with my wife and newborn haha so that makes things a little more interesting.

I'm thinking 7 days in Ireland driving from Dublin to Belfast and then heading over to the Isle Of Sky and touring Scotland for 10 days. Any suggestions on places that are must see/shoot, accommodations, transport or anything else at all?

From a photography standpoint, any tips or images would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Kijho]

I'm sorry I don't have any tips but I'm just excited to see What you capture !!!! Have a good trip safe travels man!

[Eride]

Thanks man!

[msommers]

Isle of Skye is all I'm aware of for Scotland, and there are a lot of castles - I assume there has to be some guides out. I seem to recall Melinda going there a few years ago, hopefully she sees this thread.

Are you still doing Iceland as well?!

[Calgaryscot]

everywhere in Scotland is majestic (ok, maybe I'm biased being a Scot) Seriously though, this a worth a try!

https://www.northcoast500.com/home.aspx

In my home town of Stirling, there is a fantastic guest house called Castlecroft, the owner is a Scot that also lived in Canada. It's so close to the castle that you have to strain your neck to look up at it!

[rage2]

Subscribed for pics!

[Calgaryscot]

In Central Scotland there are "The Kelpies" The worlds largest equine sculptures. Best photographed at night.

http://www.thehelix.co.uk/things-to-do/the-kelpies/kelpies-tour/#.VwR8KfkrKM8

There is also the "Falkirk Wheel" The worlds only rotating boat lift that links two canals that meet at very different heights.

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/falkirk-wheel/

[Eride]

Originally posted by msommers
Isle of Skye is all I'm aware of for Scotland, and there are a lot of castles - I assume there has to be some guides out. I seem to recall Melinda going there a few years ago, hopefully she sees this thread.

Are you still doing Iceland as well?!

Skye is happening for sure, just need to decide on how long to spend there. Iceland is booked, going all out on the adventures this year I guess!

[Eride]

Originally posted by Calgaryscot
everywhere in Scotland is majestic (ok, maybe I'm biased being a Scot) Seriously though, this a worth a try!

https://www.northcoast500.com/home.aspx

In my home town of Stirling, there is a fantastic guest house called Castlecroft, the owner is a Scot that also lived in Canada. It's so close to the castle that you have to strain your neck to look up at it!

Thanks so much! I spent some time in Sterling a number of years back, one of my favorite places I visited there! Was there before I started shooting, can't wait to give it another go!

[shakalaka]

I lived in Scotland for 4 years so I can provide some input.

If you're interested in capturing monuments, buildings etc, then you gotta go to Edinburgh. It is the capital and has the Castle on a hill top, gothic high tower (you can buy a ticket and climb the stairs all the way up to get a good 360 degree view) and in general the Princess Street area. Both these things are at the same location by Princess Street.

Glasgow is also another major city with general architecture that UK is famous for but nothing comes to mind as of right now. I was in an extremely small town called Dundee which is right across St. Andrews and the Tay Bridge (joining St. Andrews and Dundee) is absolutely gorgeous and makes for beautiful pictures. The train goes over the bridge as well so you can get some awesome shots. I think Stirling is also on the way, I had a flatmate that I lived with at his house there for a few days there.

The Highlands are gorgeous. From Edinburgh you can do a bus tour, which is a day tour that they take you around on and visit the most famous and absolutely breathtaking locations where you can take great pictures. We saw where Braveheart was shot and the actual war was fought etc. Some of those viewing areas are breathtaking.

Everywhere is connected by the train so make sure you get to visit a bunch of places. Edinburgh is 2 hours to Dundee and further 2 hours to Glasgow. It's pretty much in a straight line. Ireland, I personally never went but had my flatmates that were from there. I heard amazing things about Dublin and Belfast as far as buildings etc are concerned. But the countryside just like Scotland's is absolutely gorgeous.

Anyway, looking forward to the pics. I wish I had good photography skills because I would have taken some amazing pictures. Now I don't even know where they all went that I took. lol.

[cream]

I went backpacking last summer so here's my experience:

There should be a lot of castles from Dublin to Belfast so definitely hit those up! (I took a train).

I did a little tour of North Ireland out of Belfast. Giant's Causeway is a very cool natural wonder and the Carrick-a-rede bridge. (Bridge hike might be tough (time wise) with a newborn as the tour drops you off and gives you a couple hours to go there and back. If you still have a car then, I'd recommend those 2 places.

There's also a Game of Thrones tour out of Belfast if that's your thing. Here's some locations http://www.heraldscotland.com/arts_ents/13156095.Top_10_Game_of_Thrones_scenes__our_trip_to_the_real_life_locations/

The whole countryside is beautiful but all my shots were typical touristy and uneventful shots.

Here's the Giant's Causeway. 'Cool' basalt pillars but it's personal preference if you find it interesting.

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1444/25661295854_d84e46cd37_k.jpg


Between Glasgow and Edinburgh, I preferred Edinburgh. ('The Lighthouse' in Glasgow had a really cool spiral staircase to shoot.) There's the Edinburgh Castle to visit. In terms of landscape photos, I really liked Calton Hill (a bit steep but not too long of a hike up) and Holyrood Park (fairly steep, not newborn friendly). You can see a 360 view of Edinburgh and the North Sea.

Holyrood Park as seen from Calton Hill. The tallest peak is called Arthur's seat.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1642/25663589943_d7f24a9d50_k.jpg

Edinburgh Castle as seen from halfway up Holyrood Park.
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1550/25993493860_b50f8a15bb_k.jpg

There's definitely potential but my photos are all basic and shot in jpeg :(

Hope this helps!

[haggis88]

Most towns in Scotland have some sort of history involved with them

Again I'm biased, but my home town of Ayr (30 mins south of Glasgow, on the coast) has some lovely places to visit. The beach being a massive pull for a lot of tourists in the summer. Also the likes of Burns Cottage and Museum, Brig-O-Doon, Souter Johnny's Cottage, Electric Brae (awesomeness, check it on google) and the list goes on.

Urbex may not be something you wanna do with a wife and baby in tow, but Inverkip & Barony power stations are a goldmine for that sort of thing (if they haven't been demolished, been about 10 years since I was near Barony)

A few of the museums in Glasgow are great fun, and since its June, the weather is probably going to be as good as you get, so Summerlee Heritage Park/Industrial Museum was somewhere I loved as a kid...as is the Scottish Transport Museum.

Kelvingrove Art Museum is also a great place if you're into that sort of thing (and also kind of nice if you're not and just wanna see some architecture) they had a lot of Rennie-Mackintosh stuff last time I was there.

Further afield into Edinburgh DEFINITELY visit the castle and take the tour, it's brilliant...I went for the first time last year when I took my girlfriend over to visit and even I had a great time...she's born and raised Calgarian. Edinburgh is also home to Greyfriars Church and Cemetery so if you wanna go searching for the ghost of Greyfriars Bobby, wait until nightime and checkout the creepiness :D

I like Stirling Castle too, but preferred Edinburgh just cos :D

Falkirk wheel and the kelpies are great to see too, but doesn't really take too long to do that...perhaps on the way to/from somewhere is best for that!

Other than that, have fun and drink plenty of Tennents and Buckfast :)

[Eride]

Thanks so much for the helpful suggestions guys, really appreciate it! Has anyone ever been to Skye? I'm wondering if I can book one place for the family to stay there and do day trips out or if we need to be more mobile.

[haggis88]

you could, but it'd be about £6 each on the ferry to get on and off the island...and you're facing a bitch of a drive on some pretty crap roads to go to the central belt (probably about 5-7hrs)

It'd be like staying in Jasper to explore Southern Alberta

[Eride]

Originally posted by haggis88
you could, but it'd be about £6 each on the ferry to get on and off the island...and you're facing a bitch of a drive on some pretty crap roads to go to the central belt (probably about 5-7hrs)

It'd be like staying in Jasper to explore Southern Alberta

What about staying on the island though, is it small enough that we could stay in one central location and then do day trips? Or should I look at a few different places to stay on Skye itself to have better access. With the baby if we could stay one place it makes it easier.

[haggis88]

Day trips around Skye? Yeah you could do that, it's pretty small...but AFAIR there's not really all that much to see there, all the good stuff is on the mainland

[taemo]

Hey Erik,

from a UK magazine that I was reading last night, check out

Isle of Eigg, Mallaig, Arisaig, the 43mile drive from Fort William to Mallaig.

There's definitely a lot of scenic coast lines that you'll be driving in the 3 countries you'll be going to:thumbsup:

[Eride]

Trip is starting to come together, flying into Dublin on June 11th, and will work our way up to Belfast. I found this site, where you can book really cool heritage properties to stay in while in Ireland...These are affordable heritage buildings scattered around Ireland that anyone can stay in. There are castles, lighthouses, cabins, mansions.

http://www.irishlandmark.com

While in Northern Ireland we are going to stay here... super affordable, right at the beach and close to the Giants Causeway...

http://downhillbeachhouse.com

From Belfast we booked a flight into Inverness where we will rent a car and head to the Isle of Skye. We booked a cottage on the sea on Skye for 3 nights. It sleeps 4 people for around $200 a night.

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/11694120

From Skye, we are going to head over to Aberdeen to visit some friends and then work our way down to Glasgow to fly home on the 28th. I'll update with other info as we book.

[Eride]

Currently in Scotland, spent 5 days in Ireland, the weekend on Skye and now in Edinburgh before heading north. A few shots from the trip so far...

St. James Gate at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin, awesome tour here!
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7379/27778345316_77f28ddee8_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/JjFhhd)St. James Gate (https://flic.kr/p/JjFhhd) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

Trinity College in Dublin
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7453/27737280411_1f9fa690c2_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3P7B)Trinity College (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3P7B) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

Trinity College Library
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7367/27200992804_89c00e7c85_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HrEcuy)Trinity College Library (https://flic.kr/p/HrEcuy) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

Isle of Skye Sheep
https://c5.staticflickr.com/8/7429/27200970084_78470dc137_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/HrE5JQ)Neist Point (https://flic.kr/p/HrE5JQ) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye
https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7467/27737252291_f5294fda11_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3EKM)Storr (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3EKM) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

https://c4.staticflickr.com/8/7265/27737247251_c52a1fda4e_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3DfT)Old Man of Storr (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3DfT) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

https://c8.staticflickr.com/8/7052/27737229031_178007b294_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3xQK)Highland Cow! (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3xQK) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

Fathers Day hike on Skye
https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7394/27737231561_a3ff524c93_b.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3yAn)Fathers Day hike on the Isle of SKye (https://flic.kr/p/Jg3yAn) by Erik McRitchie (https://www.flickr.com/photos/erikmcr/), on Flickr

[blitz]

Man, talk about a dream vacation. Awesome stuff as usual man.

[Eride]

Thanks man, has been an awesome trip. Not a ton of shooting but been really fun so far!

[haggis88]

I'm chilling in Ayr, not far from ya :thumbsup:

Glad you're enjoying yourself, weather's been fairly decent too :)