Misty old Ayshire

Rather illogically our neighbour county of Ayrshire has very rarely been in my viewfinder. This fact belies the frequency of my "just passing through visits" over the past 35 years in total and at a rough guess it must be into four figures. However last year the Photo Collective I am part of was invited to submit certain images of Ayrshire for a project on our local Biosphere. This got me started but was soon followed by a request from my principle calendar customer to produce images for an Ayrshire Calendar for 2015, green light was definitely on now.

I chose a promisingly crisp, bright but slightly foggy day in February last year to get started and headed North with intent. First stop was the Scottish Industrial Railway Centre near Patna. Deserted of course but eerie and atmospheric with curious combinations of rusting machinery old locomotives and iconic industrial revolution chimneys fading into the distance and spooky crows alighting noisily here and there, my kind of place then. I have intended to visit here since forever and here I was at last - steeped in imaginative historical energy, a fine venue for image making, glad I chose today.

The trip got better as I dropped into the splendid environs of Culzean Castle a place I thought I knew quite well. It was a dream ticket as the morning haar-like mist very slowly burned off revealing the subtlest and sweetest of colours with magical and ethereal shapes emerging as sometimes familiar and other times as absolutely brand new. I cannot recommend more highly the rare, but reliable, few days each year that start off like this, a photographic banquet of opportunity.

Other gems revealed themselves even as the haze lifted I discovered the joys of the River Stincher, the countryside round Pinwherry followed by an exquisitely tranquil Girvan Harbour. The following day was equally rewarding with a mystical showing from Burns Cottage and the romantic Brig o' Doon topped only by a wonderfully pastel coloured presentation of The iconic Turnberry Lighthouse. Mostly skipped the urban bits round Ayr, Irvine, Troon, Ardrossan etc. and finished off with the late sun kissing the upbeat traditional resort that is Largs with its Millport Ferry and famous ice cream heritage.

Ayrshire - I will be back soon - why did I leave it so long I ask myself?

If you want to see a more complete set of images from this trip go to portfolio galleries - Ayrshire on this site

http://www.allanwrightphoto.com/p759164380

turnberry golf course with lighthouse scottish industrial railway centre dalmellington ayrshire