Winter in Loch Muick

Dylan Thomas once wrote a poem called “do not go gentle into that good night” and he was raging, quite rightly so, that his father was dying and it wasnt fair that such a good man should pass away?

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light..

And so it is in winter, that photographers shout out “rage, rage against the dying of the light” as winter brings shorter days and flat light. The only bonus through the 4 or 5 months of winter, is when the snow arrives and most landscape photographers leap out of bed and dress up warmly and head out into the wilds.

I’m a lover of loch Muick in the depths of winter, and often head there to chance my luck with the light, as loch Muick has its own climate and until you arrive into the glen, you can never tell what the weather is going to be like.

Glas-allt-Shiel is a royal hunting lodge on the shore of Loch Muick in Aberdeenshire. Its name is Gaelic, and means "Green (or grey) stream lodge" and it sits at the far west side of loch Muick, in the most stunning location between two mountains that sit at the base of Lochnagar.

Although I have walked past this house hundreds of times over the last 7 years or so, i never fail to be amazed at the different beauty of it in any season. Winter though, with snow covering the hills, is the most stunning time to photograph it.

The boat house at loch Muick is owned by a local angling club, but in all the time I have ever been too loch Muick, I have never seen anyone fish there, though they say there is some fabulous trout lurking in the dark waters.

This boat house has always been one of my favorite compositions, with that little tree just adding to the remoteness of the place and on my visits, I have seen it in its autumn glory, covered in snow or just shinning in the morning light. There are days, I walk the full circuit and never see another soul.

The walk from the car park at loch Muick, has only one direction for me (mainly because I walk early mornings) and is along the south side of the loch, so I can view Glas Allt Shiel from the opposite bank, when the sun rises over the hills behind me, bathing this beautiful house in warm morning light.

I don’t think I have ever walked the opposite rotation, yet every time I walk it, it always takes my breathe away when the light appears apon the loch. Stormy days I feel are always best for the light there and on some occasions, I’ve found myself high up on the top of the surrounding mountains, in conditions that scare me, which I should never put myself into, but the search for a different composition drives me higher in worse conditions.

I am always fully dressed for any conditions, but often think of the film where the guy got his arm stuck in a rock and had to cut it off with a penknife. I’m not sure I’m so tough and nowadays tend to be a bit more responsible on where i go.

I walked into loch Muick this day, with only a short walk in mind, as the weather was dull and misty, but the further I walked into the glen, the further I wanted to go as the light was so sublime, i can honestly say, I’ve never seen such good light for a long time, so was sucked into the far end of the loch, stopping often to look and photograph as the mist lifted and the sun started its light show over the loch.

There are large herd of stags and hines around the hills of loch Muick and if your lucky enough, they seem to have no fear and will stand until you can get quite close, albeit with a large zoom lens fitted and on occasions, I seem to recognize their faces from previous shots I have taken of them. There is nothing better than standing in the presence of these magnificent beasts, though don’t get too close during rutting season, as they have been known to attack people

Loch Muick

Loch Muick, the place i decided to try and capture photographically, over the last two years has all but worn me out. I walked around it many times with my 15 kg camera backpack laden on my sore shoulders and i took some images i was more than happy with during these years.

Its a 7.7 mile walk around the Loch and and nothing too strenuous, and the views on dark stormy days, especially with snow on the mountains of the far end of the Loch, are just beyond awe inspiring. I remember many times two years ago, when you could arrive at Loch Muick car park and find a space no problem. Nowadays its chock a block with visitors and most likely, there is just no where to park. Perhaps its my fabulous photos of this place that lurk on the internet somewhere that have attracted so many people? Perhaps its just the fact that we are all becoming more and more conscious of our health and heading to the hills and outdoors space on a regular basis.

One of the main places on the walk, is Glas-allt Shiel house. This fine property was built by Queen Victoria after the death of Prince Albert, and used as a quieter retreat from Balmoral Castle. Its no longer used and remains boarded up. I do wish they would open it up and invite passing walkers to come in for a look.

Then when you get fed up walking around loch Muick, you can tackle the mighty Lochnagar and although this is as far as i have ever got, as it was always so cold to go further up. I plan to do the top very soon, with full camera gear, which will be a feat itself, as this is a round 8 hr trip and im not sure if my poor feet can cope. I did it in winter snow conditions once with a friend and it was just stunning under the dark ominous skies. If your a city dweller and fancy a day in the country to boost your well being, then head out here, as its just stunning.

Life is like a landscape. You live in the midst of it but can describe it only from the vantage point of distance