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At the Edge of the Earth
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Eighteen months ago myself and @sams_points_of_interest visited all of the Outer Hebrides, beginning here in Barra (and Vatersay) and passing through Eriskay, the Uists, Benbecula, Berneray, Harris and Lewis. We wild camped most of the way and had sunsets like this to enjoy on some of the nights. We barbecued toasties most nights, and had beers below the stars. We sailed our kayaks around the coasts and visited @hebcelt Festival with old friends. We had an Indian fish curry in a harbour overlooking a castle situated on an island and we watched the World Cup Final in a bar comprised entirely of fishermen. We met the locals and walked miles of endless golden beaches. We saw some of the Whisky Galore bottles salved from the famous wreck and watched the sun set from the dunes. It was glorious, even when the rain came, or when my tent’s zips started playing up. It was soul-soothing and eye-opening. The islands are all so different, full of their own history and local lore, stretching from Neolithic communities who built stunning stone monuments to the Vikings and from the Picts to Flora MacDonald and Bonnie Prince Charlie. If you have the time, I’d encourage you to visit and share a similar adventure.
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#barra #outerhebrides #sunset #scotlandisnow #visitscotland #scotspirit #scotland #thisisscotland #lovescotland #insta_scotland #hiddenscotland #scotexplore #loves_scotland
#ig_scotland #ScotlandIsNow #scotlandsbeauty #unlimitedscotland #takeninscotland #great_wide_somewhere #simplyscotland #scotlandmagazine #thescottishcollective

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I’ve been to some truly beautiful places, but climbing Ben A’an with @_mermaid was one of my favourite places to have visit, and shared, earlier this year. It’s not an overly onerous climb, and reaching the top of any hill always feels rewarding, but looking out over Loch Katrine while holding hands with the love of my life was special. The summit is a wonderful place to just be.
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#benaan #lochlomondandtrossachsnationalpark #trossachs #lochlomond #visitscotland #scotspirit #scotland #thisisscotland #lovescotland #insta_scotland #hiddenscotland #scotexplore #loves_scotland
#ig_scotland #ScotlandIsNow #scotlandsbeauty #unlimitedscotland #takeninscotland #great_wide_somewhere #simplyscotland #scotlandmagazine #thescottishcollective

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There are few horizons as recognisable in Scotland as the Cuillin mountain range, seen here from under the old Sligachan bridge.
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This photo makes me happy because it’s from one of my more memorable days exploring Skye. I climbed the Storr, found a waterfall, was eaten alive by midges and had stunning beauty all around... I might have been alone but I was still in great company, if you know what I mean.
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#sligachan #skye #isleofskye #cuillins #visitscotland #scotspirit #scotland #thisisscotland #lovescotland #insta_scotland #hiddenscotland #scotexplore #loves_scotland
#ig_scotland #ScotlandIsNow #scotlandsbeauty #unlimitedscotland #takeninscotland #great_wide_somewhere #simplyscotland #scotlandmagazine #thescottishcollective

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The Ring of Brodgar
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Thousands of years ago our ancestors spent hundreds of thousands of hours carving enormous standing stones from the rock in their corner of Orkney, and dragged (or transported) them to this site, where they were set into a perfect circle along with 59 others. These beautiful ‘megaliths’ are all a little different in size and shape, some with a slanted corner, others without, and because different quarries have been linked to different stones, located in directions which line up with the stone’s position in the circle, it’s easy to speculate that this stone circle was actually a community project, which each stone being brought by the people of a particular area. Such coordination might have been due to an event... I like to think that there was a great peace treaty, or a cause that brought everyone on this archipelago together, and that out of that reason to celebrate was borne this beautiful ring.
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Of course a bog and peat has grown up around the stone circle over the last 4,000+ years, and it’s beautiful, with its purple heather and wild flowers, but we were lucky enough to meet a @historicscotland / @histenvscot employee when we visited, and he told us that the centre of this circle would have been stone originally.. a stone floor. A meeting place. He thinks it’s still there, under the flora and fauna, but as with so many of Scotland’s beautiful and historic places, this thought and much more about Brodgar, including it’s true age, is an enduring mystery. Very little geo-physics has ever been conducted here. No Lidar. No real carbon dating has been achieved.
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I hope I’m alive when we learn a little more, but I’ll leave you with this fact... any stone circle you ever see is related to this one. It’s as old as they come. Stone circle construction almost indisputably came from Orkney and although we still don’t know enough about them, this one is different to ones that followed because it isn’t aligned to the stars or for burial. It’s set on high land with cliffs all around, like an amphitheatre, and it was seemingly built as a community project, now long-forgotten - and that is why I love it the most.

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Hiking back from the incredible and enigmatic Old Man of Hoy sea stack to the simply stunning Rackwick Bay, on the Isle of Hoy (an island that makes up the archipelago of Orkney) with the love of my life, @_mermaid back in July.
This was probably the best day of 2019 🥳
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#orkney #isleofhoy #oldmanofhoy #rackwickbay #visitscotland #scotspirit #scotland #thisisscotland #lovescotland #insta_scotland #hiddenscotland #scotexplore #loves_scotland
#ig_scotland #ScotlandIsNow #scotlandsbeauty #unlimitedscotland #takeninscotland #great_wide_somewhere #simplyscotland #scotsmagazine #thescottishcollective

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