Eilean Glas Lighthouse, Scalpay, Scotland

We were not expecting a good sunrise this morning so we did not plan an early start, and I was looking forward to a later wake up - so I was very annoyed to be woken up at 5am but the people above my room banging about. Admittedly the sound proofing in the hotel is very poor, but then a group of people left at 6am chatting loudly along the corridors and bumping luggage down the stairs so that was the end of my lie in! 

After breakfast - scrambled eggs and salmon - we set off for Scalpay Island to photograph the Eileen Glas Lighthouse. It was much cooler this morning with some interesting clouds in the sky. We stopped off en route to photograph another derelict house, as can be seen in the first extra. We met a lovely elderly man who told us that he had lived on Scalpay his entire life. He explained that most derelict houses are due to the owners dying and the families who inherit the house don’t want to live here, so they are abandoned. There are so many of these abandoned houses, I have photographed more croft houses and derelict houses than beach scenes. 

It was quite a long walk to the lighthouse, just over 1km each way over an uneven path and boggy ground, and when we got there it was very cold and it was raining a little but thankfully that did not last long. The strong wind blew my tripod with the camera on it over but it landed on soft grass so no harm done.I photographed the lighthouse in various ways, I have some close up shots but I preferred this shot showing it in its location. 

We stopped and photographed many more Croft cottages and derelict houses on the way to visit all the beaches trying to find the best light - We spent time at Luskentyre, Seilbost, and finally ended up at Scarista beach in the hope of a sunset. The light was quite flat but then suddenly the sky got dark, as seen in the last extra, and then we had the most fiery sunset which lasted a few minutes before fading.

We got back to the hotel at 7.45pm again, and had a little time to freshen up before supper. Tomorrow in an early 5am start to catch the morning light, not sure if we will see a sunrise if there is cloud cover. The days are long and full and I feel quite disconnected from everyone as we have very little mobile coverage when we are out and about. I also realised today that so many places are closed for the winter season until 1 April which is why we are not finding any cafes to get a quick coffee.