The Cloister

A cloister (from Latin claustrum) is a part of cathedral, monastic and abbey architecture. A cloister consists usually of four corridors, with a courtyard or garth in the middle. It is intended to be both covered from the rain, but open to the air. The attachment of a cloister to a Cathedral church usually indicates that it is (or was once) a monastic foundation.

Cloistered (or "Claustral") life is also another name for the life of a monk or nun in the enclosed religious orders; the modern English term enclosure is used in contemporary Catholic church law to mean cloistered, and cloister is sometimes used as a synonym for monastery.

In medieval times, cloisters served the primary function of quiet meditation or study gardens.

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Picture of Cloister of Glasgow University

Eilean Donan Castle

The name Eilean Donan, or island of Donan, is most probably called after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan who came to Scotland around 580 AD. The first fortified structure was not built on the island until the early 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail against the Vikings who raided, settled and controlled much of the North of Scotland and the Western Isles between 800 and 1266. From the mid 13th century, this area was the quite seperate "Sea Kingdom" of the Lord of the Isles where the sea was the main highway and the power of feuding clan chiefs was counted by the number of men and galleys or "birlinns" at their disposal. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position. Over the centuries, the castle itself has expanded and contracted in size.

For the best part of 200 years, the stark ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected, abandoned and open to the elements, until Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.

Picture of Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland, on the road to Isle of Skye

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond must be the worlds most famous Loch and has been much written about, both in song and verse. It is a Scottish loch located in both the western lowlands of Central Scotland and the southern Highlands. The loch (as of July 2002) is now part of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. On the Loch there are approximately 38 Islands, some of them inhabited. Loch Lomond has the largest surface area of fresh water Loch in the UK. The Loch is 24 miles long and five miles wide and at its deepest point is some 600 feet deep.

Nestling by the bonnie banks of Loch Lommond the family-owned Scotch whisky distillery takes its name and its exquisitely pure water from this most picturesque and celebrated of all Scotland's lochs. The beauty and tranquility of the setting belies the considerable activity within one of the finest Scotch Whisky Distilleries.

This picture was taken with Hasselblad 501C, 250mm Carl Zeiss, FP4 125 rated at 80, developed with rodinal. Picture of Loch Lomond, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Central Scotland

The River Dee
A notable river, the Dee rises deep in the heart of the Cairngorm mountains on the Braeriach plateau, some 4,000 feet above sea level in an area known as the Wells of Dee and it eventually reaches the sea at Aberdeen, some 87 miles from its source.
The Dee below Balmoral adopts a winding and slow moving course until it reaches Ballater, where it once more increases in tempo.

The Photograph was made with Hasselblad 501C, 50mm Carl Zeiss Plannar lens and red filter. The film is Ilford FP4 125 rated at 80, developed with Rodinal. Printed in Ilford paper with Ansco 130 developer.

WELCOME DEATH

………….

And out of these and thee,
I make a scene, a song, brief (not fear of thee,
Nor gloom's ravines, nor bleak, nor dark—for I do not fear thee,
Nor celebrate the struggle, or contortion, or hard-tied knot),

Of the broad blessed light and perfect air, with meadows, rippling tides, and trees
and flowers and grass,

And the low hum of living breeze—and in the midst God's beautiful eternal right
hand,

Thee, holiest minister of Heaven—thee, envoy, usherer, guide at last of all,
Rich, florid, loosener of the stricture-knot call'd life,
Sweet, peaceful, welcome Death.

(Death Valley, Walt Whitman)
.

THE ROMANTIC CASTLE, EILEAN DONANIn the superbly romantic setting amid silent, tree clad hills, Eilean Donan Castle possesses a rare and dream-like quality. Yet, standing lone sentinel on its rocky promontory at the meeting point of three sea lochs - Loch Long, Loch Duich and Loch Alsh - it is, in reality, a fortress of solid stone and formidable defences.

It is not hard to realise the position commanded by the Castle during the troubled times of the marauding Norse and Danish adventurers who raided along these coasts. Nor is it difficult, when gazing down today from the heights above the shore of the loch, to visualise an era of savage but somehow glorious warfare, when the Clans fought and the MacRaes found refuge in this impregnable fortress, defying the attacks of their enemies.

Much of the history of the Castle has been preserved within its solid walls and immortalised in the ballads and stories handed down from generation to generation.

View over Edinburgh

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city centre. It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above the skyline. The top of Calton hill is an excellent and usually quiet place to come on any day, with its grassy slopes and panoramic views of the city, including down the length of Princes street (the main shopping thoroughfare) and Edinburgh castle. There is a good view North of the ruddy-coloured cliffs of Salisbury Crags and the undulating slopes of Holyrood Park.

Glenfinnan and Loch Shiel
Glenfinnan sited on both the road and the famous railway line between Fort William and Mallaig the village, with a view down the long Loch Shiel, the '45 monument sited right at the head of the loch, and the always impressive Glenfinnan Railway viaduct. This area played a major role in the life of Prince Charles Edward and much of the initial support given to him came from this area. The monument is a tribute the men and times of 1745 and the statute that adorns the top is of one of Prince Charles' clansmen.

Loch Shiel is a fraction above sea level and hence is not tidal. It is however extremely deep, over 120m as indicated on the maps, and at its narrowest point only 600m wide - a classic case of glacial erosion. The loch is therefore much deeper than the ocean floor as far west as the continental shelf to the western seaboard.

The Glenfinnan end of the loch is dominated on the north side by the long craggy ridge under Beinn Odhar Mhor, and on the southern side by the equally rough looking mountain sides of Meall a' Choire Chruinn. The northern ridge of this mountain-top drops right down to the loch-side and making a focal point in the famous view along the loch.

GLENFINNAN VIADUCT
The Road to The Isles (Rathad nan Eilean)

The long reaches of Loch Shiel are veiled by steep mountains, and the rallying there of some 1,200 Highlanders must have been an awe-inspiring sight when the Prince arrived from Loch Nan Uamh on 19 August 1745.

In 1896 a mail steamer began a service along the loch to connect Acharacle with the railway at Glenfinnan. The Jacobite Steam Train and other trains regularly run this route, and just before arriving at Glenfinnan from the direction of Fort William, the line crosses a spectacular arched viaduct. The Glenfinnan viaduct recently came to prominence in the Harry Potter films, when the Jacobite Steam Train became transformed into the Hogwarts Express and was filmed crossing the viaduct. It also appears and will be appearing in subsequent Harry Potter films. The imposing arches of the famous viaduct carry the railway across the glen to Glenfinnan Station.

Athens of the North

Edinburgh's (actually Scotland's) National Monument was designed as a folly (though this has been questioned), based on Acropolis, Athens - not the result of lack of funds (though see penultimate paragraph).

Built as a National Monument to the Napoleonic Dead, £24,000 was raised by a committee for its construction. Drawings only show exactly what we now see, so the architect C R Cockerell and his assistant William Playfair intended the incomplete appearance.

The National Monument was intended to be a memorial to those who died in the Napoleonic Wars. It is a potent symbol and can be seen both from Princes St and silhouetted from the East such as Gosford Bay near Longniddry with the Castle framed between Calton Hill and Arthurs Seat (recommended viewpoint).

Designed by an English proponent of the Greek Revival architecture, C R Cockrell, The National Monument project was assisted by a young William Henry Playfair who was to go on to complete even more successful works. C.R. Cockerell's most famous building is his St George's Hall, Liverpool which features in most Books covering British Architecture.

The Monument foundations were laid during the visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1824. Work came to an end in 1929 when the money provided by public subscription ran out - due in part to the ambitious scale of the monument. While it has been suggested that the architect had deliberately designed only 12 columns of the National Monument, it was later to be described as "Scotland's shame".

The prominent Grecian columns of this and other buildings in Edinburgh has led to Edinburgh being described as the "Athens of the North".

Three Tombs


St Cuthbert's (also known as West Church) contains some of the oldest headstones in Edinburgh and, being located at the west end of Princes Street, makes an ideal diversion from the crowds of shoppers.

Photograph was made with Hasselblad 501C, 50mm Carl Zeiss Plannar lens and using yellow filter. The film is Kodak Tmax 100 rated at 64, developed with Rodinal in N process using semistand agitation. Printed in MGIV FB Ilford

THE PLACE OF THE GREY ROCK

Literally Necropolis mean the city of the dead. However there are many interpretations of the origin of the name Glasgow Necropolis, the most common being ‘the dear green place’. However many scholars have argued that it actually means ’the place of the grey rock’ – being the Fir Park, now known as Glasgow Necropolis. This site is as old as Glasgow itself and overlooks the Molindinar stream where St Mungo baptised his Christian converts in the 6th century. In earlier times a druidical grove is said to have crowned the brow of the Grey Rock. At a subsequent period, tradition assigns this sylvan vale as the scene where Aymer de Valiance and Menteith met to plot the treacherous betrayal of Sir William Wallace at Robroyston.

The Necropolis has been described as a ‘unique representation of Victorian Glasgow, built when Glasgow was the second city of the empire. It is a memorial to the merchant patriarchs of the City and contains the remains of almost every eminent Glaswegian of its day. The Necropolis remains one of the most significant cemeteries in Europe, exceptional in its contribution to the townscape, its symbolic relationship to Glasgow Cathedral and to the medieval heart of the City.

http://www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Parks_Outdoors/Parks_gardens/GlasgowNecropolis/glasgownecropolishistory.htm

ST CUTHBERT'S CHURCHYARD

St Cuthbert's (also known as West Church) contains some of the oldest headstones in Edinburgh and, being located at the west end of Princes Street, makes an ideal diversion from the crowds of shoppers. The land lying immediately around the Church has been a place of Christian burial for a thousand years. There is a record of over 1000 graves and this was the work of John Smith.

I used a 6x6 Hasselblad 501C and 80mm zeiss plannar lens with yellow filter. The film was Tmax 400 rated at 320, developed in Rodinal, and the print was made on Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy paper developed in Dektol and Ansco 120.

CLOISTER OF GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

The new University building opened officially in 1870, but because of a shortage of money the west side of the west quadrangle, the cloisters and great hall and the spire on the tower had not yet been built. A gift from the Marquess of Bute and a legacy from the industrialist and former student Charles Randolph allowed the cloisters and great hall (which was divided and named the Bute and the Randolph Halls) to be completed in 1882. The spire was added in 1883 but the west quadrangle was not completed until 1929, and then to a different design to that envisaged by the original architect, Gilbert Scott. (http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=TGSD00133)

I used a 6x6 Hasselblad 501C and 80mm zeiss plannar lens with yellow filter. The film was TMax 100 rated at 64, developed in Rodinal, and the print was made on Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy paper developed in Dektol and ansco 120.

GLASGOW CATHEDRAL

There is little known about the church buildings which stood on the site of the present Cathedral until the early part of the 12th century. The first stone building was consecrated in about 1136 in the presence of King David I and his Court when John (1117-1147) was Bishop. Destroyed or severely damaged by fire, this cathedral was succeeded by a larger one consecrated in 1197. The reformation done in the early 14th century, and the next major rebuilding was come later in the 13th century. After the Reformation a wall was put across the nave to allow the western portion of the nave to be used for worship by a congregation which became known as the Outer High. This congregation worshiped in the nave from 1647 until 1835. The congregation which used the Quire was for a time called the Inner High. (A Walk through Glasgow Cathedral, The Very Revd. Dr. W. J. Morris.)

I used a 6x6 Hasselblad 501C and 50mm zeiss plannar lens with yellow filter. The film was Tmax 100 rated at 64, developed in Rodinal, and the print was made on Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy paper developed in Dektol and ansco 120.

CALTON HILL

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city centre. Building began in 1822, but funds ran dry and celebrated Edinburgh architect William Playfair only got to see a facade of his building completed. It was dubbed "Edinburgh's shame" at the time (and some still say a reflection of the Edinburgh temperament - make your own conclusions), but it's now a popular landmark and it's a lot of fun crawling up and down its giant steps. The top of Calton hill is an excellent and usually quiet place to come on any day, with its grassy slopes and panoramic views of the city, including down the length of Princes street and Edinburgh castle.
(http://www.edinburghguide.com/travel/visitor/caltonhill.htm)

I used a 6x6 Hasselblad 501C and 80mm zeiss plannar lens with yellow filter. The film was TMax 400 rated at 320 , developed in Rodinal, and the print was made on Ilford Multigrade IV FB Glossy paper developed in Dektol and ansco 120.