Little Tin Houses
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JOURNAL

The Furthest North

I’m slowly exploring more and more of the north, aiming for the back roads less travelled. The quieter, the bleaker, the better, and this one just happened to be heading the furthest north I’ve ever been. Miles and miles of peace, just one or two other drivers for hours, looking for landscapes to document on film. I love the hunt to find buildings that I haven’t already seen thousands of pictures of, ones that have sat unnoticed by the side of a tiny road. My ideal road trip.

The boat house below was one of these… it appeared on my right, the living roof just peeking out from behind a gorse bush. We pulled over and I grabbed my camera, wandering down a track to get a better view. An icy blue loch behind, snowy hills in the distance, and one of the most photogenic buildings I’ve ever seen in front of me.

There’s certain cottages and bothies in the highlands that have been photographed over and over, and I can understand it… they’re popular for a reason, but I can’t resist seeking out the hidden gems.

This boathouse, and a few other shots from this road trip are available over on my print shop, if you’d like to browse. Find it here.

Amy Spires
Lewis & Harris

There’s been a few places I’ve visited in Scotland that have made me feel drawn to them straight away. The first was the Isle of Skye, the second was the Cairngorms and now… Lewis & Harris. Unfortunately, I’m not great on ferries, so the two trips I’ve made over there have been very much dictated by when the weather will allow me the calmest crossings possible. I managed though, and I actually even took Fox on the second journey to and from the islands. You know I like somewhere if I’m willing to go back on a nearly 3 hour ferry journey with a 5 month old puppy in tow.

But like it I do. My love of little tin buildings was hugely satisfied here…. shielings everywhere, so much character and island culture. An absolute joy for a photographer. The standing stones, the villages, the bothies. The eagles nest bothy in particular, built from stone into the side of a cliff, is genuinely one of the most incredible places I have ever been.

I spent my days here driving around in my friend’s van, stopping at little coffee shops and going for walks at new beaches. We found an honesty box, filled with pasties and soup that you could decant into little takeaway cups and drink along at the nearest beach. Barely any money was spent, but a lot of good memories were made, including me doing the most incredible fall after trying to run in wet sand (it was actually quite humiliating but all you can do is laugh).

You can view the full gallery of images I shot on Lewis & Harris here, and if you loved the shielings as much as I did, then a few of them are available as prints over in my print shop.

Amy Spires
To Torridon

Torridon has always come up in conversation when I’ve talked to people about places I want to visit. I’d heard many good things about the area, the coastline, and the village itself. Recently, I’ve been making a point to do a bit more exploring, after being quite happy to stay in the Cairngorms over summer, and Torridon jumped straight into my mind when I thought about which way to head.

I love the heather, the forests, and the mountains in the distance here in the Cairngorms.. I’ve felt magnetised to this place since we first visited, but I’d really forgotten just how glorious the west coast can be. It truly hits a little different. Every road I drove, every beach I wandered, every village I pottered around just had so much charm, with those dramatic mountains and lochs as a backdrop.

Fox and I wanted somewhere simple, but cute to stay, and after a quick search we found this yurt on Airbnb. A new addition (It only had around 4 reviews when we booked it), the location and the reasonable price had us sold. I can’t recommend it enough… placed right by the water with mountains on the other side, croft horses wandering around outside, and a few deer ran past the door one morning. Am Ploc, an open air church monument is just a few minutes walk away at the bottom of the field, and there’s a few cafes you can wander along to in the village. I’d say this is one of the best places I’ve ever stayed. Simple amenities, nothing fancy, but cosy and perfectly placed.

You can find it on airbnb with a simple search of ‘yurt’ and ‘Torridon’, but you can head directly to their own website here.

Amy Spires