Heather in Bloom

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In August 2005 I got some vivid photos of heather in bloom. That was with a 2 megapixel camera. Since acquiring an 8 megapixel camera I have looked in vain (so far) for heather as photogenic. Rosemary has been urging me to post pictures of hillside heather in bloom. So here they are, mostly with 2 megapixels of resolution.

Below are some pictures with a narrative beside each one. Click on an image below to see a larger version of the picture. When viewing a larger picture, clicking "Next" allows you to look at the larger pictures one at a time.




This photo of heather on Ben Vorlich on 13 August 2006 isn't nearly as colorful as those taken the previous year. Perhaps the weather and soil conditions are different from year to year.



This photo was taken on the same day, a bit higher on the hill. It's a pretty setting.

But contrast the colors in these two pictures with the following photos taken a year earlier.



The slope of Ben Vorlich (Loch Earnside, Perthshire) had quite a bit of blooming heather on 22 August, 2005. This view is looking downhill, towards the north.



This view is from the same spot looking uphill, toward the southwest, nearly into the sun.



This view from the same spot, looking eastward.



From the same spot this view is looking southeast.



A little further up Ben Vorlich, Loch Earn is coming more into view. I like the color combinations in this picture and have used it as a computer desktop image.



This view is from a little further up the hill.



This view is looking eastward from higher on the hill. From this vantage point the patches of heather on the upper slope of the next ridge are more visible than they were when photographed from lower on Ben Vorlich. The dark green vegetation is bracken, a weed that looks a bit like a fern.



This picture is taken from the same spot, looking northwestward. The ridge ahead is Ben Our.



This view is looking down at the places where the previous photos were taken. The hills in the distance (I believe one of them is Ben Lawers) are more visible at this altitude.



This photo is taken from the top of Ben Vorlich (altitude 3230 feet). Loch Earn is about 330 feet above sea level. The heather in bloom is at the middle altitudes. It doesn't thrive on the upper slopes, probably due to the harsh winter environment. Down close to the loch, the heather can't compete with the trees and bracken. Note the shadows caused by the clouds.



This photo was taken near the top of Ben Our, looking northeast down across the valley of Glen Vorlich, from where the above photos were taken earlier in the day. The color contrasts of this picture, including the late afternoon shadows, appeal to me. I've used it as a computer screen desktop image.



Three days later, on 25 August 2005, I went back to Perthshire for some more heather photos. I came upon this spectacular color on a hillside near the road. It is at the top of the Sma' Glen.

This view is looking eastward from a small hill near the bridge.



The density of the color was greater than I've seen before or since, in such a large expanse.



When the puffy white clouds put the hillside in the shade, the color of the heather changed.



This view is looking westward from low on the hillside. The green leaves in the foreground, among the heather, is bracken.



This view is taken about five minutes later from a bit higher on the hillside. Note the sweep of the heather, the green pasture and the trees along the river leading into Glen Almond in the distance.



This view is from the same spot looking northwest. There are two sheep in the grass between clumps of heather, bracken and rocks. There are also swaths of heather on the hills in the distance.



This view looking down upon the heather below and into Glen Almond to the west was taken a bit higher on the hill. The road can be seen just beyond the trees along the river. The main road turns abruptly northward near the center of this picture and crosses the river on an old stone bridge.

The colors of nature can be impressive!



This photo was taken at the same spot, looking south down the Sma' Glen. The River Almond winds through the green fields, with the road along the right.



This photo is taken at nearly the same spot, showing the ridge to the southeast. The purple hue on even the steep slopes is heather.



This view is looking up the hill to the east.



This is another view looking downward toward the west, with the amazing mixture of colors. This view shows, on the right, a portion of the gravel farm track up Glen Almond.



This view is looking northwestward.



A view looking west, with heather in the foreground and Glen Almond in the distance.



A view looking uphill to the east, with two sheep keeping an eye on me.



A view looking north.



This view is looking south, with heather in the foreground and the ridge on the west side of the Sma' Glen in the distance.



Yet another view looking westward, from a bit higher on the hill. At that time there wasn't much sunshine.



Heather on a rocky hillside.



A similar setting without bright sunlight.



This view is looking northward



Yet another view looking westward, this one from much higher on the hill.

I hope you aren't getting bored with all of these heather pictures. I sure wasn't bored the day I took the photos. I felt mesmerized by the variety of colors.



This view is looking northwestward.



A view looking eastward, further up the hill.



There is heather in all directions. This view is to the northeast.



This is another view to the southeast.

That is the end of the photos taken at the top of Sma' Glen on 25 Aug. '05. Now I'll include some other heather photos taken elsewhere.



This view is looking northwestward from a lower slope of Culter Fell, in Lanarkshire. The River Clyde flows through the agricultural land in the distance.

By the way, in the photo album of lambs, the white-faced lamb pictures were taken in the green fields near the farm seen on the right of this photo.



This is the same field of heather, photographed from a bit lower on the hill. This and the previous picture were taken on 10 August 2006.



This view is looking up the north slope of Tinto Hill, in Lanarkshire. This and the next two photos were taken beside the main walking path seen on the right.



This photo was taken later in the afternoon from about the same spot. This view is to the southeast. When taking the picture, I was standing on the defensive inner wall of an ancient village. The defensive ditch and the outer wall are densely covered in heather today.



This view is from the center of the ancient village, with the inner wall 50 or 60 feet ahead and the lower slope of Tinto Hill in the distance.

It's the "bonnie purple heather" of Scottish song lyrics.



This heather was photographed beside a Lanarkshire burn.



This is the same burn, West Water, northwest of Dolphinton.

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