Garvault House – “Mainland Britain’s Most Remote Hotel” – considering that my day started at 2 a.m. (!) driving from Ehrendingen (near Zurich) to Basel Mulhouse EuroAirport – from there flying to Edinburgh, where I picked up my rental car after my arrival – it was still before 6 a.m., even before breakfast time (!) – then starting to the long drive from Edinburgh to the North, passing Inverness following the A9 road (Scotland), then following the North Eastern coast of Ross-shire and Sutherland, and finally the slowing down on the almost endless and narrow roads (A897 and B871) across the remote backcountry of the Scottish Highlands – well – considering this never ending journey – the Garvault House certainly is “Mainland Britain’s Most Remote Hotel”. Not only Britain’s … in my opinion 😉
My favourite GPS app Here WeGo on my smartphone guided me directly through the lonely countryside to the hotel without any problems – but it took me several hours to get there, and it was quite late when I finally arrived – because I had to stop countless times along the narrow road at the passing places, not because there would have been a lot of traffic – in fact there was nobody on the road but me! – rather because I had to stop every 200 yards to take myriads 😉 of photographs of the calm and peaceful scenery – I couldn’t resist pressing the button again and again, it was so beautiful!
Please refer to some of those photographs in my blog post ‘looking for the wulver’.
What a Dream.
I was nearly flashed when I finally arrived at Garvault House.
Garvault House
– a beautiful hotel in the middle of nowhere.
I spent two splendiferous days at Garvault House with Adrian and Eva, the owners and hosts of the the old Scottish farmhouse. They renovated Garvault House with an endless attention to details and thereby carefully preserved its beautiful old Scottish style – I really like this gentle and sustainable way of modernization!
Living at Garvault House feels like being home and being a very welcome guest. The evening Eva and Adrian as well as the entire team of Garvault House and all their guests were sitting at the large table in the dining room, having dinner – by the way it was delicious! After dinner we spent the rest of the evening talking about Scotland; I loved those inspiring conversations, sometimes philosophical , sometimes political – but always humorous and amusing – British (or was it Scottish?) style! However, Eva and Adrian and all the Garvault House team are very well sophisticated and the perfect hosts!
Well, to keep it short – spending some nights at Garvault House is highly recommended, for sure. I would miss it, if I hadn’t been there. And by the way, I am not sponsored or paid by Garvault House for my opinion in any way.
After my arrival at Garvault House and the warm welcome by Adrian and Eva I could choose between two of their small rooms, one to the North and the other to the South – have a guess which one I chose! Yes you’re right – of course I went with the room to the South!
Every evening after dinner I spent a few very quiet minutes all alone at my window before going to sleep, enjoying the stunning view to the calm and nearly untouched backcountry and the ever-changing clouds. There were moments I could see the moon in the clear sky. What, if my beloved family at home was doing the same right now? I love my family!
Time stands still – and it’s time to stand still, switch off your Phone.
During my stay at Garvault House time was standing still – the magnificent scenery and the untouched nature were slowing me down. All day long I was exploring the remote backcountry. There were so many things to explore! I loved those silent and intesive days in complete solitude – and after a while I switched off my smartphone – this is what I call ‘Digital Detox’ 😉
Digital Detox
It took me a couple of hours photographing the location of Garvault House, the hotel and it’s old barns from all different angles.
As always I chased the smooth light mostly in the early morning and the early evening hours, so I was up and running and out even before breakfast to catch the flat and warm early morning light.
Fortunately – was it because of the ‘Wulver‘? – I was lucky to spot numerous deers and a few herds of deers in the Scottish Highlands – the largest herd was at the mountainside of the nearby hills of Garvault House – 55 to 60 deers in one herd slowly passed by in a distance of about 300 yards – they were too far away for me to take a good picture – remember I have a RICOH GR II with a fixed focus lens of 18.3 mm (APS-C format) focal length – this corresponds to 28 mm in Fullframe format – this is only a small wide angle lens. Unfortunately too far away for the deers. Never mind – I took my glasses – I will never forget this herd.
The Weather
During all my time in the Northwest Highlands the weather was constantly changing, sometimes within few minutes; and as always, if you ask a local about the weather forcast for the day, he is going to answer: ‘Could you please ask me again in five minutes?’
The ever-changing weather and light were real photographic challenges. The brightest sunlight combined with some fast moving clouds, some heavy precipitations, dark clouds and strong winds resulted in harsh contrasts and gave me the chance to take very interesting backlight images. I knew I had to control the strong contrasts, the bright whites and dark shadows afterwards in post processing. It’s amazing to see how good my camera’s sensor handled those contrasts – I really appreciate its huge dynamic range. Perfect.
Slowly drifting over a grassy meadow to the small water and the footbridge down there was a pleasure. There were tons of tones and millions of greys – and sometimes I spent several hours at the same location, standing there, exploring, dreaming, composing, lying down and struggling for the perfect perspective – why should I hurry?
On the small footbridge I tried to catch the monochromatic look of the scenery – but then could not decide between color and black and white – finally I went with color. The image is strictly monochromatic, i.e. there is only one color (green, and neutral grey of course). I love those moody pastel shades. Which one looks better for you? The green or the black & white? Both of them are monochromes …
Mystic Lochs with Creepy Monsters
After several hours photographing a small Loch near the B871 I was sure there are creepy monsters in the Loch, or at least one – see in the middle of the images. Isn’t it the small brother of the ‘Nessie’? In every loch there is a ‘Nessie’ 😉 I am sure.
Landscapes and Roads
Forests and Woodlands
The same photograph with different frame color. Which do you like most?
Final Tip
If you plan to visit Scotland do not stick to the NC500 – the famous North Coast 500 route all around the North of Scotland. Please do not unterstand me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the NC500, but you won’t find true solitude on the NC500. If you want to ‘digital detox’ leave the main road behind and start exploring the backcountry, it is well worth. For me this is the place I belong.
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Images: Ricoh GR II, GR Lens f=18.3 mm 1:2.8. .DNG RAW format. Edited in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.
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I love to read it! Immer wieder! Es ist so toll, ich kann mich richtig in die Gegend hinein träumen, herrlich! Ich sehe fast die 60 Hirsche im Hintergrund deines Bildes.
Die farbigen Monochrom Bilder sind eher mein Ding, ausser beim See. Hier ist das s/w mein Favorit. Das Bild vom Garvault House und das vom Blechdach: der Hammer! Und auch die Landschaftsbilder von Mystic Lochs, Landscapes und Woodlands, traumhaft! Ich freue mich, wenn das mittlere Grüne Passepartout Bild bei uns steht! 😉
Danke. Das würde dann heissen, jetzt wird geprintet 😉
Very nice pictures ♡
I think the prettiest picture is that with the lightest green frame ♡
Thank you Cécile, I am glad you like them! Thank you for your comment!
Very good blog!
I like it, it’s so silent.
I can’t say which picture i like more, the black & white or the green. Both are beautiful!
I’m happy because i unterstand a lot.
I’m looking forward to our trip.
Your blog is very interesting.
Thank you Olivia, I am happy you like my blog! Imagine, next year we are travelling to Scotland all together.