Kilgreggan , Gourlock and the Clyde Estuary , via a self portrait

There  are lots of windows and mirrors in the Airbnb. Reflections of a lamp in the bedroom caught my eye. So I had fun layering it in Image Blender and Prisma to create a self portrait 

Today we went over the estuary in a little ferry to Gourlock for coffee ( black Americano 6/10 , hot chocolate 2/10 ) the Victorian pier at Kilcraggen  attracted my attention so I played with my images of that too 

A mandala had to be added in the mix of course.

The train station at Gourlock is all new and shiny. 

They have an interesting exhibition of old photos and railway posters on a couple of walls that celebrate old paddle steamers and  Gourlock’s importance during WW2 as an international naval base. 

I only got one good photo because there was lots of reflections and shadows from the new architecture. This map  illustrates how it is possible to see Bute and Arran from the sitting room at Kilcraggen. Slightly different light from yesterday 

The light changing on the same view last night whilst I was sitting on the sofa 

 

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Kilcraggen

We decided to go away for a few days after Easter. Jon found an Airbnb with a ‘view’ over the Clyde Estuary, a couple of hours from Edinburgh.

Kilcraggen  flourished with the building of its pier in 1848 . The area was developed as part of   the industrial expansion of Glasgow, with  villas and castles built as summer residences for well to do business men who then commuted by ferry and train back into the smoke and the grime. ( West Rosneath peninsula heritage trail A.Bray ) 

When we arrived yesterday it was a beautiful sunny day, warm enough to sit outside near the pier  and eat ice cream. 

The Airbnb is set back from the estuary on a road that runs parallel to the waters edge. The house is built on a steep rise with panoramic views. The changing light was so beautiful we decided not to close the curtains that evening

The house is owned by an artist. The walls are covered in paintings. The rooms are filled with plants and an eclectic range of objects. It felt as if the sun was streaming in from 3 sides.  I became visually overloaded so I laid down on a sofa. 

Jon had opened the windows so I listened to a variety of bird song as the sun warmed my feet.  I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain indoors and had that happen. It’s four years since we moved to Scotland in July. Jon and I decided that it must have been at one of our family homes, because the sofas had not been in the correct position in Abingdon. 

The flat in Edinburgh is a lower ground and basement as I am sure that I have written somewhere before. The light streams into the flat between March and October , but it can be a long dark weight during the winter. 

I wrote and drew in the visitors book because there is equipment provided. 

‘The sun is shining so strongly I am not used to it flooding a into a room from lots of angles. I am in love with the view from the sofa looking across to Bute and Arran. Jon is sitting in the garden which is unheard of in April in Edinburgh , marking some papers. I have become unused to the tranquility and birdsong. I love my flat,  but the day is constantly  punctuated by the sound of buses and cars driving past the window. The ceilings creak 

with visitors to the CAB but it’s quiet at night and the weekends. Here it is so still’ 

This morning I walked around the gareden collecting photos of spring flowers and I could hear the waves on the shore. 

Now,  Jon has lit a fire and the room smells softly of wood smoke.