Herb Riddle's photos

Despite the original tree having long since died here, a younger sapling has taken root on this rocky clump of earth that used to be the root system and made a good re-start to life. - This taken at the higher end of Glen Lui.

As this impressive river tumbles down to the Dee, we can only imagine this scene when it is full of snow and thick ice as it must be every Winter in this higher Scottish Highland scene. For us, a walk reminiscent of some of the Canadian Rockies valleys. This is actually the top of the falls in my PiP here. Best full screen.

The mighty Scottish River Dee is shoehorned into a narrow rocky chasm as it tumbles under this fine road bridge. The Linn O' Dee gives unrivalled access to some fine examples of classic features of the Highland landscape: remnants of the ancient Caledonian pine forest abound here. The beautiful Glenn Lui and its river finishes just a short distance below this spot too and other paths climb higher into the heather moorland and parts of the high Cairngorm plateau. The bridge is the highest crossing point of the Dee and, thanks to its relative proximity to Balmoral, it enjoyed the honour of being opened by Queen Victoria in 1857.

This wonderful river Dee tributary flows through 'Glen Lui' to the 'Linn of Dee' near Braemar. Here we see on the left side a Salmon Ladder enabling the Salmon to get up to their spawning grounds just some distance further up from here. Enjoy Full Screen

Sometimes we are so intent on seeing a whole scene that we miss important ingredients. Here at Braemar’s 'Duck Pond' I was so intent on photographing the nearby heron that I almost missed this Deer. It stood there for some time just keeping a wary eye on it's surroundings as a dog had jumped into the water at the other far end. Of course, a fence always adds now to the attraction too. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb

A composite selection of my images, covering about 45 minutes, starting from left to right as the moon rose here in the North West of England at 22.30, before cloud obscured the complete full moon shortly afterwards. Not quite as good as Steve Paxton's Eclipse

The gorge itself runs deep below the line of trees here in the valley. The Colonels Bed comes from an old story that a colonel murdered the husband of his lady-love, then took to flight, hiding deep in this gorge (see PiP), inside a cave next to the river. His lover brought food to him there for some time before he was discovered and met his fate. This is about 3 miles NE of Braemar. See Pip

Near the Colonels Bed Gorge. Our picnic spot with the small bridge just behind us here. This is Glen Ey which is between Braemar and the 'Linn of Dee'.

Taken on the coast near Montrose in NE Scotland. The sea was just a few metres from my back here. The yellow for me stands out against the black sky back-drop, a clear indicator of bad weather to come but it never really did on this day. The central part of this photo recently came sixth in our CWP competitions. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb Best full screen.

A view of the wonderful River Dee at the confluence of the River Cluenie on the right. In the background we can see Braemar castle.

Another walk on the outskirts of Braemar in Scotland brings us to its duckpond. As it borders on wild countryside many wild animals and birds frequent it. This heron flew away moments later after swallowing its caught fish. Enjoy full screen.

As we encroach into mid summer here in Oldham, one can delight in the many flowers that are now blooming. Here we see a sample of truly wild flowers including poppies, clovers and cornflower. Wild as they are, they are actually in a recently created house garden and demonstrates the drive in this country to provide more flowers of this type to save our dwindling bee population. See Pip

A panoramic shot taken at a full moon night at Crathie in Scotland. Centre stage here is the majestic LochNagar Munro. One can just see the Milky Way making a bow starting from the edge of the central big trees here, dropping down again to the bottom left of my capture. - A demonstration too of the high latitude of this Scottish village at 57° with its bright May evenings, but thankfully no light pollution. For the technical minded, this is a double row of nine photos in portrait mode. 11mm @ 10sec/f4 iso1600 stitched with PTGui. My thanks again to Steve Paxton for his invaluable help here.

We have a choice of fences here on this small river that joins the mighty River Dee only metres from here. As a backdrop we have the famous Braemar Castle. In case you are wondering why a fence should be laid across a river, its possible purpose is to catch floating debris but more likely to foil deer from swimming into the next area. I wish you all, a great weekend, Herb ps - a full screen special.

Looking SE towards the mountain of Lochnagar. this demonstrates that clear blue skies are not always necessary for landscape photos. Beyond the foreground trees is the River Dee and Balmoral Castle. Enjoy full screen. pip

A grand walk through the Invercauld Estate on these crags gives ample rewards. We are looking west towards Braemar around the far valley corner on the left and the invisible majestic Invercauld House below, and so for us viewers stood here, just beautiful landscapes I am afraid. Enjoy large More info

Besides having some wonderful walks, the village of Braemar has a fine golf course, not that I had a chance to play. The river is the beautiful Clunie Water and we are taking the Queen Drive walk from here. "Braemar Golf Club is the highest 18 hole course in Scotland at around 1,205 feet above sea level and sits in the heart of the Cairngorms national park The greens are among the finest in the area and the course is very popular with holiday makers and golfing societies. The course is relatively short, measuring 4,935 yards off the medal tees, but will test golfers of any standard."

A walk in the hills around Braemar in Scotland would not be complete without this little gem of a stroll. Passing meadows, streams, moor and mountains, here is an example of its ways. Enjoy. More Info