m̌ ḫ's photos with the keyword: Scotland

We liked the gardes very much, and appreciated we could see also such sculpture masterpieces. Two bronze sculptures by the sculptor Barbara Hepworth can be found set within the grounds of the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. The bronze sculptures include this 2,43m tall Rock Form (Porthcurno) made in 1964 and another 1.9m tall Form (Gloria) made in 1958. In typical Hepworth style, these are abstract works in natural shape forms. The bronzes had been on permanent loan to the gardens from the artist’s estate and displayed there since 1976, shortly after the death of Hepworth at age 72. Inverleith House, the gallery situated inside the Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh, was originally the home of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art from 1960- 1984. Hepworth’s two sculptures were officially acquired by the National Galleries of Scotland in 2013 and remain in the gardens permanently. Photo by Libusa

Did you know that Loch Ness contains more water than all the lakes of England and Wales combined, making it the most voluminous lake in the UK? This corner of the Highlands is world-famous for its dramatic scenery, great adventure sports and nearby castles and solitary lighthouses dotting the landscape. Loch Ness is one of those rare destinations that engages everyone, from children enchanted with Nessie, to adults interested in photography, hiking and more. It combines Jacobite history, stunning scenery and the possibility of a monster sighting... www.visitscotland.com/destinations-maps/loch-ness

The Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands are not especially tall, topping out at about 1,300 meters. But their modest heights boast a fierce reputation: Scotland is one of the top destinations in the world for winter climbing on mixed rock and ice terrain, and the region has produced some of the boldest, strongest and technically proficient mountaineers in history, including Hamish MacInnes of Glencoe, who invented the first metal ice axe, and Dave MacLeod, who established some of the most technically challenging climbing routes in Scotland. Formed from a granite pluton, the Cairngorms sit atop a glacially carved plateau that has long presented a barrier to travel through the region. To this day, the Cairngorms are bisected by a network of ancient footpaths, but no roads. One of the most famous and dramatic routes through the Cairngorms runs through the Lairig Ghru, a deep, narrow, 43-kilometer-long glacially carved canyon that has served as a major trade and migration route from Aviemore to Braemar for hundreds or perhaps thousands of years. Exploring the Cairngorms on foot is not for the faint-hearted or tender-footed. The year-round arctic-like weather is dangerously unpredictable and the terrain is intensely rugged. But in spite of the dangers — or perhaps because of them — the Cairngorms have inspired mountain men and women to climb their glacially sculpted granitic slopes since at least the 16th century, when the first ascents of major peaks were recorded. You don’t have to be a world-class mountaineer to experience the Cairngorms, however. The region is preserved within the bounds of Cairngorms National Park — the largest park in the British Isles — which maintains hundreds of kilometers of hiking paths suitable for all skill levels. The park also offers skiing, mountain and road biking, horseback riding, fishing and golfing. Scotland isn’t a big place, but it boasts some of the most diverse and inspiring geology found anywhere in the world. A dramatically scenic, globe-trotting landmass known for being the birthplace of geology and mountaineering, Scotland should be at the top of every geo-traveler’s list. www.earthmagazine.org/article/travels-geology-inspiring-globe-trotting-rocks-scotland

The Cairngorms National Park is hugely diverse; it is a living, working landscape from the wild high mountains, to the heather moorlands and peatlands, to the magnificent forests, the farms and crofts, and the wetlands and rivers which wind through the flood plains. The Caledonian Forest takes its name from the Romans who called Scotland ‘Caledonia’ meaning wooded heights and covered much of the Highlands and what we know as the Cairngorms National Park today. The Scots pine we see now are directly descended from these first pines, that arrived in Scotland following the Late Glacial period around 7,000 BCE and formed the westernmost outpost of the Boreal Forest in Europe. It is estimated to have reached a maximum coverage of 1.5 million hectares around 5,000 BCE. Then as the climate became wetter and windier the forest reduced significantly by 2,000 BCE and from this time onwards human intervention reduced the forest to its current extent. Today the Caledonian Forest exists in 35 remnants across the Highlands of Scotland, the only climatic region in the UK suitable to support it. These last remaining forests have had to adapt to the Scottish environment and as such are globally unique in their ecological characteristics and forms an unbroken 9,000 year chain of natural evolution. Many species have flourished in the Caledonian Forest over the thousands of years. Prior to forest clearances in Neolithic times, you would have found beavers, wild boar, lynx, brown bears, grey wolves, elk and wild horses. These species are unfortunately extinct in the forests today, but are still home to some of the rarest wildlife in the UK; the mountain hare, pine marten, red deer, red fox, red squirrel, roe deer, Scottish wildcat, the capercaillie, crested tit and Scottish crossbill. cairngorms.co.uk/discover-explore/landscapes-scenery/woodlands-forests

Papaver rhoeas - Vlčí mak - la amapola silvestre - ヒナゲシ - Silkkiunikko

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross. These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.