100 Weeks of Scotland: Arran | Perth

As the ferry swayed alarmingly out of Ardrossan harbour, and the rain fell in sheets from a sky the colour of misery I began to wonder if I had chosen the wrong time to be visiting an island off the west coast of Scotland.

Picture: Alan McCreadie

Arran is a stunningly beautiful place. Today however it is barely visible, and as the boat approaches the main town of Brodick, the vague landmass I had seen from a few miles offshore reveals itself on closer inspection to be nothing more than a smudge; a vague watery line between grey seas and greyer skies.

This was not Arran at it’s best. The rain was unrelenting for two days and having no car, and being completely unwilling to cycle in the biblical downpour, I never left Brodick. So my theme quickly became Scotland in the Rain, one that surprisingly has not featured before.

The rain fell and I ventured out, and the rain fell and I sloshed my way back in. This was the essentially the pattern for my entire stay and by the end, as I trudged up the gangway to head back to the mainland, I was ready to go home. Looking out from the stern of the ferry the island resembled a bad watercolour that had been left out in the rain.

The images from Arran are bleak and grey which was not really what I wanted to show. It is a lovely place and when the sun shines it can take your breath away. I had however existed in a rain cloud for all the time I was there and the few photos I managed to wrench from the mist reflect this.

St Johnstone

To warmer weather and (slightly) bluer skies and I of course had to show the St Johnstone victory parade through Perth after winning the Scottish Cup, their first major trophy in the 130 year history of the football club. Being from Perth myself this obviously meant a lot – despite discovering that winning is a lot more stressful than losing. If St Johnstone were to become a highly successful team (yes, unlikely) I would be surely headed for an early grave.

• Alan McCredie began the ‘100 weeks of Scotland’ website in October last year, and it will conclude in Autumn 2014. McCredie’s goal is to chronicle two years of Scottish life in the run-up to the independence referendum.

Alan says ‘one hundred weeks...’ is intended to show all sides of the country over the next two years. On the site, he says: “Whatever the result of the vote Scotland will be a different country afterward. These images will show a snapshot of the country in the run up to the referendum.

“The photos will be of all aspects of Scottish culture - politics, art, social issues, sport and anything else that catches the eye.”

Follow the project at www.100weeksofscotland.com. You can also follow Alan on Twitter @alanmccredie.