100 Weeks of Scotland: the South

Here, in week 21, he looks at the rough scenic beauty of the south of Scotland:

THE Mull of Galloway, the most southerly point on the Scottish mainland.

My previous trips to the most northerly and most westerly points on the mainland had taken place in beautiful winter weather. Ironically the most

southerly point on the Scottish mainland was shrouded in mist, and lashed with freezing needles of rain on the day I visited. Photography-wise this was not a problem as extremes of weather often contribute to a strong image. It was me who suffered, picking my way down a treacherous coastal trail to the foghorn, which lies just above the most southerly point.

The first image is taken from high up near the lighthouse and shows the foghorn, surrounded by heavy seas. A slow descent then followed before

image two which was taken from the foghorn looking down to what, as far as I can tell, is exactly the southernmost point.

Image three is my favourite shot of the day – the weather had cleared and brightened a little and I had scrambled back to the top of the cliffs. On the seaward side of the lighthouse is a walled garden that falls away toward the cliffs and this is the gate that leads into it. The gate points roughly SSW and if my calculations are correct if you were to walk through this gate and carry on in a straight line you would not make landfall again until you reached the Antarctic Peninsula, 650 miles south of the tip of South America. I didn’t fancy the swim.

Just North of the Mull of Galloway Lighthouse is the town of Drummore, which boasts the most southerly shop in Scotland (and just outside Drummore at New England Bay is possibly the country’s most southerly public toilet block - perfect in its symmetry and utilitarianism.

Finally, just before I left to head north, and home once more, the beach at New England Bay. This was shot with a long exposure to give it a nice

dreamlike quality.

Alan McCredie began the ‘one hundred 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.

McCredie 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.”

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

• All pictures (c) Alan McCredie/ 100 weeks of Scotland