Isle of Whithorn.
21st March 2010
Following a few days working in Edinburgh, I took a side trip on my way home into Dumfries and Galloway, a region I had never had occasion to visit before.
Mainly taking a chance to scout for new locations around the coast it was also an opportunity to relax and get a bit of fresh air after a long busy Winter.
I really didn’t know much about the area so the Isle of Whithorn, with it’s East facing shore near Burrow Head, seemed like as good a spot as any to try for a dawn shot. I had quite forgotten that this is seen by many as a place of pilgrimage due to it’s links to St. Ninian, Scotland’s first saint. Most pilgrims make their way to this 12th-14th Century chapel building near the shore but from the spot I had intended to shoot the sunrise I could see a strange radiance in the pale pre-dawn light that almost seemed like a ghostly halo around this holy site. Of course, a less romantic soul would soon recognise the glow of a sodium light in the harbour as the source of this aura, but that didn’t stop it being an interesting shot across the gently rising waters. |
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The true light of dawn was a misty pink as the sun crept up over England on the far horizon. As I returned to my van, over land that I had first crossed in the dark, I came upon an extraordinary sight. |
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In the remains of an old Lifeboat station near to the chapel is a huge cairn of stones, many of them bearing heartfelt messages, often remembering a loved one now departed. For me, far more than the building in the background, here was a real monument to the spirit of humanity. I do not care what faith or creed anyone professes, I think that anyone reading those simple inscriptions, hand written on pebbles and obviously carried from far and wide, could not help but be deeply moved. |
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