Yorkshire Dales Series

This is the shoreline at the renowned Luskentyre Beach on the west side of the Isle of Harris. The beach is comprised predominantly of white shell sand, and the erosion of the darker adjacent rocks washes the fine granules down onto the light beach surface and produces various textures and patterns on the surface.

This is the shore at the renowned Luskentyre Beach on the west side of the Isle of Harris. The beach is comprised predominantly of white shell sand with an azure sea that gently laps against the sand - almost tropical! Although the beach now gets busy with visitors, it is quite long and still possesses a sense of loneliness and isolation.

This is the renowned beach at Luskentyre on the west side of the Isle of Harris. The beach is comprised predominantly of white shell sand and is a gently shelving foreshore. The waves ebb and flow gently as the tides advance and recede.

This is the renowned beach at Luskentyre on the west side of the Isle of Harris. The beach is comprised predominantly of white shell sand, and the erosion of the darker adjacent rocks washes the fine granules down onto the light beach surface and produces various textures and patterns on the surface.

This is the main entrance door on an abandoned, traditional crofters cottage on the Island of South Uist. There are numerous abandoned houses scattered around the Outer Hebrides. On my last visit, it did appear that many were being resurrected and brought back into use which is good to see. This one was largely intact, but in an exposed location, with the weather creating distinctive textures and patterns on the external surfaces.

This abstract image was taken of the foreshore adjacent to an abandoned croft building close to the village of Lochboisdale on South Uist. Lochboisdale is one of the larger towns on North Uist and is a terminal for ferries to Castlebay and Oban.

The rocky beaches at Polochar on the South Western side of the Hebridean island of South Uist have some fascinating banding in them. It is a highly distinctive foreshore and highly contrasting too with a monochrome foreshore set against an azure sea and blue sky. The washed-up seaweed adds a touch of warmth to the image.

An abstract shot from the Island of Barra, looking northeast towards Fuday and Eriskay, with a heavy rainstorm hammering a ferry over the Sound of Barra during the start of Autumn.

I stopped the car near the delightful hidden bay at Crannag on the Island of Barra. The light was exceptional, and an ominous squall had developed over the Sound of Barra in the distance. The sunlight was hitting some seaweed covered rocks on the white sand foreshore and the only sounds were the gentle lapping of the water on the pristine beach and the wind.

One of the very few houses on the small island of Vatersay and overlooking the isolated, but alluring Chornaig Bay.

Vatersay is a small island at the southern tip of the Outer Hebrides and is the largest of a small archipelago stretching south of Barra. It is accessible via a causeway from neighbouring Barra. There are very few houses, but a great deal of sand. This is the beach known as Tràigh Siar, or West Beach in English – which is a very accurate description of where it is. It looks directly out to the North Atlantic and is very remote and empty.

This is the remote, yet accessible beach at Mangersta (Tráigh Mhangurstadh) on the northwest side of the Isle of Lewis. Like many beaches in the Outer Hebrides, it is comprised predominantly of white shell sand, and the erosion of the darker adjacent rocks washes the fine granules down onto the light beach surface and produces various textures and patterns on the surface.

The rocky beaches at Polachar on the South Western side of the Hebridean island of South Uist have some fascinating banding in them. It is a highly distinctive foreshore and highly contrasting too with a monochrome foreshore set against an azure sea and blue sky. The washed-up seaweed adds a touch of warmth to the image. The pub sits to the back of the beach.

I was watching the sea swelling around the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis which is the northernmost point of the Isle of Lewis and noticed the fascinating rock pattens in the sea cliffs.

Many of the beaches on the Outer Hebrides are stunning in their colour contrasts and isolation. Several would not look out of place in the Caribean, although the weather is a bit different. This was taken whilst strolling on the southern end of the remote, large beach at Mhangurstadh. Large dark rocks push through the almost white fine sands to give a surreal, almost alien image.

A picture of the dunes and foreshore at Luskentyre. The dunes border the Machair, which is a Gaelic name for the low lying grassy areas and flowers on the west side of the Outer Hebrides. They are a rare type of protected habitat Machair is formed from lime-rich shell sand washed up thousands of years ago by the sea, and eroded from dunes by powerful winds, spreading the sand well inland. Light cattle-grazing, hay cutting and low-intensity rotational crop farming have shaped the landscape over millennia.

Adjacent to the beach at Luskentyre on the west side of the Isle of Harris is the smaller Rosamol Beach. Like its more well-known neighbour, the beach is comprised predominantly of white shell sand, and the erosion of the darker adjacent rocks washes the fine granules down onto the light beach surface and produces various textures and patterns on the surface.