Scottish Adventure: The First Few Days (aka: Hares, Kelpies & Dad‑Speed Wildlife Watching)

I always plan to leave work on time. I also always don’t. So naturally, my Scottish adventure began with me finishing later than planned and starting the drive north later than planned. Normally I do the full 7–8 hour slog straight to my dad’s in Inverness, but this time I decided to be sensible and break it up with a layover in Falkirk. Spoiler: best decision ever.I checked into my hotel, opened my messages, and immediately got a text from my dad:

“Have you seen the Kelpies yet?”

My reply?

“Nope, I’ve been watching hares boxing.”

…with a photo of my laptop.

 

I hadn’t planned this at all, but right next to my hotel were actual farm fields. Actual wildlife. Actual hares.

I checked in, ate my tuna salad (because who else hates food waste?), grabbed my camera and headed straight out.I was greeted by a sea of sparrows, honestly, they were everywhere, and in the distance I heard a call I recognised:

“a little bit of bread with no cheeeeese.” Yellowhammers! Could I see them?

Nope.

Maybe a barn owl drifting across the fields?

Also nope.

A beautifully perched buzzard?

Still nope.

But I did get treated to gorgeous hares boxing in the sunset and a whole gang of rooks. I’ve never been able to get close to rooks before, so seeing them up close was a treat. And who knew their throats were frog‑like? They inflate like little grey balloons when they shout, the same colour as their beaks too. Nature is weird and wonderful.The next morning I planned to wake early to finish the drive.

News flash: my laptop decided to take 400 years to do anything, so I was awake until 1am.

 

I did not get up early. I checked out around 9ish, refuelled, and headed to the Kelpies

WOW.

They were absolutely stunning — huge, elegant, and surrounded by beautiful parks, grassland and water. I should have planned this better because now I want to stay longer. Oops.

Anyway, quick photo session done, back on the road.

Ah yes, the A9.

I think I have a love/hate relationship with the A9. Mostly hate. But also love. But mostly hate.

Three-ish hours later, I finally arrived at my dad’s. Time to chill and take a little walk around his local reserve before dinner. It’s a quiet woodland with a gorgeous loch, one covered hide over the water, and a lovely feeding station with a viewing screen.Dad pointed at the screen and said, “There are red squirrels in there.”

I walked up, opened the hatch quietly, and the benches were full of life — chaffinches, siskins, robins, tits galore… and then one gorgeous red squirrel made his way down.

I adore red squirrels. They’re so hard to find in Liverpool now, Formby used to be full of them, but unless you know someone with them in their garden, you’re out of luck.I’d been there about three minutes when I heard my dad behind me:

“Come on now love, time to go.”

Most of you reading this are probably thinking:

“NOOOO, what the heck, you’ve only been there two minutes!”

And you’re right — it is mental to walk away without any proper photos.

But I know my dad.

I knew this would happen.

When I go on a nature walk, I’m there for hours, sometimes longer than a full day’s work.

My dad? Not so much.

And that’s fine.I’ve planned 4–5 full days of wildlife photography after this, so don’t worry, there WILL be red squirrel photos, and there will be time for me to sit, watch, and be patient.

Today I head to Handa Island, not a place I hear wildlife photographers talk about much, so I’m really excited to see what I can find there.

 

The Scottish adventure continues…