Roadtrip 2011; Pennan

This Roadtrip was mostly about the North West and North coast of Scotland but i had to visit a classic East Coast fishing village...
On the North East coast is a small village called Pennan that in the early 1980s became very famous by a film by director Bill Forsyth for its scenes filmed here,
`Local hero` has become a bit of a icon in Scottish films, a black comedy about an American business man sent to a remote Scottish fishing village to buy the beach and foreshore to develop an Oil Refinery and offshore loading depot, Mac who is sent though falls in love with the Scottish scenery, the light and the people,
While the beach scenes were shot at Morar looking across to the Cullin Hills of Skye on the west coast the village scenes were here at Pennan...
















Director Bill Forsyth is a genius and along with `Gregory's Girl` and `Comfort and Joy` has helped put Scotland on the Movie map for its amazing light and scenery...










And star of the show is not an actor but the Scottish scenery and sky and a red phone box where after a whip round in the local pub Mac phones home to his employer with updates that change from business to the evening sky,
His boss, an astronomer and for who Mac is his `eyes and ears` hear`s Mac describing the sky and stars and the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) comes to see the sky for himself, but he wont get to buy the beach, even for the price of a hand full of sand...


Unfortunately the Village phone box was not used but another was placed nearer the Harbour to get the evening light behind, still its a great place to visit, hemmed in by cliffs and accessed by a narrow steep road it has changed little today from filming here in the 1980s...




















Here is a great wee film about Pennan and Local Hero, 25 years later...



And another made by Bill Forsyth after being awarded a lifetime achievement award,
His wit is legend...he also gives some film making tips on panning shots...
Despite the film crews thoughts at the end i think he could give Neil Oliver a run for his money...

Roadtrip 2011; Reiss Beachride

5am and feeling a bit sleepy being up all night but im parked in front of a 2 mile beach just North of the N.E Coastal Town of Wick, hard to resist going for a ride...


It is here that the WW2 `Coastal Crust` Defences start and can be followed all the way down to Northumberland in England and beyond,
Hundreds of thousands of tons of Concrete Anti Invasion blocks and small pyramids (called dragons teeth) in lines were built to slow the expected invading Tanks and landing vehicles...








There was a sea mist drifing in and out and glowed red in the sunrise, very scenic...






Out of the mist appeared raised rail tracks running into the Sea, a strange barge thing sat on the rails, it was an Oil pipeline being constructed, i would pass over the pipeline later driving south...






Steep dunes loomed out of the mist that rolled in...






Offshore is a large boiler from a wrecked ship, be good to see more of the ship at a low tide...


I often come across things folk make out of stuff washed up on the beach- beach art, and this is one of the coolist things i have seen made, a glove tree!...






End of the beach at Ackergill Tower...




Next years holiday will be exploring a lot more of the East Coast, including a lot more beaches and WW2 stuff like the old WW2 Coastal Command RAF station south of here at Tain...








And i will definitly be visiting here!...




Time to head south for home but one last place to visit on the way which has a very famous red phone box...