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Best UK photography locations (where you can still avoid the crowds)
May 25, 2021
With travel abroad still looking uncertain this year, top landscape pros compile a new bucket list of great locations in Britain that avoids the obvious honeypots and camera-wielding staycation crowds
Scotland
Eilean Bàn (White Island)
This six-acre island (situated between the Isle of Skye and mainland Scotland) is a haven for wildlife with otters, seals, cormorants, shags and herons regularly sighted from its shoreline.
Eilean Bàn is the former home of author Gavin Maxwell and, as such, there is a museum dedicated to him close to the water’s edge. The island supports one of the struts of Skye Bridge and has its own lighthouse, offering plenty of opportunities for wildlife, landscape and architecture images.
IN its 700-plus years it has seen Vikings, sieges, royalty, and assassinations – and now a 13th-century castle is about to embark on a new adventure. Mingary Castle, in Lochaber, is a Category A-listed building and, until 2013, had been in danger of collapse until the Mingary Castle Preservation and Restoration Trust stepped in. After extensive work, the castle was transformed from a crumbling ruin and reopened to the public in 2016. Now, a couple from Uist plan to reopen the castle after the pandemic with luxury dining and sumptuous suites after being approached by the estate’s owners. Award-winning chef Colin Nicholson, 32, and restaurant manager Jess Thompson, 24, are to reopen the medieval castle in May in their first business venture.
Twelve Triangles founders Rachel Morgan and Emily Cuddeford have hailed the reopening of their Easter Road food store after a devastating flood in January. Following a closure for just under four weeks, they are taking back the reigns at the Edinburgh food store offering a variety of baked goods, homemade takeaway dishes and fresh produce from trusted local suppliers. The dedicated hatch onto the street is open for coffees, soft serve ice cream and popular takeaway dishes including their signature pies, salads and focaccia sandwiches, made in-house. The firm said the doors are open, shelves lined and fridges full with fresh meats, charcuterie and cheeses from producers like Leith’s East Coast Cured, organic vegetables from East Lothian’s Phantassie Farm and honey from The Edinburgh Honey Company, as well as jams, pickles and ketchups made lovingly by the Twelve Triangles team.