Loch Torridon Sunrise

Beinn Alligin and Liathach on a Torridon Winter Sunrise

The mountains of Torridon epitomise everything that I love about the Scottish Highlands. The landscape has a grandeur that is unrivalled anywhere else in the country; the tall monolithic mountains of Beinn Alligin, Liathach and Beinn Eighe rise up evocatively out of a rich tapestry of moorland and loch forming secretive glens and magnificent corrie headwalls.

On this, the morning of the winter solstice, in Glen Torridon I entered a winter wonderland. A modest but complete covering of snow down to 300 metres had frozen hard and the temperature was down to -9C. Of the many opportunities available to me, I chose to capture a shot of Beinn Alligin, Beinn Dearg and Liathach across Loch Torridon. It was not until 0915 that the first warm rays of the rising sun finally stuck the highest summits of Liathach and then Beinn Alligin. And then, over a 20 minute period as the light developed, the snows covering these two magnificent mountains turned a deep and rich pink in a spectacular and magical display which makes these special moments so memorable.