The Spirit of Water
The Spirit of Water is a follow up project to The Shape of Water, part of my continuing personal exploration of Scotland through its rivers and waterfalls.
I’ve always been fascinated by water, and Scotland is a land very much shaped by water. Carved by glacial erosion during the ice age and filled with mysterious lochs that have given rise to legends that persist to this day, the constant rainfall that permeates the western coast gives life to both the fast and furious steeply flowing burns that descend from the mountains and countless glens filled with abundant biodiversity. Navigating parts of the country often involves the need for ferries, or following long circuitous routes around lochs where the road kisses the water’s edge for miles at a time.
Some of these places are well known and documented, some have been sought out, trails hidden behind gaps in fences with decaying signposts, or through a faithful following of the sounds of water cascading through fertile summer foliage with no marked paths. Some I have stumbled upon tucked away by the side of a road, and one I am lucky enough to live within walking distance of, to watch how it changes with the turning of the seasons.
Top row, left to right: Falls of Falloch, Grey Mare’s Tail, Inversnaid Falls, Loup of Fintry.
Bottom row, left to right: Inversnaid Falls, Glenashdale Falls, Corrishalloch Gorge, Puck’s Glen.