Criffel at dawn on an October morning. There are various suggestions for the origin of Criffel's name,
the main ones being: split, or craggy, or raven, or crow, followed by fell This Picture Posting page is a little misleading as its subject, Criffel, is in what was traditionally considered to be Kirkcudbrightshire, the excuse is that all the photographs, on this page, were taken from within Dumfriesshire. The page also differs from others in that the photos were taken from just one point: my front door at Kenneth Bank. They have been gathered over a two year period, and all were taken facing somewhere between south and west of
the house.
Looking towards the lefthand side of the top view on a late November morning
Criffel at dawn on a September morning
Criffel is some 1,880 feet (570 metres) high, but stands quite separate from any other, even modest, rise in the ground and so is visible from far away in all directions. Between the photographer and the hill lies the Nith estuary, at this point it is about a mile across. It is tidal, and fully so; thus twice a day the space in front of the house fills and empties, offering constantly changing patterns which underline the atmospheric displays put on by the hill and the clouds the hill attracts.
And here, the hill and its reflection, caught on a calm April morning
This is the small brother of Criffel, Knockendoch, that sits between it and the village of New Abbey. The waste disposal tanks catch attention
Often the clouds cling to the land like clothes, and on other occasions they arrive as individuals in themselves, and then, like this one, will rise and pass above the hill
Other 'fair weather' clouds fail to rise and accumulate...
...leaving patches of brightness and shafts of light
There is still light coming through the clouds in this photo; just missing the flocks
of gulls or geese on the low tide mud flats
Here, the thicker cloud allows only the fields to be lit
Sometimes soft mists come
...While other seem to herald it
Other times heavy clouds do not threaten rain...
And it does sometimes rain
Cold mists in winter are usually dispersed by noon
But colder air can also result in light snow -
even here down by the sea
Once the cloud lifts, a light sprinkling
may be seen on the hill
Usually the coming sun quickly rubs out the white, here enough is left to enhance the scene
Broken cloud and rain means rainbows. Above, a long lens through one...
...and the same rainbow from a distance
The secondary rainbow here ends in two pots of something less desirable than gold!
Towards evening clouds frequently disperse...
...the water is calm, and the sunset glow is reflected
In the winter the sun sets behind Criffel. On a clear evening this is our view
As the sun withdraws ...
... the world is left to darkness and ...
... the moon takes over ...
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting page is to show you something of the birds and views from Kenneth Bank
The next page
of the Ruminations Section is to be headed 'Rubbish'.
Or go to the contents of the Ruminations Section.
The last page's photos came from this same area of Caerlaverock
Go to a page of photos with more water and reflections in north-west Scotland
To rather more spectacular clouds around a mountain - Phăng Xi Păng in northern Vietnam
...guide to this site