The River Tay and Loch Tay - May 2012

Ben Lawers from Loch Tay 20/05/12. Weather warming up after our chilly first week in Perthshire; but still a cold wind off the loch as I was sketching; the mountain top still covered in snow. My Munros Man was climbing this mountain, looking down along the loch as I sketched, requiring an ice axe for the snowy part.

Trees above the River Tay below Kenmore - walking along north side to Aberfeldy

Tree by the River Tay above Aberfeldy, 20/05/12

Strong currents on the River Tay above Aberfeldy, 20/05/12

General Wade's Bridge, Aberfeldy. Black Watch monument nearby (to left of view). Single lane across the bridge, traffic lights either side. The day this photo was taken (14th May), my Munros Man had to chase some oafish ducks out of the road when they decided to stop in front of a car waiting to cross the bridge.

The rapids and slalom course, Grandtully ("Grantlee") below Aberfeldy, 25/05/12. The  River Tay is particularly rough here, with a visible increase in gradient compared to further upstream at Aberfeldy. This was taken on 25th May, at the end of our stay in Perthshire. Too hot too linger long in the sun. The white was more impressive during our first week, when there was more water in the river. The white water in this photo was running between a particularly narrow part of the channel, a large rock jutting out into it on the south side.

The cathedral grounds, Dunkeld, 23/05/12. Sketched under the shade of a tree, sheltering from the hot sun.

Smeaton's Bridge, Perth - built with local Devonian Old Red Sandstone conglomerate; flood marks from the C19th - 2006 carved into the stone near the archway on the far right. Prior to the building of Smeaton's Bridge, a succession of bridges were swept away by floods. The Tay is a powerful river. As well as strong currents, it is the largest river in Britain by the volume of water carried. It's average flow (discharge in cubic metres per second) is more than those of the Thames and Severn combined. At Perth it is tidal (less rough looking when the tide is in).

The River Tay viewed above the crag on the south side of Kinnoull Hill near Perth, looking east towards the Firth of Tay. From the northside of the hill (222m) there is a view of the highlands / mountains north of the Highland Boundary Fault. Kinnoull Hill is composed of volcanic rock extruded during the Devonian period.