A small church in a remote Highland glen holds the memory of one of Scotland’s most poignant clearance stories—etched into its glass for over 175 years.

On a stony shore in Balintore, the Mermaid of the North gazes over the sea. I arrived feeling far from my best, yet the tide, the wind and her quiet watchfulness soon began to lift the weight of the day.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … two days late!

This is a story of two parts that come together for the final act. Bear with me…

I have recently spent a couple of days in a local hide photographing a pine marten and red squirrels. Living where I do and getting the odd glimpse of both species, I forget that most people don’t have that privilege and, dare I say it, don’t even know of their existence.

Photography is all about being in the right place at the right time to get the light, and you’ll often hear photographers talk about ‘chasing the light’. But sometimes the weather just doesn’t play ball; you can be handed a grey, flat day when the sun stays firmly hidden. On days like that, it is all too tempting to burrow back down under the duvet, think ’stuff it’ and not go out.