alan frost photography

St Ellyw’s, Llanelieu, Powys – a long overdue return to my photographic passion.

It was a dull early winter’s day as I stepped inside. I looked around and slowly my eyes began to adjust to what at first seemed a very gloomy, cold interior. Slowly the church revealed itself to me, as the light of day penetrated 13th century sandstone rubble walls through the deep arched medieval window openings. The remote setting, the ancient churchyard and the surrounding Black Mountains of the Brecon Beacons all contributed to the atmosphere of this small historical place of worship. Almost instantly I am taken back in time and can only wonder whose feet have crossed the threshold in all the centuries past?

This is the church of St Ellyw’s in Llanelieu, Powys in Wales. It is now cared for by the ‘Friends of Friendless Churches’. On their website it states that “St Ellyw was a princess martyr of the 5th century and according to legend, she was murdered close to Llanelieu by a rejected suiter who refused to accept her vow of chastity”.

A good many years ago I began a project which has no end. I started to photograph church interiors which eventually inspired me to submit a successful panel of images for my Associateship of the The Royal Photographic Society. Whilst the appeal of this project has never been lost it has been on the back burner for quite a long time. Whilst on holiday in the Brecon Beacons towards the end of last year, I made a special effort to visit and photograph this church which was of particular interest to me. It revived my love of not just photographing these places but experiencing their atmosphere and quiet solitude.

I have always been drawn to remote churches in the countryside. Small buildings which are being preserved but not necessarily used for regular worship. There are a number of other similar churches in the near vicinity of St Ellyw’s, so a short break to this part of Wales specifically to visit these churches is definitely on the cards. Until then there are others closer to home which I have listed, one of which I visited quite recently and I will be posting some images very soon.

Flooded meadows – just too much rain

As my fingers move around the keyboard and these very words appear on the screen, I glance up to look out of the window. Has the rain stopped? No it hasn’t, and the overcast sky doesn’t make me believe it will do so anytime soon. It is forecast to brighten up this afternoon so I live in hope.

Yesterday I cycled up and down the lane where I live. The meadows which border the river Piddle in Dorset often flood but rarely this side of Christmas. February and March yes, but not usually in the middle of December.

The ground is so saturated that in some parts of the lane the water is spilling out of the fields and onto the road. Traffic can still pass but for how long?

These images will be added to my growing portfolio of photographs which document the rural nature of the place I now call home. At some point in the not too distant future I intend creating a separate gallery page for this collection, which I have named – ‘Close to my back door’.

Scotland – Part 3 ….. Morar, a true “Local Hero” of mine.

From the moment I stepped onto the sands I knew that I had arrived at a magical place and I was instantly reminded of one of my all time favourite films, namely ‘Local Hero’. For this was one of the principal locations for the film and as I explored the dunes, the rocks and the beaches I could hear in my mind the wonderful film score composed by Mark Knopfler. The clouds, the light and the beauty which surrounded me, was really very special. As I have just said a magical place.

To identify the exact location I have included a couple of maps. The first map shows Mallaig at the end of the A380, a road I have travelled on a number of occasions on my way to the ferry at Mallaig, the so called gateway to the isles, including of course the Isle of Skye.

The second map clearly shows the village of Morar which lies to the south of Mallaig. Opposite the village lie the silver sands of Morar and the river estuary. A walk along the sands at low tide presents many fine scenes to be captured.

**Silver Sands of Morar with the Isle of Rum in the far distance**

**A lone house on the other side of the estuary**

Taking the coast road immediately to the south of the river and you soon arrive at Glenancross. A small car park and footpath leads down to Camusdarach beach – the film location, and what a location it is.

What now follows are a series of images of Camusdarach beach, an area not to be missed. The Isles of Egg and Rum are often visible on the horizon.

And finally if you have time and are interested, an excellent film on the making of Local Hero.

A 50 minute film on the making of Local Hero made in 1983 by The South Bank Show

I hope you’ve enjoyed this post. I know I have enjoyed looking back to a very special time in Scotland. I trust it won’t be too long before we can return.

(Footnote – I had intended posting this entry months ago but it never happened and for that I apologise. In fact a year has passed since my wife and I were staying at Morar. This year for various reasons our travels have been somewhat inhibited and as a consequence my photography has taken a back seat. However the break has been good and I am now inspired and motivated to visit new places and make new images).

Scotland – Part 2 ….. Ardnamurchan, sadly just passing through

**Before the rain – A lone house near Sanna Bay**

After a week’s stay on the Isle of Mull we took the CalMac ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsular. Arguably one of the most remote peninsulas on the west coast of Scotland. On leaving Kilchoan and before driving to Morar, we decided to head north west and take a relativelyshort detour along a single track road to visit the lovely beaches of Sanna Bay. An absolutely stunning location. The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point was our next port of call, as we had to say we had been to the most westerly point of the British mainland.

Sadly we were only passing through Ardnamurchan and we only scratched the surface of this rather special area of Scotland.

**The remote peninsular of Ardnamurchan, on the west coast of Scotland.**

**The view from the ferry looking east in the direction of Loch Sunart**

**The isolated and beautiful sands of Sanna Bay** **(above and below)**

**The most western telephone box on the British mainland near Sanna Bay**

In Part 3 of this short series on Scotland, I will be sharing some images taken during our stay at Morar, which lies to the south of Mallaig.

The highlight of this second week being the beautiful sands at Camusdarach, famous for being one of the principal locations used in the 1983 film ‘Local Hero’. To whet your appetite here is an image from that location.

**The beautiful sands at Camusdarach, near Morar**

Scotland….. it has been too long!

**Morning light near Salen** **on the Isle of Mull**

I am not alone when I say that the landscape and light in Scotland can be quite breath taking. My photographic eye cannot fail to be inspired by the scenery and the ever changing weather, whatever the season.

My wife and I last visited Scotland back in the spring of 2019. The Isles of Harris and Lewis was our chosen destination. Because of Covid, Lockdown restrictions and for other personal reasons we have not ventured very far since then, but back in October we finally threw our bags in the car and returned to the Isle of Mull. A favourite place for us to go and one of the islands that form part of the Inner Hebrides. We stayed in two locations on Mull and spent another week on the mainland at Morar which is just south of Mallaig.

It’s has taken a little while but at long last I been through and processed a selection of the many photographs I took during our three week stay, and I would now like to share some of my favourite images with you.

This will be the first of a number of posts from our trip to the west coast of Scotland. I shall include captions about some of the images and their locations etc, but essentially I would like the images themselves to tell the story.

First off …… the Isle of Mull.