A broader view
In mid-October 2025, we were enjoying a short visit by Pat’s daughter-in-law and grandson, Rhonda and Struan Candlish. Struan, Fisheries Biologist with the Ayrshire Rivers Trust, is an experienced photographer, with his own drone. He had agreed to take a series of photographs of wych elm sites in Assynt and on the afternoon of 18th we were bound for the All Abilities Path on Little Assynt.
Our target was the solitary elm below the waterfall between Lochs Bad a’Chigean and Leitir Easaidh (NC168269). The obvious place to launch the drone was the first fishing boat pontoon (photos 1-2). Struan took a couple of shots of the small gorge that shelters the elm (photos 3-4) and then turned his attention to the broader landscape, which was bathed in sunshine.
To the north-east there was a splendid view of Quinag across Loch Leitir Easaidh and its confluence with Loch Assynt (photo 5). To the south, albeit into the sun, Canisp and Suilven could be seen on the horizon across Loch Leitir Easaidh (photo 6).
Closer-to, the drone provided new perspectives on the All Abilities Path, both beside Loch Leitir Easaidh to the east (photos 7-9) and along Loch na h-Innse Fraoich to the west (photo 10).
We are grateful to Struan for his expert deployment of the drone. These photos, and the others he took, certainly add a new dimension to our appreciation of the Assynt landscape.
Ian M. Evans