Tarlair Swimming Pool | Open Air Pool in Scotland | Travel Photographer
Tarlair Swimming Pool | Open Air Pool in Scotland | Travel Photographer
I love visiting new places. They don’t need to be the most epic mountains or popular locations in the country, just a place that is new to me. I will always find a way to connect to the atmosphere wherever I find myself, by strolling around the area and taking it all in.
For this trip, my birthday weekend to be exact, we ventured to the north east of Scotland in Aberdeenshire. We stayed in the Aberdeen countryside in a remote hut with a wood-burning hot tub. It was simple and all we needed for a simple and sweet getaway. We stopped at so many abandoned castles, structures and quiet coastlines along the road up north. But one of my favorite places I laid my eyes on was the Tarlair Outdoor Swimming Pool. It was commissioned in 1929 and opened in 1931. Between Tarlair’s Art Deco architecture and the history it has during the war times has made this a Grade A building by Historic Scotland. It’s truly a beautiful sight. Even with all of the buildings and pools clearly unmaintained, there is a bit of happiness that you can still see when imagining all of the times that were had there when it first opened. The designers were so thoughtful with the structure and the location could not be more perfect. It is perfectly placed just below a cliff, right on the beach front. The architects had designed pumps to bring in the ocean water to the multiple layers of pools. The steps into the pool were so thoughtful and well designed. Overall, the Art Deco architecture design had me over the moon.
And as a side note, as there may be others who will visit this beautiful piece of Art Deco architecture in the future, just to remember to be mindful of where you’re walking, because depending on the water and tide, this particular area can be extremely wet and slippery around the pool edges. Locals are there usually walking their dogs and it is a really peaceful place for a mindful stroll, reading a book or taking a few images, but not a place for masses to gather, play loud music or disturb locals in this peaceful little area (as well as any area in The Highlands, truly).
This location was just a dream for me, as someone who loves architecture and the stillness and quietness of a historic, desolate structure. This was such a great place to think. In fact, shortly after Ross and I arrived, we both parted ways to stroll around the area and look at the details of the area, as it felt more like a sacred sanctuary, unlike the usual natural scenery locations in Scotland that we visit. I love visiting places with Ross and love how these road trip experiences bring us closer together with the many memories made. From the music we listen to in the car, to our conversations about how these abandoned structures used to be thriving, to the snacks we choose at local markets, to the crazy weather and random ways we end up spending our evenings (like figuring out how to get the best temperature from a wood-burning hot tub in the rain). We always have so much fun together and make the most of any situation, and I’m so excited to continue to experience new places and making beautiful memories with Ross for the rest of my days. x
Isle of Skye Road Trip | Scotland
Isle of Skye Road Trip | Scotland Wedding Photographer
When I’m with you, I’m home.
My fiancé, Ross (who has the kindest heart and is the loveliest human I have ever had the privilege of knowing and loving) and I travel back and forth between our two cities regularly every few months. He is Scottish and lives in the beautiful historic city of Edinburgh and I am an American who lives in the stunningly modern city of Chicago.
With that said, when I visit Scotland, we road trip, multiple times a month when I’m in the country. Sometimes our travels consist of weekend flights to nearby countries (well relatively, to me) to France or to Ireland, sometimes we do long weekends away in the Highlands (the most consistent and always regular, to explore Scotland’s beautiful countryside), other times it’s day trips that we can take around the coast in the middle of Scotland.
However, of all of our trips we’ve taken together, we don’t go for the purpose of shooting but to just spend time together in new places, which is why this is the first post I’ve taken enough on my camera to share. I love capturing the land, but more so just seeing it with my eyes, in general, since I never grew up or experienced much of the outdoors as a child, and Ross…well he grew up in Scotland and was practically raised outdoors and would hike and be in nature with his family constantly. This blog post is a simple look into one of our many road trips taken together over the last few years. I also wanted to show some lovely scenes from a country that I currently spend half of my time living in and that I’ve fallen in love with over the last few years. I just love it. Although, I definitely don’t need to sell the majestic beauty of this place with my words, which I couldn’t do if I tried, so enjoy the images below. And if you haven’t yet, I highly suggest visiting Scotland. Just driving anywhere north in the country is beautiful, no location tag needed. It’s truly a beautiful land.
Ross is featured in this edition of Rucksack Magazine.
We never go on a trip without an Aeropress and a bag of local whole bean coffee.
We like crosswords + breakfast bagels.
The two above images were taken 2 minutes in between each other. This is Scottish weather at it’s finest.
We’re not super into the “tripod and formal pictures” being taken of us, but when it started pouring rain we ran to the overhang of this house for a bit and I saw our reflection when I was looking too hard inside the windows, ha. Thankfully, no one was home.
We stop at many small inns for soup + hot drinks on our road trips.
If you are searching for the perfect place to elope? Scotland is your country! Scotland elopements are becoming more and more popular. I have been visiting Scotland for many years before I moved here (part-time at the moment) and I have to say, I only love this country with every passing year. When I first started coming here I wasn’t capturing couples in the highlands or the mountains. But over the years, I have shot weddings, elopements, engagement sessions and portrait shoots from the Isle of Skye, to Glencoe, to remote villages, to Edinburgh and of all the way down to the Scottish Borders. If you need any consultation on where a good place in Scotland would be to elope, feel free to reach out to me! I would love to help you plan your elopement in Scotland. Choosing a mountain or location in Scotland to elope can be overwhelming with all of the options, but I have traveled all over the country for years, and just for my own personal photography ventures. I don’t wait until I get an elopement or wedding to explore this beautiful country. I love to explore new areas of Scotland just for fun. I always note beautiful ares that I think would be a perfect spot for an elopement or intimate wedding. All in all, if you are planning your elopement to Scotland and are looking for someone who loves the land as well as love, then I would be honored to help you capture your wedding day with your best friend. Feel free to send me an inquiry on my contact page and we can chat soon about how epic your Scotland elopement can be!