Blaven.com

Elgol and Torrin Historical Society

Roy — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:00 BST

I have added a new page dedicated to the Elgol and Torrin Historical Society. This page includes over 70 photographs and postcards from their extensive collection.

Webcams

Roy — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:53 GMT

Fellow geeks may be interested to know that the webcams on this site are now managed entirely by a £25 Raspberry Pi computer. Click through for more information.

Webcam image size increased by over 300%!

Roy — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 13:07 GMT

Okay, I've been watching too many Apple product launches because whilst such a sweeping statement is borderline justifiable, it plays with your expectations. The dimensions of the webcam images have been increased to just under twice the size that they were previously and now make the best use of the resolution available from the webcams. Click through for more information.

Some new postcards

Roy — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 17:25:00 GMT

Four new postcards have been added to the postcard gallery. My apologies for the lack of updates this year but my day job has dominated most of my waking and unconcious hours.

New and updated photographs

Roy — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:35:48 GMT

I've added eight new photographs to the Gallery, another three throughout the site and updated two others with newer images. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to find them.

Two further 'then and now' views

Roy — Mon, 5 Dec 2011 21:03:33 GMT

I've added two further 'then and now' sequences for Cill Chriosd Church and a pair of Torrin barns.

New 'then and now' view

Roy — Sun, 4 Dec 2011 20:23:59 GMT

I've added a new 'then and now' sequence for a postcard of Torrin Public School from 60 or more years ago.

Bernera webcams restored

Roy — Fri, 2 Dec 2011 18:32 GMT

The Bernera webcams or more accurately, the British Telecom cabling, took a bit of a battering in a series of winter storms affecting the Glenelg area. After a couple of 1,200 mile round trips Tim's persistence has paid off and all three cameras are working normally again.

All webcams working again

Roy — Mon, 30 May 2011 17:59 GMT

The two Sabhal Mòr Ostaig webcams were restored this afternoon. After a troubled couple of weeks all webcams are working normally again.

Letterfearn webcams restored

Roy — Fri, 27 May 2011 19:17 GMT

The Letterfearn webcams are working again. My thanks to Tim for visiting the site and fixing the problem.

SMO webcams blown out

Roy — Tue, 24 May 2011 05:43 GMT

Both webcams at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig failed last night during the unseasonal storms and high winds. I'll post an update once they are restored.

Letterfearn webcams misbehaving

Roy — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:51 GMT

For the past week both Letterfearn webcams have been suffering from an intermittant internet connection. The connection finally failed this afternoon. I'll post an update once they are restored.

Bernera webcams back

Roy — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 12:03 GMT

The three webcams at Bernera are working again following the storms on the night of 2nd February.

Letterfearn webcams back

Roy — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 18:07 GMT

The two webcams at Letterfearn are working again following the storms on the night of 2nd February. The Bernera webcams will remain offline until visited in person.

Webcams

Roy — Thu, 3 Feb 2011 05:53 GMT

The stormy weather and lightning on the night of 2nd February has knocked out all five webcams at Bernera and Letterfearn. It may be a week before they can be visited and restarted. A further announcement will be posted when all are working again.

M.E.M. Donaldson

Roy — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 18:47 GMT

I've added a new page on west coast photographer and author M.E.M. Donaldson.

Webcam maintenance 11/12th December

Roy — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 08:43:00 GMT

Webcam updates over the weekend of 11th and 12th December will be interrupted for short periods of time whilst I replace two faulty hard disks.

Some website changes

Roy — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 16:10:00 GMT

Three changes; Firstly I've added a couple of new postcards. Secondly the RSS feed address has changed (if you are reading this you do not need to do anything). Finally I've made some significant technical changes to support some new features that I have in mind. Let me know if I have broken anything via the "any comments" link that can be found at the bottom of every webpage.

All webcams working again

Roy — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:12:00 GMT

The Bernera Farmhouse, Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams are working again. My thanks to Tim MacPherson for sorting out the local power issues.

Corrections

Roy — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 17:48:00 GMT

I've made a couple of corrections on the back of information received from Patrick Karney on the current Torrin quarry and Gordon Bushnell on Torrin shops. Follow the link to read more. Thank you both for the information.

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams failed again

Roy — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 19:57:00 GMT

Both Letterfearn webcams have failed again. It may be September before they are restored to normal operation. Sorry.

Bumper update

Roy — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 20:44:00 GMT

Another day of updates off the back of my Skye holiday with 26 new images added to the gallery page, four additional header images plus some images refreshed throughout the site. It is interesting to contrast the photographs taken in winter with those taken in the last two weeks. Everything looks so green. I much prefer autumn/winter look though. What about you?

New header images

Roy — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 19:41:00 GMT

I have added a new header image gallery page. I have just returned from my first summer trip to Skye since 1996. It rained on 10 out of the 12 days but I have brought back some rain-free photographs for posting on this site over the next week. Lots of greenery that will contrast nicely with the brownery(!) and snow that permeates the current images. The first batch of 12 has been added to the gallery of 24 images that appear randomly at the top of each page of this site. You can see all 36 of these header images on this new page.

Bernera Farmhouse webcam failed

Roy — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:57:00 GMT

The Bernera Farmhouse webcam has suffered a hardware failure. A replacement camera has been ordered but it may not be replaced until September.

Minor tweaking day today

Roy — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 17:16:00 GMT

My day job means that I have once again been paying far less attention to the website than I would like. I have spent a couple of hours today working on some boring but essential technical stuff (primarily enhanced XHTML 1.1. compliance since you didn't ask :-). I've hopefully not broken anything. Please let me know if I have.

Blaven.com mentioned on BBC website

Roy — Wed, 26 May 2010 14:40:00 GMT

This website gets a brief mention in an "explore the webcams" feature on the BBC Highlands and Islands website.

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams not not working

Roy — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:21:00 GMT

Over the past week Tim Macpherson has brought the five webcams back to life. They are not not working any longer! Thanks for all your hard work Tim.

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams not working

Roy — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:11:00 GMT

Tim Macpherson has advised that both webcams located in Letterfearn have stopped working because water has leaked in to the BT telecoms cable. BT is investigating.

New Broadford Bay webcam

Roy — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:32:00 GMT

The latest webcam is based at "Moeraki" holiday home at Harrapool by Broadford. It looks out over Broadford Bay to the Crowlin Islands, Applecross peninsula and Loch Kishorn. The feed is courtesy of Jenny Till. Thank-you Jenny.

New then and now feature

Roy — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 21:07:00 GMT

A year ago I started taking photographs to create a "then and now" feature, comparing some of the scenes shown in the postcard gallery with how the scene appears today. I have finally published the first postcard scene with many more to follow when I have some more free time. Please let me know what you think of this.

Bernera webcams back on line

Roy — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 14:03:00 GMT

The foam rubber mallet has been applied to the three Bernera webcams and they are back on line.

Bernera and SMO webcam issues

Roy — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:23:00 GMT

The three Bernera webcams are off-line until someone can bring them back to life with a foam rubber mallet. This is expected to happen next week.

Also the Mallaig webcam has twice gone off-line in the past fortnight. It is being subjected to automated hacking attacks by bad people outside the UK. I'm hopeful that a permanent solution will be in place shortly.

New book about Duncan Macpherson

Roy — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:48:00 GMT

It is an open secret that I am an ardent admirer of the work of relatively unknown photographer Duncan Macpherson. I was therefore delighted to read that a new book entitled "Where I belong - Fifty Years in Focus in the Highlands and Islands: Duncan Macpherson - Photographer and Pharmacist" is due for publication at the end of this year. It is written by Mary Carmichael, former Museums and Heritage Officer for Skye and Lochalsh. I've already pre-ordered my copy from Amazon.

Another four webcams

Roy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:42:00 GMT

Another day, another four webcams added to the site! Too many to name but you will find them all on the webcams page. The feeds are once again supplied by Tim Macpherson of Glenelg Holiday Cottages. Thank-you once more Tim.

Website updates

Roy — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:38:00 GMT

A couple of enhancements have been carried out to the webcam pages. The webcams page now includes a preview from each of the past five days. Whilst it has always been possible to view any of the past 30 days on the webcam archive pages, including as time-lapse sequences, surprising few people made use of this intriguing feature. By giving this more prominence I hope that this will change.

On the webcam archive pages I have added a new and useful 'play entire day' button alongside the pre-existing 'play from selected time' button.

Finally I've made a number of technical changes behind the scenes that has resulted in most of the pages on the site being updated. If you encounter any problems or have any feedback - good, bad or indifferent - please click on the 'any comments' link at the bottom of any pages or contact me here.

Third webcam live

Roy — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:08:00 GMT

The third new webcam in little over a month! The view from the new Loch Duich webcam towards Eilean Donan Castle will be instantly recognisable to anyone who has travelled on the A87 main road to Kyle of Lochalsh. The webcam and feed is courtesy of Tim Macpherson of Glenelg Holiday Cottages. Thank-you Tim.

Second webcam live

Roy — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 23:02:00 GMT

The second of the two new webcams at Sabhal Mor Ostaig is up and running. This webcam looks out across the Sound to Sleat towards the Knoydart peninsula. My thanks once again to Caoimhin and Domhnall.

Updated Blaven time-lapse video

Roy — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:22:00 GMT

The popular time-lapse sequence of a day in the life of Blaven - originally recorded in 2002 - has been replaced by a higher quality sequence shot earlier this year. I recorded 24 new sequences over a period of 24 days and all but three days proved unusable. Not for any technical reasons but because the clear blue skies and lack of clouds on 21 of the days do not make for particularly interesting viewing.

No webcams today

Roy — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:48:00 GMT

The webcam feed suffered a firewall failure this morning. I've just replaced the firewall but most of the webcam images from today will have been lost.

New photographs added

Roy — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:41:00 GMT

Following my annual Christmas pilgrimage to Skye plus lots of unseasonal snow and blue skies, I've added 13 new photographs to the Gallery page. Another four recent images have been added or updated elsewhere on the site. I should come up with a way to identify new images plus some additional content changes that I've made but that will just spoil your fun in spotting them! More to follow.

RSS feed added

Roy — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:32:00 GMT

A RSS feed is now available at the suggestion of Fred Riley in Nottingham. Thank-you Fred.

Webcam moved

Roy — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:11:00 GMT

The installation of power and network cabling has allowed the first of the two new webcams at Sabhal Mor Ostaig to be moved to nearer its final home in the roof space of the main college building. The intrusion of the roof is temporary until both webcams are fixed in place. Thanks again to Caoimhin and Domhnall.

Happy New Year

Roy — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:52:00 GMT

Very best wishes to all for a happy, healthy, prosperous and snow-free 2010. Roy.

New webcam update

Roy — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:03:00 GMT

Those nice people at Sabhal Mor Ostaig have the first webcam up and running. The webcam is temporarily located in the college library but will be relocated before the end of February to a more permanent location, without window reflections! My thanks to Caoimhin Donnaile and Domhnall Domhnallach for their ongoing efforts.

Two new webcams coming soon

Roy — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:37:00 GMT

Some website changes have been made in preparation for two new webcams that I'll be donating shortly to Sabhal Mor Ostaig. One of these will replace the BBC webcam that has for the past 10 years delivered some stunning images of the Sound of Sleat.

Blaven.com

Elgol and Torrin Historical Society

Webcams

Webcam image size increased by over 300%!

Some new postcards

New and updated photographs

Two further 'then and now' views

New 'then and now' view

Bernera webcams restored

All webcams working again

Letterfearn webcams restored

SMO webcams blown out

Letterfearn webcams misbehaving

Bernera webcams back

Letterfearn webcams back

Webcams

M.E.M. Donaldson

Webcam maintenance 11/12th December

Some website changes

All webcams working again

More postcards

Corrections

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams failed again

Bumper update

New header images

Bernera Farmhouse webcam failed

Minor tweaking day today

Blaven.com mentioned on BBC website

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams not not working

Loch Duich and Letterfearn webcams not working

New Broadford Bay webcam

New then and now feature

Bernera webcams back on line

Bernera and SMO webcam issues

New book about Duncan Macpherson

Another four webcams

Website updates

Third webcam live

Second webcam live

Updated Blaven time-lapse video

No webcams today

New photographs added

RSS feed added

Webcam moved

Happy New Year

New webcam update

Two new webcams coming soon