The Lecht Mine by jamibann

The Lecht Mine

I was driving over to have lunch in Tomintoul, and decided to stop en route to see the old building of the Lecht Mine. It's a former iron and manganese mining site, dating back to the 1730s. I was rewarded, not only by a few nice photos, but also by finding some magnificent blaeberries in the area. I didn't have time to pick them on my way over, but made sure to stop on the way back and spend an hour there. I gathered 10g short of a kilo in less than an hour. I'll remember that spot for next year!

Lunch was lovely, with a cousin, Steve, whom I'd never met. We spent a lovely couple of hours poring over a photo album of ancient relatives of ours and chatting about our family links.
Looks a great spot.. what are blaeberries.. or spell check black berries or blueberries?
August 21st, 2022  
What a great shot, works perfectly in black and white. I gather that blaeberries must be Scottish for blueberries. I love blueberries, what are you going to make with them? Fav
August 21st, 2022  
Perfect in b&w. What a treat to pick all those berries.
August 21st, 2022  
That's an incredible old building - love the sheep in the foreground.
August 21st, 2022  
a wonderful old building and scene. Meeting a long lost cousin sounds great. fav
August 21st, 2022  
Such an ancient building & scenery... I so like the sheep peacefully grazing... Wonderful picking of berries Jams & deserts to come..
August 21st, 2022  
A wonderful capture of this beautiful rural scene. Love the composition and sheep which really pop on black.
August 21st, 2022  
Beautiful scene! I love the sheep!!
August 21st, 2022  
So few windows. One wonders how dark it would be in there.
August 21st, 2022  
Lovely b&w.
August 21st, 2022  
Love the ancient stone building!
Nice to meet up with cousins, I did the same last week. They came back to the area we grew up and wanted me to be the tour guide for their biking holiday. What a great visit!
August 21st, 2022  
What a lovely chance to meet up with a long lost relative. Love your photo too, and the idea of a special place to pick blaeberries!
August 21st, 2022  
Super scene on black
August 21st, 2022  
Wow the light in the beautiful stone work….incredibly maintained building!
Blaeberries, never heard them called that but as you would expect in Scotland! Very satisfying picking blueberries, not many things in life are free! Happy meet up too!
August 21st, 2022  
Cool abandoned building.
August 21st, 2022  
Maganese sounds a difficult metal to excavate
August 22nd, 2022  
This is terrific in mono, and the expression on that one sheep is priceless!
August 22nd, 2022  
Sounds like a very nice day. Love the image with the sheep and the building with beautiful brickwork.
August 22nd, 2022  
Sounds a fun day! Love this in b&w!
August 22nd, 2022  
How clever to do this in b&w
August 22nd, 2022  
Very nice shot. I am not familiar with those berries
August 22nd, 2022  
Lovely scene and nice in b&w
August 22nd, 2022  
@julzmaioro Scottish blueberries, Julia! We like to be different! ;-)
August 22nd, 2022  
@bkbinthecity They are just our Scottish version of the blueberry. Delicious when gathered wild.
August 22nd, 2022  
@phil_howcroft Yes, I think it was, and the mine didn't last very long when it was operational, also due to transporting issues. Glad they managed to maintain the building though, it's quite photogenic sitting in the glen as it does.
August 22nd, 2022  
@onewing I have just frozen them for the moment as no time to do otherwise. But they'll be used year-round for fruit compote, crumbles and pies.
August 22nd, 2022  
Fabulous scene and lovely processing.
August 22nd, 2022  
Lovely scene and such willing bonus models!
August 24th, 2022  
Such a great shot with the inquisitive sheep checking you out while you check out the mine!
August 26th, 2022  
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