Skywatch Friday - Cloud chasing from the train



On a train journey recently from Leuchars (the station for St Andrews) to Edinburgh we seemed to chase this towering cloud along the shores of the Forth.


It was a day of micro climates.  The grey skies under which we'd left Edinburgh persisted until a few fields away from St Andrews.  All day in St Andrews the sun shone, making up for our stormy day of a few weeks ago.  But as Edinburgh came into view across the Forth on the return journey, we could see that it was not only still shrouded in gloom, but seemed to be deluged from the massive cloud above it. 
 

Taking photos from a moving train is very frustrating.  There's always something to get in the way, just as you frame a shot.  There are few empty spaces along this stretch of coast.  Above, quite by chance, I discovered that I'd also got a church and some flats.

And when you want to capture something, such as this boatyard below, it goes past in a blur.  What you can see quite clearly in this shot is the shape of Arthur's Seat across the water, behind the white building in the centre (which I think is probably Chancelot Flour Mill at the docks).



Now this is the shameful bit.  There are several islands in the Forth, and I'm not entirely sure which one this is.  It may be Inchkeith, which was used to quarantine plague (and syphilis) victims.  It was also apparently the site of a linguistic experiment by King James IV who in 1493 transported a dumb woman and two infants to the island in order to see which language the children would grow up speaking, with the hope that it might be the language of the gods. 
 


More skies from around the world are at Skywatch Friday.

Comments

  1. Enjoyed this, and smiled as I read. I have often tried taking snaps with my cell phone from a my commuter train. In my case, I was fascinated by the artful, colorful graffiti that lines the tracks. Alas, unless the train was barely moving I'd just get a blur. Thanks again.

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    1. It's amazing how our eyes can focus so acutely. And I gather from your blog that commuter trains are going to be a thing of the past for you. Enjoy your retirement!

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    1. The thing that surprised me was that I was the only person in my carriage who seemed to notice it!

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  3. I quite enjoyed this train ride! It looks as if the windows of the train were nice and clean since your shots look so good.

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    1. The windows were quite clean. It hasn't been a very wet, mucky winter, although we've had a bit of rain recently. Perhaps the train had been through the train-wash - I love seeing train carriages going through these, all foamy and sudsy.

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  4. Hi Linda, interesting clouds that you captured! I always enjoy your Sky Watch posts :)

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    1. Thanks Jenni. Cloud chasing is quite compulsive.

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  5. Great views captured from the train.

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    1. Thank you Rajesh, it was quite a bonus on this journey to have that massive cloud to look at.

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    1. You're right, Pamela, it was a very Scottish day. Lots of weather variety, a cutting North wind, and that particular East coast quality of light.

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  7. Most interesting cloud shapes! I especially like the photo with the church in it.
    Have a great weekend!
    Lea
    Lea's Menagerie

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    1. I must find out which church this is, Lea. The architecture isn't very typical - it looks more Italian than Scottish.

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  8. Once again, I'm just about to head out into built up suburbia, to garden on my 'day off', and am envious of the beautiful, open landscapes up there. Good piccies, especially taken from a train!

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    1. I imagine that your 'day off' has been the usual whirlwind of activity. Hope you manage to escape suburbia again before too long.

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  9. That is an incredible chunk of cloud! It looks massive. Excellent pictures.

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    1. You must have some pretty impressive chunks of clouds where you are, Annie - and not too many buildings to get in the way of the view.

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  10. Nowhere we see such mysterious and shaped clouds! Great shots : )

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    1. Cloud shapes are endlessly interesting, aren't they? Thanks for visiting.

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  11. Beautiful clouds. Happy sky watching.

    My Sky.

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    1. Thanks Liz, I'll be popping over to visit your Skywatch.

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  12. Dramatic skies!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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    1. We've had so many grey skies recently that it's been wonderful to see something so dramatic.

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  13. Those are great shots, especially given you were inside a train! Most of my from-the-train shots show the reflection of my knitting in the window. Fascinating and awful about the (possible) Inchkeith island history.

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    1. That must be your motif, Christine!
      I read further about the linguistic experiment - unsurprisingly the 2 children grew up not speaking.

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  14. was recently trying to take pictures out a moving train's window and when i looked at the photos after, i was surprised to find what i had actually captured. like yourself, i was pleasantly surprised that some of them turned out so well and with unexpected buildings in them.

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    1. Unexpected buildings are one thing, it's fence posts and telegraph poles that are annoying!

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  15. Awsome ! it's seems to have been a good day... beautiful weather...

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    1. Yes, we managed to follow the sun that day. A very cold wind, tho!

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  16. Cool-looking cloud! It reminds me of a rainbow that stayed with us many miles one Thanksgiving, while traveling to family for the holiday.

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    1. It's almost uncanny how rainbows seem to follow you. A good omen for your Thanksgiving celebrations perhaps.

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  17. That looks like an amazing train ride, such gorgeous views. That looks like a thundercloud, something with which I'm very familiar in my part of the world!

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    1. You would think that there would be some thunder at least from that cloud, but no. You do indeed have amazing thunderclouds, and even more amazing lightning which you capture so well in your photos.

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  18. Shalom Linda. Thanks for this train trip. Very very interesting about what went on on the island.

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    1. I found it so interesting that people were carrying out linguistic experiments then - well, kings were at least. But very disturbing for the poor people involved, especially the children.

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  19. These are great clouds almost touching the horizon. But very sad about the tale of the woman and her kids.

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    1. It's so sad, isn't it? Let's concentrate on the clouds to take our minds off it.

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  20. this is something I often try to do, taking pics from train or car
    never as successful as you tho !
    well done
    anni

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    1. Well, you should see the photos I discarded - lots of telegraph poles and fence posts and blurry trees!

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  21. Ohhh...I love that second shot!!! Interesting and sad story about the woman and her two children...I wonder what language they ended up speaking?

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    1. Sadly, they didn't learn to speak, because they heard no spoken language. I didn't manage to find out if they later learned to speak once they were taken off the island.

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  22. But what did the children speak? and more importantly who would recognise the language of the gods? Great clouds today.

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    1. See above! Apparently there was a theory that they might speak Hebrew...

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  23. Hello Linda,

    These are beautiful images! I don't know how you captured them from a moving rain!

    I wanted to stop by and thank you for your visit to my blog. I am always happy to receive new visitors and love reading all my comments. You have a very lovely and informative blog. I'm so glad you stopped by as I would have never found you! I have added your blog to my blog roll and have become a follower.

    Thanks again for the visit and I hope you will visit more often!

    ~ Kris

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    1. Hello Kris, I was delighted to find your blog and will be back for a longer read through previous posts.

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  24. Linda, I think your pictures are beautiful as they capture both the tranquility on the horizon, as well as the immediacy of life in the foreground. What a fabulous train ride!

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    1. That's very generous of you - I just pointed and shot, but it's nice to get a photo critique full of meaning!

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  25. Pretty good job yourself, shooting images from a moving train! Thanks for your comment on my moving train shot:-)

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  26. wonderful pictures ! It's really relaxing...

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