Visiting Corpach Shipwreck in Snow
A quiet moment on Scotland’s West Coast
The Old Boat of Caol sitting quietly in soft snow.
Sitting quietly at the foot of Ben Nevis on the shores of Loch Linnhe, you will find the Old Boat of Caol. In the small village of Corpach, near Fort William, this shipwreck is an eerily beautiful landmark to all who know it.
A little history…
The Corpach Shipwreck was originally named MV Dayspring and built in 1975, it was later renamed Golden Harvest. Historically this ship was used as a fishing vessel to catch herring and mackerel in the North Sea. After the ships skipper had retired, the boat was moved to Kilkeel in Northern Ireland to continue being used for fishing purposes. After many years the ship was returned to Scotland and moored at Kinlochleven Pier in Loch Leven until 2009 when it was moved to Camusnagul Bay on Loch Linnhe under new ownership.
On 8th December 2011, a large storm affected the local area and the raiser chain which kept the ship safely vesselled in Camusnagaul Bay failed, and the ship was torn from its moored location drifting into the water. The local coastguard worked hard to control the landing of the ship on the stoney beach between the villages of Corpach and Caol, and since then the vessel has remained quietly settled on the shores and admired by thousands.
When you see photographs of this shipwreck online it isn't hard to guess why photographers travel from far and wide to capture their own image of the sleeping ship. I myself was captivated on first glance at another photographers image of the shipwreck and then went on to make the fairly long journey up to the Scottish Highlands to see it with my own eyes, and capture my own images to document the experience. It certainly did not disappoint and is well worth a visit if you are in the area or traveling through. As you can see from my images I was very lucky to see the ship with a beautifully snowy backdrop.
How to visit Corpach Shipwreck?
The shipwreck can be found on a stretch of stone and sand between Caol and Corpach. To visit yourself you will be required to walk down to this location after parking nearby. When I visited, I walked from Corpach Harbour where there is parking available, you could also park a little further away in the village of Corpach and walk from there. It is a short walk from the harbour slightly uphill then down a little hill, through some trees and there you are. If you do park in or near the harbour turn left towards the trees, this should be clear when you are there as turning right will take you only to the banks of the loch with no beach in sight.
When to visit Corpach Shipwreck?
Let’s start by time of day. As a photographer it is my personal preference to visit locations intended to be photographed early in the morning or much later on in the day; with the hope of capturing images during ‘golden hour’. Golden hour is the time in which the light is soft and glowy which creates beautifully atmospheric images. If you know me well as a photographer you will know that I love to work in natural light, and in particular during golden hour. It simply offers the best lighting opportunity for photographers to work with. I would typically find that any iconic location is quieter at these times also. I would if possible avoid midday as taking images in this lighting isn’t going to offer the softest, and most natural light to work in and I think I can safely assume if you are here reading this and have made it this far you have at least somewhat of an interest in photography. A caveat of this being a fully overcast, cloudy day, and hey, it is Scotland so that is quite possible.
In considering the season in which to visit, you can visit this ship all year round as it is a publicly open location without any restriction of opening hours. I have visited in both Autumn and Winter and both had their own unique charm. I was very lucky to see lots and lots of snow when I visited in Winter. This was beautiful but did bring its own challenges of carefully walking through snow and ice on the path along to the beach. If you have snow boots on you would be fine, note to self! The images I was able to capture are some of my most favoured to date so it was very worth while making the journey tentatively in the snow.
Corpach Shipwreck dusted in snow surrounded by Ben Nevis and Loch Linnhe.
Field notes…
Upon seeing the ship for the first time, I stood quietly, poised, watching the sleeping ship sit quietly on the shore. I was the only person visiting in that moment and it was eerily quiet and hauntingly beautiful. The backdrop of Ben Nevis is magnificent and really something to see. I stood silently and listened to the water roll in hitting the ship as the sun set in the sky above me. It was a moment of solitude I will not forget.
In visiting a second time to capture images of the shipwreck with a backdrop of snow, I was in awe of its beauty against a winter wonderland. This is something less able to be planned and more a bit of luck. I had known there was a snow forecast so was very keen to make the journey to capture snowy images of the Scottish Highlands. It was incredibly beautiful and snow like no other, perhaps it’s something about the mountains and lochs that makes the snow even prettier. As a photographer I found this of particular beauty to see the contrast of industrial ship against a completely natural backdrop covered in snow. If you look closely you will notice the ship itself had a light dusting of snow.
I hope you enjoy looking through my photographs of Corpach Shipwreck. I do have fine art photography prints available here including images of Corpach Shipwreck.
If you have any enquiries I would be delighted to hear from you on ljhortonprints@gmail.com or you can find my contact form here.
