Arran in September

We recently spent a week on the Isle of Arran, off the west coast of Scotland. It's a beautiful place, small enough to explore easily but with plenty of variety in its scenery, from the mountainous north to a much milder south.

These are some highlights, all photographed with my Canon 5D Mark IV and either an EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS II, or EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II lens. Processed with Capture One.

Firstly, a walk to the famous Machrie Moor Standing Stones - said to have been placed here around the year 2000 BC - set against a backdrop of misty mountains.

Not far from the standing stones, we went for a circular walk to the King's Caves, through lush pine forest and down to the sea shore.

The views from the coastal path there were stunning. I'll never tire of looking out to sea.

We took a boat trip run by Lamlash Cruises to Holy Isle, something of a sanctuary for both wildlife and spiritual retreats. There, we were lucky enough to spot some of the island's animal residents: Soay sheep, descended from sheep that lived on the island of Soay in St Kilda; a Saanen goat, a Swiss breed said to have originally been brought here by the Vikings, and having lived wild here ever since; Eriskay ponies, a very rare breed of pony with Celtic and Norse origins, with only a few hundred registered in the world and a small herd living here.

The Pillar Rock Lighthouse is apparently the first lighthouse to have been built with a square tower, in 1905. It has been automated since 1977.

We were lucky to make it onto the island. When we arrived for the boat, we were told we'd have to return to the main island an hour earlier than originally planned, because a storm and 40-mile-an-hour winds were coming. Sure enough, they did, and it started to rain just as we left Holy Isle that afternoon.

One day, we drove around the top of the island, stopping along the way to photograph some of these scenes. For a relatively small island, Arran packs in a lot of dramatic scenery.

On our last day, we set off on a coastal walk from Lamlash to Whiting Bay. It was quite a bit more challenging than we expected, alternating between a slippery, seaweedy, rocky beach and equally slippery wooden boardwalk through trees. We were lucky once again to see dolphins just a few metres off shore, but they were too quick for me to capture in photographs. With the tide coming in, we decided to get a bus back to Lamlash rather than walk the same path in return.

We spent some of our time waiting patiently by the sea in the hope that an otter might appear. No otter ever appeared, as no otter ever (usually) does. One day, we'll be lucky. The views over Lamlash Bay were beautiful as dusk fell, all the same. I decided to keep the colour in these.

Arran, thanks for having us. We'll be back as soon as we can.