Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles
I decided to start my related rephotography project in the small town of Kyleakin where the busiest ferry point from Kyle of Lochalsh landed until October 1995 when the Skye Bridge was completed.
Kyleakin changed from a very busy ferry port to what might be considered a backwater overnight. However, today it is a pretty and thriving place attracting tourists via boat and coach. I chose a selection of images of the key places in Kyleakin and started finding the locations. It was not as easy as I had thought and even when I knew where the places were it was not necessarily easy to frame the same shot. I moved around, dropped to my knees and climbed on railings to try to get the same angle. In some cases it worked but in others it seemed impossible. At first I thought it was because I had a different lens, the aspect ratio of my camera was different to that which had been used to take the original image, but nothing seemed to work. It was the following image that caused me the most difficulty:
Kyleakin, Skye – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
I revisited the site on three occasions using different lenses but seemed unable to include the same buildings from the same angle. I suspected maybe the image was a composite and then I noticed the ghosting over the top of the hill. Whilst I don’t know for sure, I think there was some manipulation of this image! This is my best shot at rephotographing this scene although the hills behind were not visible today:
Kyleakin, Skye – Alison Price, June 2019
The second image is of The Obbe (meaning tidal inlet or bay). Again I had difficulty replicating the framing of the photograph. My other problem was that the tide was out and in the original image it was high tide. I also think the bridge has been raised at some point since 1920 when the original image was taken:
The Obbe, Kyleakin, Skye (1920) – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
The Obbe, Kyleakin, Skye – Alison Price, June 2019
My third image is of the old Skye Ferry Boat. Cars were mounted across a boat on two planks of wood, their wheels suitably secured with chocks on either side and tied with ropes through the spokes! In the background is Castle Maoil:
Castle Maoil and the Skye Ferry Boat, Kyleakin, Isle of Skye – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
Again getting the angle of view correct was tricky and of course there was no ferry to focus on however, I did find a more modern form of transport!
Kyleakin, Isle of Skye – Alison Price, June 2019
Here are a few more old images and my attempts at rephotography:
The Pier, Kyleakin, Skye – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
The Pier at Kyleakin – Alison Price, June 2019
The image below I found particularly interesting as it features a pier that is long gone. The pier was originally built to allow the P S Glencoe to stop over on her way to and from Kyle. My image shows how times change with the Skye Bridge featuring on the edge of today’s rephotograph:
The Pier, Kyleakin, Skye (1909) – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
Kyleakin, Skye – Alison Price, June 2019
And finally, the Kings Arms Hotel is featured along the now busy road from the Skye bridge into Kyleakin:
The King’s Arms Hotel – Image from Last Ferry to Skye by Christopher Uncles (1995)
Today the road is built up to the line of trees in the background:
The King’s Arms Hotel – Alison Price, June 2019
I plan to do some more rephotography in Broadford and Portree tomorrow.
References
UNCLES, C. 1995. Last Ferry to Skye. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing.
