David Walls
Illusions and Reflections on Loch Ard
Over the years I’ve been drawn to this loch, walking around it and within its bordering forest and delving into its visual secrets, reflected in its waters, especially on winter days when it takes on a mystical quality. This quality seems to stem from its narrowness at one end which is linked to the broader part of the loch by what is locally called “the narrows” Backed on one side by trees then mountainside and on the other by an expansive forest it rests within a cleft, retaining icy mist and an often frozen surface where higher up, golden light and a blue sky predominate. Late afternoon is the magical time to be there when the sun is lower in the west, bathing the hillside opposite and the bracken growing on it in warm, glowing light, all of which reflects on the waters of the loch creating illusions, aided and abetted by ice, snow, mist, light showers of rain and the gentle movements of breezes which rise up and die down spasmodically, ruffling the surface and dramatically varying the shimmering reflected light . Email: dfwalls@btinternet.com