Sunday 12 April 2015

Webcams

I like webcams. They can give you an idea of what the weather is like before you head off hillwalking (or skiing, if you into that sort of thing). My favourite of all the webcams is that at Glencoe Mountain Resort. But for such a scenic country, Scotland has surprisingly few tourist webcams - there is a set at each of the ski-resorts - and not many more. Those that do exist tend to be low resolution affairs set up by local B&B owners, or road authority ones concentrating on traffic flow.

But imagine the advertising benefits to the local area of broadcasting somewhere like Traigh Seilebost live at high resolution? Get it sorted, Scottish tourist board.

I must confess that my main pleasure with webcams is to look at mountain areas when I am at work or home on a sunny day. As it is more often wet than not on the west coast, it cheers me up no end to see something like this:

Glencoe Mountain Resort, today:


I know I am not missing out on my favourite activity, and can get on with what I am doing without that insistent sense that I should be somewhere else. This doesn't always work, of course. Sometimes I switch the computer on on a day where other plans have been made and am greeted with this:

Glencoe Mountain Resort:


Damn, I will think, another wasted day!

3 comments:

blueskyscotland said...

It's not something I'm into these days as I prefer the usual BBC met office forecast, which is very reliable for weather over the different areas of Scotland region by region but the mountain areas can make their own weather and I've had times in the past when its been sunny countrywide but dull or raining over Glencoe, Torridon or Skye. The speed of advancing technology however seems to suggest a near future when we will instantly be able to know what on the ground conditions are like UK, if not planet wide at any given moment.Not sure if I like that idea or not as by that time where people are at any given moment will no doubt be captured as well.

Robert Craig said...

Yes, things could go a bit far - after posting this post, I imagined a scenario where someone might go skinny dipping on the deserted Traigh Seilebost (I've done it myself!) and be caught on camera...

My main use of webcams is to reassure myself I am *not* missing out, rather than any other reason. The underlying cause being not getting up the hills as much as I would like to. A completely separate issue to the number and quality of webcams available.

Robert Craig said...

Was raining this morning in Lothian but beautiful in Glencoe today, I turned down a walk in Glencoe to go up the Moorfoots today... :(