I have been waiting for some time now for the right weather conditions to try to take some pictures of waves breaking over the rocks at Buchan Ness Lighthouse.  The wind needs to be in the right direction to whip up the sea, the tide needs to be right and the sun needs to be out;  and of course I need to have time and inclination to drive to Boddam.

Yesterday there was a strong wind blowing in Hatton and it was quite bright, so I thought I would take the dogs along and see.  I grew quite hopeful as we passed Stirlinghill Quarry and saw the white rim of breaking waves round the island.  However, the sky by now as quite grey and the light flat.  So not the perfect conditions, yet.

Some of my pictures reflect this flat light, and even when the sun did break through and there was some blue sky amid the wispy clouds, it was not bright enough to make the sea blue enough; and I would really have like the waves crashing on the rocks to be bigger.   There is no satisfying me!

Very dramatic, however was the view of waves breaking over the little rocky islands that you can see from Harbour Street in Boddam.  I noticed some shags sheltering from the waves there, watching the white churning sea and the white spray of the waves.

A walk along the coastal path towards Longhaven and Cruden Bay produced a few more pictures to record this stormy day and the ever present lighthouse.