Weekly Photo Challenge: Atop

As a family that likes to spend time outdoors walking and hiking in the midst of nature, we frequently find ourselves atop different natural formations during many of our outings.  Here are some pictures taken during a  vacation in Scotland.  This first shot is atop a small hillock in Pentland Hills, just outside of Edinburgh.
This cow was observing us from atop another of the hills in the park.A climb up yet another of the hillsfound us atop a peak with a cairn.The following picture is of us atop Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh.Some of us feel the urge to explore any and all random hilltops that appear within our field of view. So it was that, while we were at Hushinish in the Outer Hebrides, and in the midst of gale force winds and pouring rain, the kids clambered atop a hillock that we sighted in the distance in order to see what lay beyond.  (Can you see them in the picture below?) The effort awarded them an unobstructed view of the Atlantic Ocean through the storm.And this was the view of the North Sea from atop a cliff near the Butt of Lewis Lighthouse at the northern tip of the Outer Hebrides.We climbed a hill behind the town of Ullapool on the western coast of mainland Scotland.  It was a long way to the top.We got a view of Loch Achall (which had been hidden from view so far) from atop the hill.This is a picture of Loch Broom and the town of Ullapool from the hilltop.The picture below includes The Minch, the strait that separates the mainland from the Outer Herbrides.Finally, here is a picture of us atop a cliff at Durness, along the northern coast of mainland Scotland.There is almost always a thrill when one looks out over the distance from atop natural formations.