Scotland, place of my ancestry, the place I feel most at home when I hear the dulcet tones of the bagpipes as I rise from Waverley Station in Edinburgh.  I've been getting itchy feet of late, the ones that tell me it's time to pack a bag, grab my dog and get on a train, I think the promise of spring is almost too enticing and I know that it won't be long before I am planning a whole new season of travel.

With that in mind, here's some photos and my 7 reasons you should make one of the 7 Scottish cities your next short break or holiday destination this year.

1. Visit the National Wallace Monument in Stirling and find out about William Wallace, pretend you are Braveheart and more importantly see the amazing views as you climb to the very top, when we were walking down last year we even saw a fawn in the woodlands only a few foot from us, it was rather shocked when it turned around and saw us!
   
   
   
   
2. Search for the Nessie whilst you cruise Loch Ness on a Jacobite Cruise I did the 3 hour Reflection Cruise which sails from Tomnahurich bridge in Inverness, it then sails up the Caledonian canal and out into Loch Ness where it passes beautiful historic Urquhart Castle, it's the most relaxing reflective 3 hours I think I've ever had to myself, last year of course I didn't have Holly the beagle but looking at their website I see that they are dog friendly so guess where I'll be taking my favourite little beagle this year, I'm sure she'd love to find Nessie!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Get with your science and other amazing museums in Glasgow, so OK, the Science museum is the only one you actually have to pay for and the other 13 are all completely free which I think is pretty staggering, if you are short of finances but want to be big on fun with the kids then why not go to Glasgow and visit some of it's fantastic museums.  My children's favourite is the Glasgow science centre and I want to go back this year to actually go up the Glasgow tower which has been broken on every single visit so far!  Hopefully this year I might finally be able to enjoy those amazing views of Glasgow though I have to say that they're pretty impressive from the huge windows in the Glasgow Science Centre 
   
   
   
   
4. Rev up your physical activity levels, there's nowhere quite like Scotland if you love the outdoors, you can walk and walk and walk, we did that just last year when we visited pretty wee city Perth, we spent the entire day there just walking, Looby and I enjoyed it so much and they have one of the best parks for children that I've ever been complete with trampolines!
   
   
   
   
5. Adorn yourself in tartan from head to toe, a visit to Edinburgh means you'll never be short of shopping experiences and with just about every single shop on the royal mile selling tartan you'll find everything from hats to scarves to shoes and ever underwear in pretty much every tartan you can imagine. You can even buy earmuffs with Highland Coos on them.
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Find out about Scott of The Antarctic - yes, I know it's not your first thought about a visit to Scotland but if you visit Discovery Point in Dundee, you can do exactly that, also don't forget to take a trip up to the Dundee Law and admire the Tay bridge, a thing of great beauty, especially from up high. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Marvel at the architecture, Scotland has it all when it comes to historical architecture and there's nowhere quite like the Scottish city of Aberdeen, I've been to a lot of cities and Aberdeen was just completely different to any other city, it has a beach, it has a teeny quaint Scottish fishing village, it has one of the oldest Churches in the country,  The Cathedral Church of St Machar and it has of course got a massive oil industry, take a walk and admire the diverse architecture Aberdeen has to offer. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

So with all of that and more that Scotland's 7 cities have to offer you really should make one of them your destination for your next short break holiday, quite simply, Visit Scotland.

41% to go, UK Cityscapes weekend news

That's an alternative view of Glasgow which was city 7/69, I love this photo, not so glamorous but I think it's pretty!

Yes it's excitingly true, yesterday was a bumper day in the funding quest for the UK Cityscapes project, people have been pre-ordering their books and businesses have been securing themselves a brilliant sponsorship opportunity  Michaela Knight of aloetoglow.co.uk did yesterday evening, she's my newest business investor and you're going to be hearing a lot more about her over the next year, she is of course joining the very good company of sharperecruitment.co.uk, epictimes.co.uk and colleaguesontap.com, there are only a few business investor spaces left to go and get one now from http://igg.me/at/ukcityscapes where you can also pre-order a book or grab yourself something lovely, sponsorship starts at only £3 and you get stuff in return!!

I really never dreamed it was possible to get this far, I feel like I have the whole country behind me between the 600 people who are reading my blog ever day and the thousands of followers I have on social media.

It's the most exciting time and obviously I have saved the reveal of a whole new photo just for the occasion and what could be more fitting than a portrait of me?

Yes that's me, wearing a rucksack pressed into one of those giant pressy things (I don't know the technical name) at the Glasgow Science Centre you know I've probably mentioned how my postcards from the city are usually collected on a barter system whereby in a lot of cities I take 1 of my daughters (it makes the travel cheaper because of our family railcard and I get to share some of the experiences with them) and we have a conversation that goes something like this -

"Mum do you have to take more photos?"
"yes, I do, it's for the project"
"but I wanted to do fun things
"Well we are doing fun things"
"I'm bored and i'm hungry and i haven't eaten for 5 whole minutes, and I need the loo and I'm going to collapse from lack of orange juice"
"5 more minutes and we'll go to the next museum we find"
"alright but if you break your promise I shall stand on this bridge and not move ever again"
"no, you're a panda"

Actually that's usually Abigail, Looby is a lot easier than that are rarely complains, she just enjoys the experience, oh and lets just also add, Looby doesn't mind a long journey, Abigail has a boredom threshold of 11 minutes, we know because we've timed it!  Now can you imagine being on the train for 6 or 7 hours with a 12 year old who's bored after 11 minutes?

I'll stop now as it'll only spoil your enjoyment of actually reading the book full of these adventure but let me just say here and now, Abigail will not be joining me on trips to Inverness or anywhere further south than London!

Tomorrow I am off to Sterling, well I say tomorrow, could be Monday, depends on weather, accommodation which i'll assess this evening and yes I know it's last minute but that's what lastminute.com is for!

Right then, in two hours I shall be on the beach photographing little people and their families, please go do a sun dance as the weather isn't currently all that inspiring and unlike cityscapes people don't generally enjoy standing in the rain!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

UK Cityscapes, a cornucopia of postcards from your city

It's Thursday, the weather is quite frankly miserable and so I thought it would be a good time to have a recap of our cities visited so far and some of the postcards from the UK Cityscapes project

There are 16 days left of the initial sponsorship phase and if you are a business or an individual there are some great ways you can get involved and you'll have the opportunity to own some lovely art or to bag yourself the amazing opportunity to have your name in the book or if you are a business there's the strictly time limited opportunity to become a business investor and reap many benefits for your business so lets just take a look at some of my favourite postcards from both mine and your cities so far!

Initially this wasn't included as part of the project however I think it's the perfect dusk picture of my lovely city Newcastle

by contrast I love this gloriously sunny image of Liverpool including the yellow submarine, I have to tell you though that it may look like it was the most gorgeous summers day but it was absolutely freezing, Looby and I were practically ice-pops by the time we got back to our hotel that evening.

The day before it had not been quite so bright and sunny, you can see the radio tower here and -

That brings us to this one which was taken from the top of that very same radio tower, teetering 400ft in the air you get the most incredible views of Liverpool, if you visit you must make the effort to go because it's that experience which inspired the whole project.

My beautiful city Newcastle, it's often compared to Liverpool and yes there are similarities but we have the best bridges by far, they're our iconic statements across the river Tyne, the Tyne Bridge itself is instantly recognisable even if you're not from the region.

This is the other direction looking up the river Tyne

Ah the river at Durham, it looks like you're in the country but it's in the city, I love the hourly river cruises in Durham, I love them everywhere really, I love the journeys more than the destinations some times, I think it's exciting that I get to embrace my love of travel and give me trains over planes any day of the week!

Carlisle, petite little city and in fact the only city in Cumbria

and Sunderland where it was wet and murky the day I was there but I still found beauty although many of my vantage points were from the top of car parks rather than historic monuments sadly and you can't really feel the romance from the roof of a car park

Mowbray Park in Sunderland is without a doubt a very pretty park, if you've ever been in Sunderland on a weekend afternoon you'll see a myriad of brides and grooms trooping across the bridge from the registry office along with their photographers to get those all important portraits and some times the group shots too as Sunderland registry office is more brutalist than beautiful

Edinburgh remains of course my favourite city, I have so much heritage relating to Scotland and I've never had a bad day out in Edinburgh and even though I've been visiting for years there are still always new views to find

Glasgow is a place I've only discovered over the last few years but I've really grown to love it, you're never far from culture or great architecture, I do hope that when Scotland vote on independence they decide to stay in the UK, I really don't want to have to take my passport on trips to Scotland.  Incidentally I am having a vote on which city I should visit next on my Facebook business page, at the moment it looks like I'll be going to Stirling on Sunday, go vote on either Stirling, Leeds, Manchester, Lincoln or Sheffield.

York, city number 8 of 69 and another favourite city for me, it's just pretty and beautiful everywhere you look, it's like someone decided they'd like to design a city which would look great in postcards, a bit like Edinburgh in that respect, so steeped in history you feel you're wading up to your knees in stories of the past.

I love the Shambles area of York, it's like travelling back in time, each tiny store sells unique items, I almost wish there were more streets like this in every city full of bustling speciality retailers, it really is quite a magical place and I can't encourage a visit to York highly enough, you'll just never forget it.

So I hope you enjoyed that recap of places I've seen and the cities to which I have been and I hope you're now voting on which city I should go to next or you've just used the opportunity to bag a sensational perk and sponsor the project.

Uk Cityscapes, here's where we're at -

It's Friday, it's day 11 of my crowd funding, it's a couple of weeks since I started the UK Cityscapes project and I've been to 7 cities so far.

Liverpool
Newcastle
Carlisle
Durham
Sunderland
Edinburgh
Glasgow

the most important post I've written this week was about the reason why I'm doing this, my war against agoraphobia and bi-polar and why I must achieve this

and so where are we now?  Well currently I've ran out of my own tiny weeny pot of savings, everything i'm earning at the moment is going into this project so as soon as I get paid for some stuff I'll be back on the road, or the train, I am actually hoping to hop to York today but it very much depends what time a delivery arrives.

My favourite image of the project so far -

Possibly because it's the image which made me decide to do this and it's all about transition, change and making bold statements, something which I identify with in my own story.

Someone asked me this week how you can go from having agoraphobia to being 400 foot up in the air with vast spaces around you, well the answer is that agorapobia is always there and there are anxious moments but then I remind myself that I'm literally giving agoraphobia a big kick in the face and I'm not just doing this for me, I'm doing it for everyone who's living with a mental health challenge and winning, although i'll always have bi-polar but I don't believe i'll ever relapse, good medication, a positive outlook at all times and a love of photography, enterprise, inspiring and helping other people mean that even when i have scary moments/hours/days I know exactly where the boundaries lie and I know how to fight them and win.

So what can you do to help?  Well there are a few ways, as of this morning I have raised £528, that's 21% of my Crowd-Funding target, if you're wondering how that works, mostly credit card payments mean I'll get a substantial part of the total around 14 days after the crowd funding deadline closes in 36 days, anything paid via paypal I get immediately and that's helping me get to cities, with the admin and getting the word out there as well as securing perks for people who contribute.

If you want to make a contribution you can do so here

If you are a business reading this, get in touch, tell me how I can help you and in return secure some business sponsorship. I've spoken to press and coverage is imminent so the earlier you're in this with me the more publicity I can get for us both.  Perhaps you would like to exchange artwork for sponsorship, well that's fine but I can't help you if you don't give me your proposals, you can email me at any time at mandy@mandycharltonphotography.com

All of the images from the project are available as framed fine art prints, 7x5 in size in a 2 inch mount with a matt black frame and they're signed and numbered, all are only available in a limited edition of 100 and if you would like to purchase one again just email me or you'll also find a selection in my Etsy store, Philomenas Boutique

If you want up to the minute progress while I am on the go all you need to do is follow me on Twitter and you'll also find me on Facebook and of course I have my own website and I am still very much available for weddings and portraits oh and 1 more thing, if you don't live in the North East and would like to book a photo shoot with me when I visit your city there's a couple of special perks just for you on my crowd funding page.  book early though so I can plan it into my schedule as some cities I may only be coming to for a few hours, whilst I'd like to spend 24 hours in each city it's just not possible.

1 final thing, if you're travelling to a city somewhere and have room in your car for me (serious offers only and no serial killers please) I'd love to split the petrol costs with you so do get in touch :)

Have a wonderful bank holiday weekend, I am shooting portraits, a party and then celebrating Abigails forthcoming 12th birthday which is on Wednesday but we always celebrate on the bank holiday weekend.  This year she's getting an electric keyboard and some Dr Martens amongst other things, being 12 seems pretty splendid to me.

Oh and here she is, my just about to be 12 year old.

Galsgow, City 7 of 69 (host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games), UK Cityscapes Project by Mandy Charlton

First of all I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has shared the campaign page, read my blog post about why I'm doing this or made a contribution and claimed a perk!  This morning I've raised 21% of the total and campaigns who manage to get the first 20% are statistically more likely to reach their target, there's still 37 days to go and 79% to go though so keep sharing, helping, whatever you can, I'm determined I can do this now!

So lets get back to city number 7 of 69, the 2014 Commonwealth Games host Glasgow...

largest city in Scotland and 4th largest city in the UK with a population of over half a million people.  It's home to some of the most splendid museums and it's a place to go if you have kids because with the exception of the science museum they're all free!  Don't leave out the Science museum though as it's quite fantastic, we go every time we're in Glasgow because Abigail and Looby love it so much.

1 thing I've never managed to do in Glasgow is go up the Glasgow Tower which is unsurprising because since it was built in 2003 it's only worked for 20% of it's whole life, I suspect if I ever get up there I'll be rewarded with the most spectacular views of Glasgow ever though!

Glasgow of course has long been associated with Rennie Mackintosh, the designer, architect and artist was one of the most influential figures of Scotlands history.

Shall we get on to the photos?

The cityscapes aren't always the most picturesque things you've ever seen but they all make up the amazing city that is Glasgow

It's been lovely having my daughters along while they've been on their school holidays, I shall really miss them next week when I start doing the cities on my own.

sorry about the dodgy photograph of me, you can't really pack hair straighteners when you're carrying everything in a backpack, my neck is in enough pain without packing unnecessary products!

Cityscapes are everywhere in Glasgow because of the multiple hills it's built on, I would have liked to get higher up but I'm happy to wait until the Glasgow Tower re-opens this summer, I reckon it'll be a view worth waiting for.

The next city I'll be visiting is York, I know exactly where I'm going to capture the cityscape and there'll be lots of photos of the beauty of York too, I had intended to go today but the weather is appauling all over the UK today so I'm having another admin and planning day.

If you're a photographer popping your head in to read this post you may like to know that all of the images were taken with the Fuji X-Pro1 and the 35mm f1.4, it's the most amazing combination and the dynamic range alone is quite a special thing.  You may also like to know that all of these images were shot in Jpeg, the X-Pro1 makes it possible to never have to shoot in RAW again, how much editing?  Well all of the images have been through Lightroom, then Photoshop and then Lightroom again, it's quite a specific look and feel I have gone for and there's more information about why I've chosen to do that on the campaign page.

If you would like to contribute to the campaign in anyway possible the page is here and to email me about any of the images or anything about the project at all my email address is as ever mandy@mandycharltonphotography.com