Old Mallaig, Morar & Arisaig

This latest volume by Guthrie Sutton has, at times an almost ethereal, idealised quality, charting, as it does, the changes wrought by the coming of the West Highland Railway to this once inaccessible area. Photographs of small crofting communities along Loch Morar, now deserted and desolate, are juxtaposed with images of a vibrant and bustling harbour at Mallaig. Once the railway was established it enabled fish to arrive at the London market in record time. The overall effect of the book is of inevitable change held in check by the immutable grandeur of the Highlands themselves. Guthrie Sutton, as always, provides insightful commentary on the photographic collection.