Views from the Spur Road

This wide-angle view was taken on the return trip near the top of the spur road, which can be seen descending down to Campbells Mountain Road. Subtracting the magnetic declination shown on the topographical maps, straight down the road is 20°, so this view is east of, but fairly close to, true north. Lake Ainslie sits in the depression bounded by the mountains on both sides of the lake. The locality of West Lake Ainslie would be below the mountains on the near (south) side of the lake and Scotsville would be on the far (north) side; neither is visible here.

Taken just a bit further down the spur road with a telephoto lens, this view brings into sharper focus the mountains on both sides of the lake. I was initially at a loss for the road one sees in the centre of the photo, but I have since come to believe it is MacLellans Road, which rises into the hills between Centreville and East Skye Glen and which I drove a few years back after reading a piece about it by Dr. Jim St Clair in the Oran. If one could see through the trees at the far left, one would be looking off towards Strathlorne and Inverness, but those areas are blocked from view on the spur road.

This telephoto view is taken from the same place as the previous one, but panning to the right. I believe that where the three mountains come together at the centre right of the photo is where Scotsville lies, though I am not positive of that.

What lovely terrain is on display here! These rolling green ridges and mountains confirm that this area belongs to the Appalachian Mountain system, which runs from Newfoundland to Georgia.

This is as far to the right as one can see here, where one is looking straight down the spur road: the trees on the right side of the road now block the views. The mountains on the horizon are the sides of the plateau that rises above East Lake Ainslie.