Loch Garten Nature Reserve. Abernethy Forest.

On the last day of our trip Alex and Julian suggested a exploration of Loch Garten as the weather was still very mixed on the heights. Yet another area I hadn't been to so I was delighted. I was also impressed by the size and age of many of the trees in the surrounding Abernethy Forest. A good network of trails radiate from the Loch Garten Osprey centre into the forest reserve and a pleasant few hours can be had exploring the loch and a couple of neighbouring smaller lochs nearby. You can see why the first ospreys returning to Scotland picked here as the landscape feels very Scandinavian and remote.

Fairly easy to get lost here if you wander onto the further away back trails as its pretty featureless. For first timers when you arrive out the forest onto the shoreline one loch looks very much like another.

This is Loch Garten. Very quiet and still in the winter months. The official RSPB link here which includes some great photos of the animals in the reserve.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/l/lochgarten/index.aspx

The osprey centre is shut in winter but all the trails are free throughout the year.

Loch Garten again. Different Spot. We also managed to take in Nethy bridge and Granton on Spey. Unheard of for me to visit so many new areas on a weekend in a familiar location so I was well chuffed.
Granton in particular was slightly larger and grander than expected, a Victorian resort town with a  substantial feel to the buildings and we had a good wander round the shops and down the main street. Not as touristy or as in your face as Aviemore. Traditional and attractive in a low key manner.

Driving back down the road towards Glasgow we hit some strange weather effects.

Stirling Castle above.
Just before Stirling we ran into a line of Mammatus clouds forming but we were past them before I could capture the full effect. These usually indicate a storm brewing and can form into individual eggs or an entire egg box patterned sky. Udder clouds building and a dark threatening sky yet at Stirling itself, just a few miles down the road it was clear and sunny again. Weird.
The Wallace Monument below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_cloud  Good link here to an effect I've only witnessed a few times in Scotland. Once before a really ferocious winter storm that hit the next day and almost blew our bothy down, with trees toppled everywhere in the morning with the strength of the wind.

It was no surprise therefore to enter Glasgow and witness a scene similar to a biblical apocalypse with dark swirling clouds above the city and what looked like a mini tornado attempting a touch down over East Kilbride. Heavy rain but no cars or wind turbines flew into the air.  Good effect though.
An enjoyable weekend made possible by staying low. Even managed to improve my tan.

Loch Inch. Strathspey.

With only bagging a small hill (Creag Bheag) there was still plenty of time to explore the area around the hut which is not far from Loch Inch in Strathspey before it got dark. We'd soon noticed on previous trips here that the nearest pub was the Loch Inch water sports centre, complex and restaurant which looks like a large circular posh log cabin situated just past Kincraig on the way to Inchreich Forest. We'd only ever stopped for a few beers here, mostly at night after a hill, but it seemed to have expanded since my last visit with a mini kingdom look to it.

One of the things I'd noticed passing it in the car was a signed trail weaving along the lochside on a zig zag wooden boardwalk. Speyside's answer to Boardwalk Empire. Without the gangsters and guns of course. In these conditions, (light drizzle and no wind), due to the sheltered woodlands surrounding it and a series of little pools filled with autumn reflections it reminded me of a Japanese landscape setting. Maybe it was the small bridge spanning between pools that did it.
 As it was too early to go back to sit in the hut Alex decided to join me for a tour of this walkway (signposted trim trail) but in wet conditions like these you certainly wouldn't want to stride out. As parts of it were sloping, soaking wet and covered in leaves it was like an ice rink in places and no pushover to walk along. Great fun if you didn't fall in as there were no handrails to grab when you started to slide. Be easy in summer though. Due to the floods parts of it were six inches to a foot underwater but that only added to the enjoyment. A magical little place with plenty of scenic interest.

The trees in Loch Inch were decked in full autumn colours and a few brave families were out in Canadian canoes paddling across the water. I can only assume this trip was pre-booked in advance and couldn't be cancelled as out there in the middle of the loch it was windy, freezing and the drizzle had intensified into the heavy miserable kind everyone knows so well.' Highland Happy Juice' I call it. They had young kids with them and you could see from their expressions they were really enjoying the drizzle too.... Welcome to Scotland. Haste ye back. Pity we couldn't find a way to export Scottish drizzle to desert countries as over there it would be seen as a star attraction.

This eastern shore of Loch Inch has a sizable population hidden in the trees that you never really see properly except from this trail. It's a bit like a posh Carbeth with different sized ski huts, log cabins, self catering chalets, club huts and local folk all mixed in. Seemingly, during World War II, a contingent of experienced lumberjacks were drafted in from Newfoundland and bonded well with the locals, going to dances at the village hall and generally fitting in with village life as it wouldn't be that different to where they came from. A steady supply of timber was culled from the forests around Loch Inch then floated on rafts down the River Spey, Canadian style, to be used in the war effort.

Amazing what you see in the woods. These two were only feet apart before they went their separate ways with guilty expressions.

Female pheasant. Less colourful than the showy male. Birds not related obliviously although this female was definitely checking him out as a bit of exotic top totty in the forest.

This was a beautiful stretch through a grove of slender silver birch trees.

More boardwalk.

Swing park and adventure playground. A lot of time and effort has gone into this venture.

Rainbow. I don't see many of these normally as I'm not usually out in the rain in the mountains.

More snow dumped onto the surroundings high up. According to reports from the few younger members who braved the heights it was blizzard conditions on the top. Challenging but enjoyable. Ah bless em! I used to enjoy that kind of weather as well. For the first ten years of hillwalking.

A distant view of Blair Castle. The Duke of Atholl has the rare distinction of being the only  individual allowed to raise and maintain a private army in the United Kingdom though this is largely for estate and ceremonial duties nowadays.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blair_Atholl.

Creag Bheag. Kingussie. Glen Banchor. Badnoch.

Still in the Aviemore area it looked a very promising day when we drove up through the mountains of Badnoch. For me at least. Rain and sleet at high levels over the mountains, sunny and dry lower down. Graeme, whose car we were in, is still keen on bagging Munros despite having climbed them all in his youth so a big peak down in nearby Glen Banchor was on the cards. Andy was up for that as well. I was happy to do it in good conditions just for the exercise.

Luckily for me a heavy shower of freezing cold rain and a howling wind at the exposed car park high above Newtonmore put them off and we sat in the vehicle for ten minutes waiting to see if it would go off. These guys will gamely trudge up a mountain in driving  rain and mist if they get a dry start from the outset but the weather looked as if it was getting worse which dampened their enthusiasm.

On the way up the road I'd noticed the autumn colours were at their peak so I was keen to capture them. Of course you only get autumn colours at lower levels :))

Can you guess what happened next folks?

Just a short distance from Glen Banchor lies Creag Bheag, 486 metres or 1,600 feet, a fine little rocky peak I discovered last year and a perfect lower level alternative. I promised them it was a fantastic little mountain with shelter in the woods most of the way up, which it is and it has. It was just under the cloud base and the one brief heavy shower we did get we were able to shelter in the forest before a dash for the top when the sun arrived again. ( I melt in the rain you know!)

It also had cracking views down to Kingussie, resplendent in autumn colours and a wide view over the Cairngorms buried in clag. And a nice rainbow.

Were they grateful?... Were they F....
finding the hill to their liking?
Hard to tell. Lets just say they were not enjoying the views as much as me, probably wishing they were higher up in the grim stuff instead of basking in bright sunshine, good views, and gentle winds. I was quite happy to hose them down with freezing water back at the hut then beat them both with a big stick if they could only enjoy themselves when their bodies were being frozen, tortured and abused but only if that took place in a dry sunny spot of course.

Kingussie looked amazing when you studied individual pockets and squares below. A delightful tapestry of different deciduous trees and houses.

Even found an orange peel fungus growing out of a crack on the path.

and a nice walk through the forest on the trail back with the dying fronds of bracken a fetching shade of white. Very ghostly in the dull conditions. Arrived back at the car bone dry and warm. Mission accomplished once again!

A view of Pitlochry and Ben Vrackie on the journey up.

Aviemore. Cairngorms.Craigellachie. Things to do in Aviemore when your dead.

The reason for the title is the fact that I've been in Aviemore dozens of times over the years but it was only on this trip I realised I didn't really know it at all. In my youth it was always just a convenient base to pass through or stay, get messages or a takeaway in then go to the pubs at night. I know the main street, the pubs, the shops and the supermarket fairly well but the rest of the time was spent high up on the 1000 metre plus plateau bagging the Cairngorm giants.
Luckily for me the weather on this trip was ideal. Snow storms, low cloud and strong arctic winds on the heights which put even the normally keen hill walkers down a notch. This is Andy, Julian and Alex, unhappy at not getting a big peak but resigned to the fact that my alternative suggestion to visit the Craigellachie Nature Reserve behind Aviemore main street was the best suggestion for a low level dry walk. The wooded hill above is part of the reserve but we are going the wrong way here as we missed the turn off a hundred yards back.

Hopefully you can see the route from this map. Follow the access slipway road off the A9 into Aviemore where it goes round the roundabout next to the top photo above. Before you enter the main shopping pedestrianized area proper there is a sign for the youth hostel on the left. This minor road leads up under an underpass into the reserve and is signposted. We parked the car just off the main street about 50 yards past this youth hostel sign where there is an empty square of parking, next to but not part of the first outdoor/clothing shop on the left, facing towards the north, driving into town. Graeme who was driving preferred to read a book here and stay in the car. The others swithered a little, debating whether to hit the shops then decided to follow me, mainly because it was the cheaper option I suspect.

I've never understood that mentality of only going somewhere if it involves getting a tick on a list and not bothering with it if it,s not down on a bagging sheet somewhere. To me nature's nature and I enjoy it all, even in the middle of a housing scheme. It could be argued that you see far more of interest at lower levels anyway as that's where all the wildlife tends to be. Animals aren't stupid and stick to where the maximum amount of shelter and warmth offers them a home.

A male pheasant resplendent in its fine plumage. Originally from the Indian subcontinent but transported over here because of its flamboyance, its flowing grace in fight and its magnificent capacity to fly in a straight line across a gun range making it a perfect target to shoot. Isn't nature wonderful designing a bird that's easy to kill in large numbers. Pity about the dodo but that's life. They should try shooting swifts and swallows in mid air- far more of a challenge. I've never managed it yet with a camera due to a slow shutter speed.

A baby newt. Newts only use pools and waterways to breed. The rest of the time they live on dry land although they like damp areas. You very rarely see them on land so this was a lucky find from a few months ago.

 The crag above the lochans. I was keen to climb higher as this trail ascends through the trees to 490 metres( 1600 feet) and I was enjoying it as the weather was improving to the point where some of the higher Cairngorm mountains could be glimpsed. A snow storm on the heights was just clearing up but the other three walked back to the car at this point, bored with a non tick walk. Each to his own.
Motivation's a funny thing. Sometimes they can be having a great time in grim weather yet I'm bored because there is nothing to see or photograph.

Think this is a great tit from the white cheeks and black chin.

View over the River Spey and the lower Cairngorms from Craigellachie. After taking this I climbed up onto a higher shelf of rock to gain the upper tier of cliffs. Good path network in the reserve suitable for dogs, children and most adults. There is a network of trails from easy to fairly steep and rocky. I was on the viewpoint trail at this point which climbs to the top of the escarpment. Takes between two to three hours depending on speed. I was faster than that because I knew they would be waiting for me to return.
http://www.nnr-scotland.org.uk/craigellachie/
Cant believe I've not been here before and was very impressed. Great alternative when the heights are out due to bad weather, strong winds, or if you just fancy a more pleasant sheltered option.

The Lairig Ghru ( I think) with the upper level blizzard just clearing. By contrast the lower levels remained sunny and warm throughout with sparkling rays hitting the silver birch leaves, turning the entire reserve into a golden kingdom.

I could just made out the Cairngorm Funicular railway in the distance. Cant see it getting many passengers in these conditions. Snow tunnel at the top of the line. Too early in the season for skiers on the slopes but what looks like a 'piste beastie' can be observed here getting the slope ready just in case. Shame it all melted away a few days later.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairngorm_Mountain_Railway
I've never been on that either. Cant see it happening now.

Ah, the beauty of Aviemore. Come to think of it these are probably the only tower blocks in rural Highland Region. If you want I'll come up and spray paint inside them all for free to give visitors an authentic taste of high living in the central urban belt. Being a big city boy no self respecting tower block is complete in my eyes without interior decoration :o)

A wander round the back district of Aviemore holds a few surprises and throws up some nice scenic gems.

For our weekend at the hut Alex had his favourite treat. He rarely eats during the day but at night he makes up for it with a king sized Pizza.

Our club had picked a cosy hut near Loch Inch situated between Kingussie and Aviemore, which I'm not going to name.

A wonderful wood burning stove and great company rounded off a nice evening with Dr Swally on hand to province internal comfort and soothing nurture. Dr Vodka in my case. And so to bed.....

Upper Clyde Valley. Crossford. Rosebank. The warm,sheltered Kingdom.

On an early October morning of bitter, freezing winds on the heights I was in no rush to gallop towards winter with autumn still to savour ahead. The trees were just beginning to change colour yet snow was predicted to fall briefly on the highest mountain tops in Scotland over the weekend.
Bugger that I thought. Let's run to the sun instead and visit the warm valley.

I like to look for the magic and beauty in everyday life around me.  Can you see the happy penguin yet? No? Click on the bloody picture then :)

This is the garden valley. An area of wooded slopes and fertile meadows carved out by the mighty River Clyde in its upper reaches where its waters in the distant past have been broad and fierce enough to bite deep into the surrounding landscape creating a sheltered, warm, oasis. A deep winding, trench running for many miles through the soft geology of this part of Lanarkshire.

 Monks were the first to realise the potential of this area, growing apples, plums, soft fruits and berries on the warm, usually frost free banks during the short Scottish summer. Orchards were planted and thrived. Later arrivals grew strawberries and tomatoes here on a large commercial scale, and it earned several new names. The 'Glass Gorge', the 'Fruit Basket of the Central Belt, The Garden Valley.
http://food.list.co.uk/article/54556-the-clyde-valley-is-home-to-leading-firm-of-scotlands-tomato-industry/ A good link here with a brief history of the produce and new blood continuing the tradition.

One of the most remarkable facts about this fruit growing trench is that it lies at the same latitude as Hudson Bay in Canada and is further north than Newfoundland, and the frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia. In summer it can get hot and humid down here with lush vegetation, including bizarre meadows of  wild course rhubarb coating the riverbanks and in winter the gulf stream ensures its temperate climate.
Taking the M74 out of Glasgow, then the scenic A70 as it follows the river along the floor of the trench I soon arrived and parked the car in the village of Crossford, where there is a medium sized car park, public toilets and a handy information board/map of walking paths in the area.
The Clyde walkway runs through here and follows the far (left )bank of the River back towards Motherwell and Glasgow, though they both seem very distant from here. From the car park walk up the main street until you can cross the bridge seen above ( B7056 Braidwood Road ) From here a pleasant walk takes you along the flat embankment in a north westerly direction then climbs gently to offer superb views over the district.

Higher still the surrounding mountains are glimpsed, looking cold, bare and bleak yet it remains sunny and lush down here with a distinct otherworldly feel in places.

This beautiful meadow dotted with different coloured trees wouldn't look out of place in 'Teletubbie land' or the magical confection that is 'In the night garden'
In the hard world of adulthood anyone who still holds onto a flicker of that inner child when they grow up is lucky indeed as the world will always seem a wonderful, unexpected place viewed through their eyes.
'In a hole in the ground there lived a.....

What! Expecting a hobbit? If a hobbit arrived outside this hole it would be quickly skinned, eaten, stored for later and used as a cushion. Stoats and weasels line their underground apartments with the soft fur of their victims, including, rabbits, voles, mice, even occasional rats, shrews, and moles. For their size the weasel family contain some of the fiercest predators on the planet and this one didn't show any fear of me when I was kneeling down beside it. Going by its size and the fact that its brown pelt appears to be turning white I think this is a stoat but it wouldn't be tempted out far enough to see its black tail and I certainly wasn't going to put my fingers near it to find out. Who says you cant talk to the animals? Have you ever tried apart from dogs, cats and caged birds? All wild creatures respond to soft persuasion. Hug a honey badger. See what happens next :)

After walking along beside the river for a while I decided to  cut uphill on a minor signposted track near Overton farm heading for the birthplace and memorial to General Roy. A quiet and surprisingly out of the way spot for this map maker extraordinaire and father of the Ordnance Survey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Roy
No doubt growing up on the edge of this deep trench with a birds eye view of the sliced landscape below him cut by the river and its numerous tributaries running off the surrounding uplands inspired him to take an interest in geology and the formation of natural features from an early age.

After visiting his marker and having lunch beside it on a sheltered bench in the sun I continued past Carluke, sitting high on its 1000 foot pedestal of land. ( one of the highest market towns anywhere in the country) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carluke   and famous for its jam. Great tale in here under another notable resident Thomas Weir, the Warlock of West Bow, reputed to be one of the inspirations for Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde after his self confessed spectacular fall from grace.

Even here I was still climbing until I didn't feel that far off the level of Tinto, viewed in the distance.

With a zoom the distinctive tower blocks in Motherwell could be picked out along with Ben Lomond in the distance. What a view. What a bloody cold wind through! I soon decided to take the Lanark Road past a few remaining glasshouses then cut down onto the twisting B7056 past Braidwood which has a great position high up on its shelf of earth overlooking the high ridges around Lesmahagow.

This road incidentally, although commanding great views, is not for the fainthearted as it can be busy with cars and vans using it as a fast short cut at certain times of day. Below Braidwood it has no pavements, high hedges adorn each side, it is twisty and narrow and you have to really squeeze in against the bank to avoid any vehicles passing. I would suggest it isn't a road to walk down with children or dogs at a busy time of day if you want to see them again. There are a few zig zag paths marked on the OS map going through woods and subsidiary dells off road in the vicinity but they looked longer and harder to discover for a casual outsider to link up. I was getting tired by this stage and just wanted a straightforward descent back to the car. I met a real hard guy at this point, cycling up this steep tortuous ribbon of tarmac on his bike, upright, determined and panting visibly with the effort. Keen cyclists need to be really committed to pedal up and down the walls of this green canyon if they live locally. A good training ground for the Tour de France.

Wondrous things in the sheltered woods below. A tiny fairy forest of silver mushrooms growing from a crack in a tree a metre long. A world within a world. A sheltered spot within a sheltered spot. New life springing from death. Mycelium sisters, as usual, working hard behind the scenes to convert dead wood back into something useful. The real recyclers. We are only playing at it for the present time compared to nature's super efficient system of waste conversion.

Passing by the village of Rosebank  and the quaintly named Popinjay Hotel on the way home. I could have channelled my inner diva here at the wedding Fayre by trying on a wedding dress but decided to imitate sleeping beauty back at the house instead as I was completely knackered after this walk. As tough as any mountain Munro day.

Just watched 'Nina Conti- A Ventriloquist's Story: Her Master's voice' on BBC4. I already knew Nina was talented with bags of sparkle as I've seen her act a few times over the years but this was a different level again. A worthy winner of best documentary as it explores the strange love/hate partnership that exists between ventriloquist and dummy/creation at a deep level. Heart warming, moving and watchable it gets better and more bizarre the longer it goes on. Well worth catching on i player  in this link or whatever medium you can see it on and should do her career no harm at all in an age when ventriloquists are not seen as 'cool or radical' enough. After this unusual insight into the realms of the psyche she could get a side job as a director. Never thought I'd have a lump in my throat over a puppet's fate.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01jv1yr The two minute video in here with granny swimming underwater( The OAP nightdress clad dummy) should give you a taste of it. The i player repeat has now ended but the five minute video 'N.C at the Edinburgh fringe' is still there.

There's only one music video that's a perfect fit for this post. I've been a fan of Kate Bush since 1978 but my favourite song of hers is this highly personal offering which I don't think she'd write nowadays as you become more guarded in your outlook due to the intrusive nature of fame. Perfectly combined with a poignantly sweet video that should remind adults everywhere of that inner child buried deep but still alive in their soul, squashed down under the painful realities and practical struggles of everyday life. A garden( song) for a garden( film) for a garden (blog post). Perfect ending.