Nigel's Photo Blog

  Sheep of the day Today, I completed the final leg of my hike along the West highland Way in the Scottish Highlands. Distance was at least 15 miles and was undertaken in tolerable weather conditions comprising leaden, black skies, light rain, no wind and mild temperature. As before, the trail followed the Old Military Road built by the British Redcoats to move soldiers around the Highlands. At that time there was a military fort at Fort William althiough only scant remains exist today. Today's leg started with a steep climb through woodlands out of Kinlochleven which eventually relented to provide superb views down Loch Leven and back to Kinlochleven. Illustration of the trail out of Kinlochleven   View of Loch Leven   Looking back on Kinlochleven Most of the hike was through Lairigmor (the great pass) which has an elevation of around 1100 feet and provides easy walking between steep and grand mountains. The path follows the glen (valley) as it bends to the north, reachi...

  Meeting with stag Today, I covered about thirteen miles in course of around six hours. The weather proved far more benign than the constant rain predicted. In fact, there was precipitation for only around 10pct of the day which, combined with mild temperatures and little wind, made for good hiking conditions. One of the day's highlights was a meeting with a stag and a couple of hinds early on. Scotland has an over-population of deer because they no longer have any natural predators. However, outside of winter time they are rarely encountered at lower elevations. The stag had the good grace to hold his pose whilst I fiddled around changing lenses with a satisfactory result. Today's hike entailed an ascent of 1100 feet most of which seemed to relate to the first few miles between Bridge of Orchy and Inveroran. This was a classic, narrow trail through woodlands culminating in an elevated view of Loch Tulla.  Video clip of Loch Tulla The second section of the route followed a f...

   Colourful fungi Today, I completed a stage from Ardlui to Tyndrum which covered a distance of about 14 miles.I started at Ardlui witha  short boat trip across the north of Loch Lomond to reach the trail. Then on to Inverarnan and tracking the River Falloch towards Crianlarich. Along this way two moumtains, namely Ben More and Stob Binnean provided an excellengt backdrop. There were also first class views back down towards Loch Lomond. After Crianlarich there was a period of secluded walking befor making my way back to the valley floor through farmland surrounded by towerinh Highland scenery. Below is a selction of images and videos from this particular section.   Landscape  Bracket Fungi River Falloch Loch Lomond from north.   Crianlarich Hills Highland scenery Inquisitive sheep   Landscape near Crianlarich Mountain stream Loch Lomond from north  Video clip of River Falloch

Today represented the final day (Day 4) of my hike along the West Highland Way. I am contemplating returning in the near future to complete the second half, all the way up to Fort William,which may take another four days. As anticipated, today's leg proved very arduous. covering 13 miles over 8.5 hours most of which was characterised by heavy rainfall resulting in a very sodden hiker for a second day running.  Moreover, the underlying trail was very tough in parts entailing rock scrambling over long distances with the heavy rain adding another dimension to the physical challenge. The trail (alongside the east bank of Loch Lonmond) passes through extensive natural oak woodland which hosts bird and animal wildlife. Most famous are the wild goats which I was fortunate to encounter.This is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest which is subject to a major replanting programme to secure its future. Key memories from today include multiple waterfalls and streams rushing off the mount...