NW Highlands trip report - part 2

The forecast wasn't the best for the hills with strong winds and low cloud, so the plan was to visit the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve and then a trip up the coast to Gruinard Bay. A look in at the Beinn Eighe visitor centre revealed it had received a very impressive refurbishment since my last visit. A chat with a staff member revealed that the winter of 14/15 had seen 3 months of near continuous rain and wind resulting in high deer mortality rates from exposure, which explained the absence of deer.

Coille na Glas Leitre woodland

Back to the Coille na Glas Leitre Trails car park and the wind as forecast, had strengthened and the cloud base lowering to the summit of Slioch, a walk up the mountain trail seemed unwise and the woodland trail opted for instead. It may be my imagination but these old growth pinewoods have a special atmosphere and are a delight to wander through, an aesthetically appealing feature of Pinewoods are the dead trees which are called the 'bones of the forest'.

Possibly a caterpillar of the Vapourer moth (Orgyia antiqua) 

Less visually subtle were a troop of Fly Agarics :

Coille na Glas Leitre woodland is fenced off from the attention of deer, so there are no substantial animal tracks to wander off onto and the field layer was a dense mix of 'mature' heather, bilberry and bracken, covering hummocky ground, not the best for wandering around off piste without a machete, a pity as there are some areas that looked very photogenic from a distance.

Autumnal colour was still a few weeks away with only a few leaves on Rowan, Birch and Bracken fronds starting to indicate the change of season.

With the woodland trail completed it was off to Gruinard Bay and that was a photographic non event, aside from some geology exposures, with the weather really deteriorating it was back to the holiday cottage. I then managed to gain a few brownie points by suggesting a trip down to Shieldaig bay for some wildlife spotting as dusk approached and despite the heavy rain, we were rewarded with an extended viewing of an otter foraging amongst the seaweed, only the second time we've seen an otter in Scotland, woohoo!

Glen Torridon

The following day and the weather wasn't the best, the satellite rainfall radar showed an extensive tract of heavy rain slowly crossing the country, with the cloud breaking later in the day for sunshine and showers. The plan was a trip to Shieldaig bay for wildlife spotting and then down to Glen Torridon for a low level walk and/or geology excursion. The resident otter of Shieldaig proved elusive, the seals less so and the midge/mosquito population on some form. The drive down Glen Torridon didn't reveal a great deal as visibility was reduced by poor weather and a faster windscreen wiper speed would have been useful. Sanctuary was sought in the Torridon cafe, somewhere to appraise the options. As the refreshments arrived, so out to the west patches of blue sky appeared. The forecast was right and with better weather on the way, the plan was a walk over some interesting geology near Diabaig and if the cloud lifted a walk to a minor hill summit for the views.

Scotch mist

I do try my best to keep Nic interested in the geology by pointing out she was walking on continental crust nearly 3,000 million years old and the differences between high strain and low strain rock, the problem is it doesn't bear any resemblance whatsoever to an otter or any other marine mammal. With the cloud base stubbornly refusing to lift, wind starting to increase and interesting terrain to walk back over to the car in head torches, it seemed sensible to retreat and return another day. I made the offer that she could drop me off at another location on the way back, she could go and spot for wildlife and then pick me up at dusk. I have rarely seen her move so fast over rugged terrain.

The change of plan proved an inspired move, although I would have liked an extra 20-30 mins scouting, as it was a case of heading up onto the nearest knoll of gneiss in anticipation of the sun dropping into a cloud break out to the west.

Gneiss light

This area has and is undergoing an extensive planting of Scots Pine and Birch to regenerate the native pinewood and enclosure with deer fences, it will be interesting to view this area in 25 years time.