West Woods of Ethie

It was one of those crazy late-spring days with a clear divide in the weather – everywhere north of the highland boundary fault was meant to get extreme precipitation, while Fife and Angus remained cool and dry. So we walked for a while in the West Woods of Ethie, admiring the lines and shapes of […]

Autumn at Glen Affric (1)

For about 13 years I have been of the opinion that it has not been a year without at least one trip to Glen Affric. My favoured time is autumn, late October, to catch the trees in the Caledonian Forest reserve at their most colourful. Arriving before sunrise, the light is all dullĀ  and the […]

Along the Oak Walk

One of my favourite walks around the local area is the Oak Walk – running along the edge of a large field, it gets beautiful evening sunlight and has some characterful trees One or two local folk have populated it with wooden sculptures, for amusement factor And the surrounding paths are well populated with wild […]

Chilling with the trees

On the third day of my holiday last year, the weather took a turn for the worse and my chosen route for the day was closed until Spring, so I went for a walk around the Reelig Glen just outside Inverness. To be more accurate, the first walk around the glen was favourably interrupted by […]

In the Woods

The Black Woods of Rannoch are a particularly favourite stroll. One of the Caledonian Forest reserves (the only one I know in Perthshire), they boast many native and rare flora species – Scots Pine, birch, rowans, alder, willow and juniper and lichens and fungi – as well as being home to wild deer (as I […]

Corrie Fee

It seems like ages ago now – but back in April, a friend took me for a walk up Corrie Fee near Glen Clova. It was the first time I’ve been there, and didn’t know exactly what to expect; the first stretch through the forestry was pleasant (once the weather made its mind up what […]