Strathfillan

Scotch Argus...Glencoe

Yellow Saxifrage...Strathfillan

Bog asphodel and Bog Myrtle...Strathfillan

Mountain Sorrel...Ben Challum

Starry Saxifrage...Ben Nevis

Parsley fern...Ben Nevis

The bairns on top of the Big Yin!

Snow in summer

Amber approaching the summit of Ben Challum

Lemon scented Fern...Strathfillan

I've been in Scotland for a while stopping at Strathfillan between Crianlarich and Tyndrum and a few days visiting relatives in West lothian. Plenty of new plants and a chance to catch up with a few alpines on the mountain tops. The best plants were the saxifrages with Alpine, Highland, Starry, Drooping and Yellow quite easy to find. Also caught up with some new ferns.

A walk up Ben nevis was quite an experience and although I prefer to have the hills to myself you have no chance on Nevis. As Thursday was a beautiful day thousands of people had the same idea. There were charity walkers, some kilted, some overdressed, some underdressed (some dangerously as the temperature was 17 degrees at the bottom and 2 degrees on the top)! there were hard living Glaswegians swearing and smoking their way up and resting with a wee dram, a Japanese couple in their eighties and a blind man being guided up. Despite this it was an enjoyable climb but very strenuous in places and some snow near the summit.

Ben nevis is a good mountain for plants as it is rocky and has some good wet ledges where you can find some Alpines as well as Tunbridge and Wilson's filmy ferns. The views are memorable from the higher altitudes with Loch linnhe broadening out to the sea with Lismore and Mull in the distance.

I missed out on a good photo opportunity when I left the camera in the log cabin and went to Oban and came across 15 Black Guillemots close in at the North pier and an Osprey fishing next to the Connel bridge.

Another monroe was Ben Challum which was a harder climb than Ben Nevis with some steep and boggy areas as well as a narrow ridge to negotiate before the final push to the summit. Once on the top it offers one of the finest views in Scotland. Like many mountains the steep descent is harder than the climb up.