Sunday, 8 May 2022

GUIDED WALKS ON SKYE & THE CAIRNGORMS

 

The old Man of Storr
I've been guiding some easy walking routes at the weekend. On Saturday I was over on Skye for just one day with my group. We went up to the needles at the Old Man of Storr. A very popular place for visitors on Skye. When I first went here back in the 1990's the original carpark was very small. You were lucky to see just a few cars and no campervans. Out of season you would be the only people there. A couple of years ago the local council  built a huge carparking area, such is the popularity and  increasing amount of people who now walk to these impressive basalt rock formations. Made up of sedimentry rocks, the are os slowly sliding into the Sound of Raasay. Maybe speeded up with the huge weight of human beings ;). I guess the popularity over the last 5 years or so has been driven by social media? Best to visit early morning or early evening if you are looking for solitude or peace and quiet. Having said that you can still find your own wee space if you get off the trails. Just don't let others see you because,  just like sheep they will follow you! 
Getting a photograph with no people in the shot is rare 

Always different from a new angle

Last one!
We also stopped off at the Sligachan for some more short strolls.

The Cuillin 
It was a beautiful and warm, sunny day. The midges haven't arrived - yet.


On Sunday I was with the same group for another shorter walk, back home in The Cairngorms. A breezy day and cooler but still sunny. Highlight for me was finding a beautiful wee Mountain Leveret. This tiny creature must only be a few days old. To give you a sense of scale, the nearby Crowberry plant needles are just 5 millimetres in length. 

Mountain Hare Leveret 

Eyes open
These beautiful baby hares have their eyes open almost from the moment they are born. Their mother won't be too far away. The Leveret is probably still suckling from the mother's milk. These precious animals will be extremely vulnerable in these early days. This wee guy was snuggled into the heather, away from potential predators and hopefully no dogs running around off a lead. 

We had a look at some snow patches and headed down early evening. 

Cloudy afternoon and windy

Snow lingering 

Granite and snow

There's a lack of people and details in my blog for a reason. It's all top secret.  Details later. 😀

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