First stop was with family near Pitlochry. I love the wooded hillsides and deep river valleys that characterise this area. Great mountains loom blackly in the distance; a backdrop that confirms you are in the 'proper' Highlands. The salmon were leaping at the Linn of Tummel, but with low water levels there were few fish moving. We did not manage to find a capercaillie, which was not surprising and it was disappointing to see that this wonderful bird seems to have lost the nature conservation popularity contest. The forests around Pitlochry used to be 'badged' and branded as capercaillie country. Images of them were everywhere; not just postcards, but on the forest gateways, roadside billboards and everyone seemed to be committed to the return of this huge, charismatic grouse. Now, it is hard to get a sense that this area still holds any capers at all. All the signs have come down and the Forestry Commission has moved on. They are no longer managing their extensive forests for capercaillie. The only efforts seem to be made by a few private landowners.
Red squirrels, on the other hand, seem to be doing well. We had some lovely views of squirrels. It was dark, so the images are nothing to boast about, but we loved spending time with this delicate, agile little beast.
From Pitlochry, we moved down to Ayrshire and stayed at the Alton Albany B&B. This was a real find. A lovely room, great breakfast, welcoming hosts and ... most important for us ... right beside the River Stinchar.
Again, water levels were very low. The Stinchar can roar when it's in spate, but when we were there the pools were so low that the sea trout were trapped into them; waiting for some rain so that they could move up to their spawning grounds.
We were hoping to have some close encounters of the ottery kind, but that will have to wait for another trip to Ardnamurchan. While we were waiting out beside the water, a dipper came scudding up the stream to alight on a branch in the water. You don't often hear dippers sing, partly because it is a soft mellifluous song, but also because of the constant rattle and chatter of the water in the rocky streams where they live. The image below was taken at first light, so it's a little grainy.
The Alton Albany Farm B&B can be found here: http://www.altonalbanyfarm.com and we will be back to see them soon!
