Scotland 2019 part 1: Not that easy

In late September and early October we spent almost two weeks in Scotland. We first visited a new area for us - the Applecross peninsula opposite Skye - and then went on to our favourite haunt of Speyside. Applecross was a stunning area and definitely one for returning to in the future. You are miles away from anywhere in a very remote and beautiful part of the country. The further we went way from the cities the more rugged and beautiful the scenery became.
We had a number of "excursions" planned for whilst we were there and one of them was to see ptarmigan. These are classic mountain birds of the grouse family. They have a stunning white plumage in Winter to camouflage them in the snow which fades to mottled brown on the summer. Normally you have to walk up to the high tops around Speyside to find them. Applecross is meant to have some of the more accessible birds if you discount off the 14 hours it takes to drive there!!! The area is the high point of the island, marked by a rather picturesque communications mast.   This in turn is reached by what is claimed to be the steepest  road in Scotland, the Pass of the Cattle or Bealach na ba.

This vertiginous road rises to the summit then descends down to the loch side in a series of white-knuckle hairpin bends, very popular with the many motorcycles on the road!

Anyway, we were there for the ptarmigan so we parked up and set off on the walk to the radio mast. It is indeed a short walk compared to the 3 hours or more in Cairngorm. After perhaps 20 minutes you reach the high point with stunning views over the hills.

We spent some time scouring the rocks for signs of any wildlife but after some while all we had found was some deer and a lone golden plover.

We were beginning to think that the birds had perhaps moved to an even more remote area so we had a final skirt round the mast and started to move back to the car. Suddenly Judith called out to me and as I spun round she pointed to a group of small rocks. There, lurking around them was a grey shape.

We had found our target and like most of its kind it was reasonably confiding as we blundered around in the rock scree.

It is still in Summer plumage with only its belly being white. It has its feathery leg coverings to keep it warm in the snow though. They also have a rather dashing red line above their eye. We watched it for about 10 minutes before leaving it to carry on searching for food in the rather desolate scree in which it lived.

A successful trip and one that partly conformed to expectation. The ptarmigan certainly is easier to walk to though it does take a bit of effort getting there. Still, with the Applecross Inn at the end of the Bealach serving stunning seafood it is a trip well worth making.