Christine's walking & birds blog

I made the wrong decision today. Anxious to get up Ben Wyvis in the hope of seeing dotterel I suggested an early start, and having parked in a satisfyingly empty car park we set off at 6.15 am. It was very windy, and the tops were hidden by cloud - but the forecast was for better weather later on.

In the usual place above the zigzags near the large boulder, three ptarmigan walked carefully across the stepped path above and watched us warily, whimpering softly to each other.





We walked up past them, but then they flew anyway - gathering one more individual (of unknown sex) from somewhere - and landed again a little way down the hill.

We climbed on into thickening cloud with flurries of light rain. At the top of An Cabar we sat in the shelter and had something to eat and drink - and decided to go back down. It was a wrench to leave the summit plateau, but the wind was so strong we could hardly stand upright, let alone walk; and it could be an hour or more before the weather improved.

It didn't help that halfway down, we began to meet walkers coming up - walkers who had timed it right and were approaching the top just as the wind dropped and the cloud lifted off the hill. Even the sun made an appearance. Going back up was not an option - I'd led us up through the forest too fast and we were both tired. Most people stopped to pass the time of day, and I had to be polite while inwardly raging at myself. Pausing for a rest and looking back, I reflected that somewhere up on that now-clear summit ridge, there could be dotterel! Greger cheerfully pointed out that we can try again next week - and meanwhile, we had at least enjoyed a feast of ptarmies.