Christine's walking & birds blog

Meall Chuaich (Drumochter)

Alongside the broad estate track runs an aqueduct; sand martins were hunting above it and a willow warbler perched momentarily on the fence. Our destination was the 951m hill in the centre, and there's a four-and-a-half kilometre walk-in before we start the real climb.

Two redpolls flew out of a conifer plantation and foraged busily on the dusty ground.

Just beyond the plantation is Cuaich hydro-electric power station; house martins and sand martins were swooping round the building, and the muddy area beyond looked good for waders. A family of red grouse was nice to see although our delight at the tiny chicks was tempered by the knowledge that this is a shooting estate. Further upstream, an estate worker had stopped his truck and was scanning with bins. He told us there was an oystercatcher chick somewhere by the river; he wished us a good walk and on we went. We paused to look at a wire cage with what looked like some sort of spring trap inside, placed on a log over a stream. As it was in a conspicuous spot, perfectly visible to walkers, we assumed it was a legal one. A probable grey wagtail flew over to the river and Greger got me onto a common sandpiper as it disappeared round a bend.

Leaving the track we began to trudge up steep, sometimes stony, heathered slopes. A wheatear was seen. Pausing for a breather we looked along Loch Ericht to Ben Alder and other remote Munros; the river valley we've walked up is to the right.

It was reassuring on reaching the lower top to find the heather becoming sparser, and tundra-like vegetation taking its place. I think this is fir clubmoss.

Crowberry was everywhere, which made me hopeful of ptarmigan as they feed on its berries (I'd also spotted a couple of white feathers on the ground).

We were preparing to follow the ridge when a path led off to the left. Normally I'd prefer to stay high but we followed the path and I'm glad we did, because we came across a patch of cloudberry - and for once we were in time to see it in flower.  My mind went back to another small flower (mountain avens) dotting a rocky slope with white, and I counted myself lucky to have seen both in the same year.

Approaching the summit cairn of Meall Chuaich.....

.....and reaching it!

Time for lunch; but we couldn't find both comfortable rocks and shelter from the wind, so had to put up with being blown about while we ate. The views were stupendous although we didn't always know what we were looking at. (Getting a map out in the wind just asks for trouble.)

I had a walkabout. An anxious call was heard - and a golden plover came flying over swiftly to the east.

Having sat still for some time we were now feeling really cold in the strengthening wind and so, after a final admiring look at the views, we set off down. I turned for a last look at the moss-carpeted summit dome and the huge cairn with its attendant rusty fence posts; it was easy to imagine dotterel running here - but frequent scans through the bins brought nothing.