The uncontested showpiece of Sutherland, Suilven is the most chameleonlike mountain I know, but rather than change colour like the lizard, it changes shape in the most dramatic way.
Glen Affric is celebrated for its dazzling medley of Caledonian forest. Scots pines flourish, as well as newer deciduous species, the most obvious of which is the birch. It was these trees that stood out for us one clear, frosty morning.
Autumn colours glowed brightly in the trees along our early morning route to the Dirrie More near Braemore but it was that other seasonal feature – the wind – that dominated our day in the beautiful Fannich range.
It was already very warm and highland cattle in the field beside the Loch Torridon hotel were lazing in the shade trying to keep cool.
For shameless Munro-bagging, this route is a must-do. But more than that, the lengthy trip described here is well worth the tired legs for the magnificent views on the way up the glen, as well as from the tops.
It was a song – Loch Maree Islands – that first introduced me to what was then known as the Whitbread Wilderness, a great swathe of wild mountainous land that lies between Loch Maree and Little Loch Broom in Wester Ross.
We followed a fine path through the Caledonain pines along the bank of Abhainn Coire Mhic Nobuil before all too quickly the trees thinned and we emerged from their cool shade to the gathering heat of the day.
Many hillwalkers enjoy the debate, not least on the TGO forum, about what constitutes the perfect mountain. Is it the sheer bulk of Ben Nevis, the spiky icons of Skye, or the enormity of the high, undulating Cairngorms?
Dominating the skyline from Inverness, the snow-capped mass of Ben Wyvis is the Highland capital’s local mountain.
The two principal mountains north of the Great Glen stand shoulder to shoulder above the Caledonian forest of Glen Affric, and are almost identical in height and shape when viewed from the east.
What a difference good snow can make on a winter outing. Last time out, we’d been hampered by soggy, slippy, slow-going snow and forced to turn back; this time was the complete opposite.
Inverpolly is a land of expansive heather-clad moor, peat bogs and a myriad of lochans interspersed with spectacular red Torridonian sandstone monoliths.
