On the Slopes of Blaven

Anyone who has visited the Isle of Skye or indeed viewed the island from the West Coast of Scotland will not have missed the serrated skyline of the Cuillin mountains, the most southerly of which is Blaven.  For anyone who wishes to read about this wonderful mountain in more depth then the best site I know can be found here.

Blaven as viewed in Spring Sunshine

The image above and another can be viewed in higher definition here.

Another sun drenched day drew me back to Blaven to get some mountain walking in my legs before this weekend’s Three Peaks Challenge.  As an aside for those of you who think I may be gilding the lilly with regards to ‘sun drenched’ take a look at this:

Hebrides and west Highlands warned over water use

Anyway for most, the view of Blaven including Clach Glas, is most notable for the exposed rock formations.

Clach Glas – often described as the ‘Matterhorn of Skye’

However by taking a slower walk up, and venturing away from the usual route taken, some of Blaven’s unappreciated delights can be found.

Frog amongst the heather – Blaven

The frog above was nestled in amongst the heather, quite away from the nearest water.  As usual my eye was drawn to its movement as when it was still it was almost impossible to find.

Colourful Moss – Designed by Nature not Charlie Dimmock

With barely a trickle of water in what is normally a reasonable flow of run off, quite high up on Blaven’s eastern flank, the black and grey rock is interspersed with wonderful colour provided by a selection of moss.

Alpine Colour

Higher up still on Blaven and just below the ridge line you can still find the most unexpected splash of colour amongst the rocks.

A great walk on Blaven was not the end of the day’s delights.  Returning to the Sleat Peninsular I saw, what I thought,  was an owl at the road side near Kilmore.  Pulling over for a closer look the bird had flown but there was clearly movement in the fern up on the hillside.  A little patience was rewarded when first mum and then child broke cover.

Red Deer Hind and Fawn

The red deer hind was one of two on the hillside and she was doing her best to keep her fawn well out of sight.  Great end to my walk on Blaven and yet again both Sleat and the Isle of Skye provided some perfect opportunities for both Landscape and Wildlife Photography.  Not the worst office in the world!

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