Took a trip down to the Ardnamurchan Peninsula last weekend and visited the site of Castle Tioram (pronounced Cheerum). It is just under 3 hrs drive from Evergreen but the peninsula is (easiest way to get there is via the Corran ferry south of Fort William), sparsely populated and almost exclusively single track roads, so by the time we arrived at the castle you really sensed the remoteness of its location. It stands on a rocky tidal inlet where the waters of Loch Moidart and the river Shiel meet and dates back to the 14th century. Steeped in history, it was in the possession of the Clanranalds from the time it was built until the 20th century and I had long wanted to go and see it, so despite some very wet weather when we arrived it was a wonderful feeling to cross the narrow sandbar and walk up to the towering walls of this magnificent castle. Unfortunately, you can't actually venture inside the walls at the moment as parts of it are very unsafe but it is being restored. Here are a couple of photos

Was down at Loch an Eilein ( http://rothiemurchus.net/Pages/About%20Us/Loch%20an%20Eilein.html ) near Aviemore on Sunday. A former colleague at Inverness College had asked if I would assist with taking a party of German teenagers for a walk in the morning. As the weather forecast was not too great we decided on Loch an Eilein. Although I have walked it several times I had not visited for 3-4 years and so was once again reminded of what a beautiful and sheltered walk it is. The trail is about 7km of easy walking on good quality path, which meanders round the loch through magnificent pines of the Rothiemurchus Forest. But what really sets this loch apart is the remains of a castle close to the shore. The castle dates back to the 13th century and was once the home of the notorious Wolf of Badenoch ( Alexander Stewart, grandson of Robert the Bruce). Amongst his list of 'achievements' was the burning to the ground of Elgin Cathedral!

This morning Fiona and I took a trip up to Glen Affric - me to run, Fiona to take photos. It had been a while since we last visited but it's still as beautiful as ever, infact some would claim that it is the most beautiful glen in Scotland and who am I to dispute this. A landscape which holds remnants of ancient Caledonian forest against a back drop of high snow capped mountains, it is not for no reason that this area is highly protected as a National Nature Reserve.
To walk round Loch Affric takes about 4hrs but as I am in training for an event at Aonoch Mor in two weeks, I was keen to do a fast run round in 1hr 45mins. What I had forgotten though is that although the track is good, there are many leg sapping 'ups and downs'. There is also ( be warned) one river crosssing which although not bad today you can not avoid getting a bit wet. Anyway, I did my run in 1hr 50mins so was well pleased Fiona meanwhile had been taking lots of wonderful photos some of which she will have up on our Facebook pages in the next few days.
Now.. I'm off to put my feet up for the evening!!

What a lovely sight I saw earlier this evening. I was up at nearby Easter Boleskine to return a trailer to friends, when looking out from their house on to a large pond that they created a couple of years ago ( see http://www.boleskinewetland.co.uk/) we saw a very proud duck with her brood of 10 ducklings taking them for their first paddle! She had nested this year amongst tall grass tussocks on the little island in the centre of the pond, safe from predators, and as we watched she marched her ducklings down to the water edge and then started to shepherd them around the edges of the pond. A more tranquil and delightful wildlife sight at this time of the year would be hard to beat!