It's many years since I have been down Glen Feshie, and I have few memories of it, other than thinking it was worth a re-visit. It wasn't just last week's Cairngorm epic, through the Lairig Ghru, which brought these glens back to my attention either. Scotland's weather conformed today to the traditional pattern, with the West taking the brunt of the rain, and the Eastern mountains hiding in their shadow. I have a friend who works in the hydro-electric industry, and when we talk about Scotland's Highlands, his vast knowledge of the West Coast stands in marked contrast to his relative unfamiliarity with the East. Rain is the resource he farms, and only goes where that is found in abundance. The opposite is the case when planning a short walk, especially with my wife and daughter in attendance.
My memories of Glen Feshie, (which must be fifteen years old, at least), are of a blazing hot summer's day; of the track by the river, and the two Munros, Mulach Clach a Bhlair (steep sided, broad summit, heathery), and Sgor Gaoith (magnificent views towards Braeriach towering over Loch Einich). These old memories are hazy at best, and so a re-visit was in order.
Unlike last week's route march, this afternoon's trek was a pleasant dander forFeshie proved to be an absolute delight however. The wide glen floor, once carved by ice; now has a wonderful river gliding down it, carving its way through the moraines. It is home to a dazzling array of wild flowers, and native natural woodland, which in turn is teeming with life. While the unnaturally tree-less glens are silent and empty; Feshie was alive with scurrying, buzzing, scuttling, with tiny birds on the ground, and birds of prey circling above. In a couple of places, it looked rather like a walk we did last year in the Canadian Rockies (smaller though!), and we recalled the bears we had seen there!
Not a Munro, not an epic trek; just a great short walk - and my appetite for the outdoors, fed for another week or so.
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