Into the Hills

This morning we walked up a forest track to the west of Golspie. It was monotonously straight, rising exhaustingly through the conifers until....

....it came to a high gate in deer fencing. But no English gate this, sitting across a track with a large notice announcing the privacy of the land beyond. This is Scotland, with its right to roam, and this barrier even had a pedestrian gate to the left which....

....invited us out into the hills.

This, for me, is like coming home, back to a place where there are 360 degree views, and the possibility of walking in any direction of those 360, except that here....

....there is even a signpost to aid one's choice - straight on to Loch Lunndaidh, left to Culmally, and back the way to Golspie, with the distances given first in kilometres and then in miles, to two decimal places.

So we sat by the side of the path with Ben Bhraggie rising behind us, soaking up the low winter sun, quite unaware until almost too late that....

....a herd of red deer, hinds with one stag, was about to cross the skyline behind us.

Now I know I'm home.