After the past three days of rushing about it was nice to have quiet day today. After breakfast we headed over (well round) the loch to Strontian and parked up in the Ariundle Oakwood National Nature Reserve. We had no other objective than to have a wander about but, as luck would have it, there was a well-signposted walk around these ancient oak woodlands.
It was, as you see bright & sunny but there was a fierce cold edge to the breeze which called for hats & gloves! That said there was a significant variation in that depending on even a slight change in altitude. We found a (dead) tree with interesting fungus – probably Horse Hoof Fungus.
The woodland is, in parts, fairly sparse and there were a good few dead trees, something we have seen a lot here (not counting the obvious forestry tax dodges). At all points the walk was very well maintained whether track, boardwalk or bridge and signage was enough but discreet.
There were also (not pictured) several comfy benches on the walk – always a bonus! Near one of them we discovered a cairn for Pip.
That was really it for the walk and for the day barring a visit to a quirky visitor centre café – excellent coffee and significantly heavy and very tasty pastries. My chocolate brownie would have fed a whole platoon and kept them going for a week! We returned home to have a restful afternoon reading & chatting as well as preparing for tonight’s dinner. I’m on cooking duty but I prepared my chilli last (and froze) my chilli last week. Defrosting needed some extra assistance from a complicated microwave with very tiny writing on it!
Retired Software Testing expert. Archetypal Grumpy Old Man with the potential to be irritated by just about anything under the sun
Assorted ramblings 
Leave a comment