Hunters

A Hunter's Moon in Celtic mythology is an October full moon, traditionally the sign that the harvest is over and the hunting season starts. This is the Hunter's Moon rising last night across Ardnamurchan estate land, where deer stalking started some weeks ago with the stags, but has only been extended to the hinds in the last few days.

Another hunter showed his face last night for the first time this year: the constellation Orion the Hunter. His right shoulder, formed by the red giant Betelgeuse, had lifted above Ben Hiant by about 11pm, when the Diary went out for the usual last look-around before bed, and would have been well up in the sky before dawn.

And a beautiful dawn it was, heralding another sunny day with a stiff and slightly chilly northeasterly breeze, the sort of day when urgent autumn jobs in the garden are put aside in favour of a walk in the hills to the north of the village.

We chose Tom na Moine as an objective, an unassuming hill immediately to the west of Kilchoan whose name means the hillock of the peat moor, which has a fine view down into the village.

From there we climbed higher to the eastern end of the ridge called Druim na Gearr Leacainn, to look across the twin lochans to Beinn na Seilg - appropriately, the hill of hunts.