Around the Twin Lochans

All the forecasts, unanimously, promised us some sunshine this morning, so we were out early, climbing northeastwards across the face of Druim na Gearr Leacainn, the ridge that runs along the back of Ormsaigbeg, from which we had fine views across Kilchoan Bay to Ben Hiant.

As we worked our way diagonally up the slope the promised sunshine at last arrived. We crossed several small burns that each cut a remarkably straight glen, all choked with willow and heather. The bell heather is now out, though it seems subdued by the recent weather, but one clump....

....offered refuge to a small frog, who seemed to peer out at us as we passed.

From just below Tom na Moine, we looked northwards towards Eigg. The lumpy hill at centre is Sgurr nan Gobhar, beyond Achanaha, with Meall Clach nan Daraich to its immediate left.

A little further on, from a rocky knoll, Beinn na Seilg came into sight, with the twin lochans occupying the open glen between it and Druim na Gearr Leacainn. On this exposed summit we found....

....the first white heather of the year, an early-flowering ling.

We dropped down into the glen and worked our way around the twin lochans. Here, the ground was still saturated from recent rain, making an ideal environment for fungi. This little garden was growing amongst the exposed roots of a bell heather.

Close under the shadow of the ridge we found more white heather, if cross-leaved heath counts as heather. To find two white heathers in a day seems more luck than we deserve, but perhaps a little of it might go towards a continuation of the sun.

We climbed one of the steep paths up the north side of Druim na Gearr Leacainn with the sun still shining but this face, as always, dark in shadow. The hill on the far side of the lochans is Stacan Dubha, the little steep black hill.