Lochan na Gruagaich

Lochan na Gruagaich, the maiden's lochan, lies to the east of Loch Mudle just inside the forestry. We had only seen this view of it, from the hill to the south, and it was one of the few lochans we hadn't visited, so we braved a scramble through the pines to take a closer look at it.

The lochan is drained to the west, into Loch Mudle, by a surprisingly large burn - until one notices that the much more extensive Lochan Mhadaidh Riabhaich, to its east, drains into it.

The burn cuts a wide but steep-sided glen along its short course into Loch Mudle, which suggests it might originally have been a glacial overflow channel.

Both lochans are part of the Ardnamurchan Estate's game fishing enterprise, and one wondered whether whoever had been camping in the woodland had bought a license. As well as lighting a fire, which wouldn't have been popular with the Estate, he/she has left behind two bin bags full of rubbish as well as sundry lager cans and plastic water bottles.

Lochan na Gruagaich is a lovely place to spend time. On the day we visited the lochan was like a mirror broken only be the occasional swirl of a trout. But.... I wonder, who was the maiden after which it was named?

The Elusive Snipe

A post from The Raptor

On the marsh land opposite The Raptor's abode, in the gloaming of the evening comes the eerie sound from the sky of a strange elusive creature not to been seen by the human eye! What is this strange creature that has us all staring up into the darkening skies and pointing at, well, nothing?  It is the ever elusive snipe (common). They like the damp marshy ground for building a nest made by the male. It also helps to keep them hidden until one suddenly flushes up from what seems to be right under your next step, and off they go darting in zig-zag away into the distance.  This bird lives here all year and we have a good population of them. They are sometimes confused with the woodcock, which although here all year is more a winter bird.  One evening I managed to catch a pair of these elusive birds in flight, both of hem displaying with high flights then dropping and creating that eerie sound, which comes from two hard outer tail feathers rubbing together to create the 'drumming.' I thought only the male drummed but the female does it too.  So the next time you are out near the low lying marshy areas have a listen for the eerie sounds that seem to be coming out of the sky.

Foxes

On a day after the local farmers and crofters had been out after foxes, hunting along the north coast from Sanna to Swordle, we met one....

....working his way across Estate land.

He didn't see us, so we stayed very still and watched him searching through the tussocks.  Judging by the fury of the skylarks, he was after their eggs.

 He kept moving from left to right....

....pausing occasionally, staying stock still, ears pricked, as if listening for mice in the grass....

....and then moving on, nose to the ground.

Every few yards he stopped, sat down, and looked straight at us. If he saw us, he didn't seem bothered, and carried on his business until he disappeared behind the hill away to our right.

It was only then that we became aware of a second fox, to our left, who had been lying in the grass. Unfortunately, he wasn't as tolerant, because when he saw us....

....he got up and ran, stopping only once, briefly, to look back.

Lone Survivor

It's the only tree that has managed to survive along the wind- and salt spray-blasted section of foreshore below Torr na Moine.

The received wisdom is that, even if it had survived the weather, it should have been eaten as a sapling by one of the many sheep and deer that graze and browse across the area. Against those odds, it should never have stood a chance.

SM-9: St Comghan's Church

St Comghan's church is the ninth in this series covering Western Ardnamurchan's seventeen scheduled monuments.

The church was founded in the eighth century by the Irish monk St Comghan, and gave its name to Kilchoan - cille Comghan, St Comghan's cell or church. The original structure has gone, the building visible today being partly 12/13th century and partly 18th century. It was a place of worship until early in the 19th century, after which the congregation moved to the present parish church, but the graveyard has continued to be used.

Historic Environment Scotland's designation for the monument is here. At the bottom of the page is a link to the current 'scheduled monument consent' which gives the West Ardnamurchan Community Development Company permission to make repairs to the south facade, including stabilising the stone lintel over the door and the three arched windows.

A full history of the church is on the Clan MacIain website, here.