winter – Donich Website

Spring is sprung?

donich_admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2017 20:58:06 +0000

I can’t make up my mind whether spring is here or not. Thick snow all over the mountains from about 200m today and going up the path to Beinn Donich the snow was so thick on the path that I wished I had put my new crampons on because it was seriously slippy.

But down at house/loch level the daffodils are struggling into bud and a few crocuses are coming out around the front door (they have a struggle to survive because the squirrels keep nipping their heads off).

A hundred miles south of here where my Mum lives, spring has definitely arrived as per the photo she sent me this morning.

But here in the highlands winter lingers a bit longer – it is not unusual to see snow on Bheula at the end of April.

Winter to Spring in a Day

donich_admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2016 23:24:34 +0000

This morning there was a thick layer of ice on the pond. The mountains were incredibly beautiful, white with snow down to about 300m, but pink as the dawn light hit them. Then this afternoon, I walked up to the waterfalls and stopped for a chat with a friend on the way back. Standing talking in the sun with my coat off, it must have been at least 12 degrees.

The crocuses by the front door seem to be surviving both the frost and whatever it is that keeps trying to eat them anyway.

Winter Pond in the morning

Spring Flowers in the afternoon

Back to Winter

donich_admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 19:13:53 +0000

It needs to be seen to be believed, but on 28th April we are back to winter here in Lochgoilhead.

On Sunday R and I had yet another go at Beinn Bheula only to give up before really getting on to the mountain proper because the weather had turned into a foul combination of rain, sleet and hail (I wonder if the Eskimos have a word for this particular variant of nasty?).

Yesterday it was quiet cold with a further scattering of snow on the mountains, and then this morning the hills are white again – my estimate would be snow above about 100m (although it must be pretty localized because the traffic cameras on the Rest are showing the road clear).

Interestingly – although the weather is a lot colder than last year – when I compare the photos from then with now, the vegetation does not seem to be that far behind where it was at this time last April

Good walk this morning

donich_admin — Sun, 01 Feb 2015 19:53:51 +0000

R and I did the Tom a Chuilg walk today. It was interesting to see that although the snow has mostly gone at ‘Loch Level’, as soon as you walk up out of the valley it is still pretty thick on the ground.

Once we got up on to the foothills around Beinn Donich and came out of the woods, there must have been about 20cm on the path and it was pretty treacherous under foot in places. There were also some interesting tracks in the snow including one I think was a Pine Marten.

Incredibly beautiful views towards the mountains on the way up and then over the loch on the way back down towards Lochgoilhead.