Nicole and I went for a walk near Achnashellach on Saturday, a lovely neck of the woods about an hour west of Inverness and served by the spectacular Kyle line.  It’s a great spot for walking and hiking.

South from Achnashellach runs a path to Glenuaig, and although it is a beautiful area and Saturday was a remarkably sunny day, it’s quite a frustrating walk.  There are very few points at which you get good views (except early on, looking back to Achnashellach), and it’s a seemingly never-ending chain of false horizons.

You think you’ll get a good view once you get round the next corner, only to be faced by another corner a few hundred metres further on.

It makes the walk feel so much longer than it actually is, and while it’s a great spot for climbing mountains, as you are towered over by fine peaks on either side, but for a long walk on the flat, it’s not very rewarding.

Although we only walked a couple of hours in each direction, I remember walking much further a few years ago, and coming across a lodge used by walkers, wherein lay an inscription in the visitor’s book:

“‘Twas the glen of bastardly long walks”

…which pretty accurately sums it up.  And to add to the frustration, I forgot my camera.

I was better armed yesterday, however, when we went to Reelig Glen, my first time in this enchanting little forest walk just west of Inverness.

A short walk but a stunning one, it has an almost magical atmosphere and boasts Britain’s tallest tree.  The height and density of the trees makes for some great opportunities to play with darkness and light.

It’s a great place for an explore, and while I took some photos I’m quite chuffed with, it was the middle of the day and so I reckon it would be a better place to wander through at dawn or dusk.