A nice expedition, with the
best weather of the year so far, and a few surprises. We had
seven explorers: Calum, Fern, Jonathan, Josephine, Robbie,
Serena and Zack with eight adults: Christina, Joanne, Nicci,
Pamela, Philippa, Sandra, Sharon and Simon, plus one dog,
Ellie. At least, that is what we started with, Christina and
Jonathan had to go back early and Pamela walked back along
the Silver Walk.
We set out from the small bridge at Blain, going through the
gate and up the hill, stopping to look at the fork where an
old track led off, and also to see the old alder tree. Carrying
on up the hill we paused at the ravine where the explorers
could see the first of a series of cultivation ridges that
marked the settlement of High Blain. The ridges carried on,
past the stile and the turning to the aerial mast, and at
that point we could see three deer watching us from the opposite
hill.
At the end of the cultivation everyone had a look at a corn
kiln next to the path and I was delighted when the explorers
recognised another one later on in Briaig. The path got steeper,
wetter and muddier as we climbed the hill but eventually we
reached the flat grassy part, after which it was a lot easier.
At the top of the hill we paused to look at the lochan and
the dams. When we got a little further on we saw there was
a whooper swan in the small loch called Loch na Fala. I think
the swan was a bit disappointed to see so many people coming
up the path, it took off and skimmed past us flying low towards
Acharacle and a minute or two later it came back and flew
over the lochs again.
When we reached the edge of the loch, the explorers spotted
two things: the first was an Emperor Moth cocoon hanging on
the heather and the second was a little whirlpool on the water
surface above a place where water was draining out. We didn’t
stop long but pushed on to the hawthorn tree where the path
divided. We turned left and continued up the hill. There were
some requests for an early Tunnocks break, but we didn’t
stop until we got to the village of Briaig.
Here, once again, some enthusiastic explorers got ahead, and
I had forgotten my whistle, so when the rest of the group
left the path to go to the village, they were out of sight.
However, they must have been keeping an eye on us because
they got to the village first, although one lone explorer
came in a bit later.
Once in the village we went from house to house, spotting
the corn kiln on the way, and having our wafer break in the
big house with triangular windows. This gave everyone a chance
to catch their breath, before we set off back up the hill,
looking at more houses on the way up.
The group were in good shape and we made very good speed all
the way back, stopping to look at the first tortoiseshell
butterfly of the year by the lochan and the first frogspawn
of the year near the top gate.
The only picture I took was on the long hill going up, so
once again, not everybody in it. I have put in Josephine’s
nice drawing of a game of hide-and-seek in the woods.
John
Dye
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