24th March 2012A forecast warm and sunny weekend led us to plan for another weekend of exercise and this time a bit closer to home. We drove through Marybank to Strathconon where we parked up and started a very boggy ascent up Sgurr a'Mhuilinn. The view got better as we climbed continuously upward for around 2 hours. It was a hazy day but you could see the unspoilt beauty of the area.
As we continued the walk we renamed the hill 'frog paradise' as we stumbled into many little bogs full with frogs and frog spawn. We also spotted a ptarmigan and a slow worm or two.
The hills undulated until we started a sharp ascent up Meallan nan Uan. This was actually the smoothest part of the whole walk as it was a big grassy mound. The descent was a mix of bog, heather, boulder and moss. I lost count of the number of times I nearly slipped on my backside. The terrain resulted in an exhausting walk - the most enjoyable feature of it being the outstanding views. Blair enjoyed it more than I did. However, I did enjoy the feeling of utter exhaustion in my legs and we had a well deserved slab of cake in the Strathpeffer Victorian Railway Coffee Shop. 9km/5hrs.
