The full days pics are through a click HERE

Day two and it certainly does not get off to a great start. Last night was horrendous with gale force winds blowing down the glen which for me downstairs meant the windows being constantly rattled and upstairs was swaying gently in the breeze. It had also been raining all night, which was due to continue through the day - which is why there are very few pictures as I did not take my camera out.

In the morning the clouds were still low on the hill and the streams had already risen a bit with the rainfall. On the bright side there were a couple of stags battling it out down by the river which is a sight to behold.

I got up about 7:10 and we got washed and breakfasted (I had porridge, made by me, after all I am in Scotland!) then we were out just after 8:00 to head up to the main Lodge.

Today we would be going out with the stalkers and paying guests from the Lodge to go and see if we could find some stags to shoot. Sorry to those who are against hunting, but it is necessary to the economy of the region - at least until there is something else available.

We were supposed to tag along at the back and not be seen or heard unless spoken to, it very much reminded me of going out for walks with the UK Wolf Conservation Trust, where as a volunteer you hang back so that the visitors get the interaction with the wolves. This was fine. So after quite a while hanging around waiting for the guests to be ready we headed off to the bottom on the hill in the 4x4's.

Once to the bottom of the hill there is a shooting range, where the guests went to test their shot and zero the rifles. This probably took about 30 minutes or so and all the time we were waiting there we were getting attacked by the last of the midges which are around. (Apparently they are supposed to have gone about two or three weeks ago!) In the height of the midge season the whole place can get covered with black.

The guests finished and Innes was happy that everyone was ready so we split off into three groups to head off to three different areas to go stalking. We ended up driving back up past Deanich and then further on up the glen. It was still raining now and us four volunteers had the pleasure in sitting in the open part of the Land Rover at the back - I am so glad for having my water proofs! (though by the end of the day I was wet through anyway)

We got out and then had to trek up the hill - I took my GPS with me and we climbed from about 800ft up to 2200ft - seemingly almost straight up at times. Needless to say by the time we reached the top I was absolutely exhausted. In fact the two elderly chaps who were the guests seemed to be in much better shape than I was.

At the top 'Poppy' (don't know why the nick name for the guy) took one of the guests slowly up to the ridge to see if they could find any deer on the other side. We waited. We waited some more. We waited even longer, then decided that we would have our lunch as it was now about 12:30. Just as we finished our lunch (mine was cheese and marmite sandwiches, an apple and some mint tea) the others arrived back without having any luck.

From here we headed down past the Loch in the glacial bowl (I will try and get more pics, this is a fantastic glaciated landscape) then up the other side, round the ridge and further on. At one point we spotted a single deer with her head up over a ridge and we all ducked down. Unfortunately though another 15 to 20 minutes still did not result in a successful stalk also the batteries in my GPS ran out. I don't think I will use it again as I did not bring rechargeable batteries with me.

Even though we saw very little wildlife, a few birds - Grouse or Ptarmigan, not sure in the mist - and other smaller ones, we only saw a couple of deer and they were a long way off in the distance. There is a lot of interesting lichen, moss and grasses around which I will try and get some photos of when the weather improves a bit, which is supposed to be by Thursday.

We spent the next hour or so walking back round the reverse of the bowl, but with clouds closing in and the wind very variable it made locating the deer very difficult. I also had a very difficult time walking in some places - earlier in the day I had stepped into a crevasse and twisted my knee a bit I think. Add to that the cold and continual wet and every time I put weight on it set off a shot of pain. Finally, with the Land Rover in sight over 1000ft below we set of on our descent to the glen.

Once we arrived back at the lodge Michael and I stoked the boiler fire and got it going well so that we could have baths to get warm and also the boiler would help dry out the clothes a bit.

After that it was time to relax a bit - Carol was great and made us all some hot soup to warm us up too.

We then looked at a couple of bugs that had been found outside. The picture on the right shows one of the beetles that we found. We think this one is Carabus granulatus L.

After bug identifying Ben arrived back from the lodge with food for us to cook for tea - sausages, chips, beans and eggs - a most satisfying meal even if a little basic, but at least I was able to cope with cooking it!

A very busy and tiring day... hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better though.

All content on this site is ©Dominic Earl