The full days pics are through a click HERE

Start of Day 3 and my knee was still not good. I really do not know what it is - beginning to think it was brought on by the cold and damp, but can not think when I may have done something that would make it happen. Must be all the squash that I have not been playing lately!

Got up, added a few extra layers to my thermal layer that I had already slept in to keep warm and made my porridge for breakfast, this time with golden syrup.

Next it was time to make sandwiches (jam, cheese and marmite - all in one... and no I am not pregnant, I like it!) and my mint tea with a heaped spoon of sugar in the flask. Then out we headed in clothes that were still a little damp from the day before as they had not had a chance to dry out properly. Into the land rover and up to the main Alladale Lodge.

Once there we went into the conference room whilst we were waiting to hear on the days work and started looking the the idea of what sort of things you would need to look into for an environmental impact study. These include considering the current environment, what you are considering doing with it, the short term and long term impact and the potential to reverse the project should it end.

Unfortunately we did not have long to do this before 'Poppy' came to ask if we were going out stalking for the day. We all went outside and Chris got me excused from going up the hill again so that I could rest my knee for the day - to be honest I was gutted about this as I wanted to go back out with them. Especially as the weather was keeping dry and the temperature not too cold.

They dropped me back at Deanich and Chris suggested I may like to carry on with what we had been doing in the morning and maybe try getting some information and fact sheets together - I failed miserably at both of these. I was so annoyed with myself that I was not going that I ended up tidying to try and take my mind off it. I tidied the lounge and kitchen and cleaned out the fire and the boiler.

One good thing about staying back was that I was able to sort out drying out some of the clothes from the previous day.

By the time I had finished this it was lunch time so I ate my sarnies and apple. I thought about trying to do the work for Chris and then decided that I would go out and have a walk to see how my knee was doing. Whilst on the walk I took some pics of the local flora

I took pictures of more flowers, lichen and moss - if you want to see the full days pics click HERE.

As I was wandering around - the knee was not too bad, seemed to stiffen up if I stopped for any length of time, but as long as I kept moving it was fine, if a little slow at times, with only the occasional jolt.

On my travels I did see some small fauna - a tiny frog, a few spiders and lots of slugs.

After I had been out for a while I heard a few stags roaring at each other on the hillside, but could not see exactly where they were. After a few minutes I saw a stag with his harem of 10 hinds.

I sat there for quite a while watching them and trying to get a half decent picture - unfortunately they were a very long way and it was hard to hold the camera steady, so the few shots I did manage to take are a little blurred. I walked round the hill to get closer and ended up sitting on the hill on the opposite side of the glen from them. The nice thing about glaciated glens is that they are more U shaped, so one side is not as far from the other as you very with a V shaped river glen.

I did manage to get a couple of closer pictures, then one of the hinds started to lead the others back off up the hill. Their stag followed with the slightly distant stag still roaring away. By listening and looking carefully I finally managed to locate him about 300 meters away from the original herd.

That was my wandering pretty much complete and as I now had a wet bum from leaning on the grass / moss I thought I better head back to dry out.

I went back to the house via the generator shed where I had been looking at everyone who had been putting their names up in the shed - there is on which dates from 1920!

When I got back in I stoked up the fire again. This is when the other guys and girl got back. They had bagged 2 stags on the hill today so had to drag them down so they were pretty shattered. I went and refilled the log basket so they had a nice warm fire and got the boiler going so that there would be warm water for the baths too.

Whilst I was doing this Carol got started on the dinner - we had Spag Bol using the left over filling from the Venison Lasagne that we had on Sunday. To which she added some peppers, leeks, onion and paprika to give it a little bite. Good wholesome food and very filling.

After dinner it is just time to kick back and relax before heading off to bed - thermals at the ready so I don't get cold and wake up!

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