Back to blogging (again!)

It's been a while since my last blog post as my dad passed away very suddenly at the beginning of April so blogging became the last thing on my mind while I struggled to come to terms with what happened.  Much of my time has been taken up sorting out practical things and the last few months have been a bit of a daze.  It's so important to have things in your life which help you get through tough times and to make sure you do the things you know will make you feel better - even if you don't really feel like doing them. I've found getting outdoors and painting has helped so much to clear my head.  I've just returned from a lovely 2 week break to Scotland, a few days on the Isle of Arran, a few on Mull and a few days in Aviemore.  We were treated to storm force winds on Arran which nearly blew our tent away but we survived the winds while other campers on the site bailed out and went to B&Bs.  Arran is a beautiful island and I loved it.  We managed to get up Goat Fell before the strong winds came in and we saw lots of wildlife while we were there.

I would love to go back sometime and climb some of the other mountains on Arran and see more of the island.

Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse on Mull and we had torrential rain from the moment we stepped on the island and every day except the last day which was still not great.  It is always wonderful to be on Mull though whatever the weather and we did have our waterproofs which allowed us to wander around in the rain!  We were lucky to have a break in the weather the day before we left and got out on a boat trip to see the white tailed sea eagles. It is always a real thrill to see these magnificent birds soaring above you so close.

Tobermory (Mull) during a small break in the heavy rain 

Finally our luck with the weather changed and when we arrived in Aviemore we were treated to glorious sunshine and blue skies - a wonderful way to end our holiday!

I was hoping to be able to climb the second highest mountain in the UK while I was there and the weather was perfect for it so up I went and here I am at the top of Ben Macdui. I asked another walker to take the photo for me.

The day after I did Ben Macdui I went for a walk above the forests of Glen Feshie, a beautiful area and climbed another Munro called Sgor Gaoith which is out of view in the photo below

I have fallen in love with this part of the world and have lots of plans for other walks in the area next time I go which hopefully won't be too far in the future.

The evening before we left I went for one last look at the mountains in the evening sun before the long journey back to North Wales the following morning.