I have Scottish relatives but they all lived south of the border so my real introduction came in the early 1980’s when a gallery owner drove me to Scotland and asked for paintings following in the footsteps of Archibald Thorburn which meant in the subsequent trips north before I moved to this beautiful country it was important to find my subjects in the limited time available. In the picture below is a view looking south from the road to Applecross and just a short walk from the pull in after the treacherous hairpinning road that leads to the summit ptarmigan can be found within minutes if your lucky.
ptarmigan tops
In this picture I have included three iconic creatures of the mountain tops ,ptarmigan, mountain hare and the golden eagle.
The ptarmigan is a glorious little member of the grouse family which has the ability to moult three times a year in order to be always camouflaged against its background often when looking for them I have been at the point of giving up only to find they are all around my feet so effective is their ability to vanish which is just as well with the golden eagle and other predators on the prowl.