It's Shirley's birthday today, so we decided to do a really tough climb up Beinn Mhor, the mountain that gives its name to the nearby Benmore Botanic Garden.
First we drove up Glen Massan as far as the public is allowed, and parked at the parking spot there.
We then walked along the road for a bit, seeing some highland cows and calves on the way.
We then started the climb, first up a newly surfaced stony forest track which wasn't very easy to walk on.
It eventually became a more pleasant path through the woods, then emerged onto the hillside. It remained steep all the way though. At the top there were good views all around.
We found some shelter from the wind and had our lunch there, before making our way back down the same route.
On the way back we heard our first cuckoos of the year.
Back at the site the owner came over to us and suggested we change pitch to a better one, which backed on to a gorge where there were bird and squirrel feeders on the trees. We saw loads of birds and up to about six red squirrels at a time.
Later we had some prosecco to celebrate Shirley's birthday, and quiche, salad and new potatoes for dinner. (We plan to have a takeaway curry to celebrate properly when we get home.)
