Today's route also took in Beinn Bhrotain and Monadh Mòr, two magnificent hills in their own right. The ground between Monadh Mor and the Devils Point is very seldom trodden and tough on the legs. The full circuit was 27 miles, 10 of which were done on bike.

Coming back via…

The Wells of Dee, the Pools of Dee, the Falls of Dee, and the Linn o’ Dee are all well known hydrological features of this special river. Much less well known, though, is the Chest of Dee.

It’s tucked away out of sight, but well worth stopping to admire.

Spring was struggling to assert itself today in the Cairngorms. A bitterly cold wind atop Bod an Deamhain (The Devils Point) at lunchtime.

Oh, Bod an Deamhain (JAWin) means ‘knob of the demon’, which was much too fruity for Victorian sensibilities, hence the name change.

My wife is selling her 117-year-old viola for no other reason than she no longer plays it. It's in absolutely superb condition, *and* British-made.

Contact me via DM (they're open) if you'd like additional information.

Hebridean sunsets are the best. Traigh Iar (west beach) on Berneray a few days ago looking majestic.

📷 Craig Cameron

The sunniest place in the UK in winter 2024 was the Moray coast, with upwards of 220 hours.

BUT, winter has 2184 hours, meaning that just 10% of the total hours had sun. Spare a thought for Lochaber & Glen Coe, though, where the sun shone just 3.7% of the total hours.

Perfectly reasoned and reasonable, sympathetically judged, and superbly written. The best tweet (they'll always be tweets to me) I've read in many-a-month.

Turrif, Kirriemuir, Eaglesham, Muthill, Falkirk… The list is almost endless.

In mid-April in the the early 1990s I was stranded on Rannoch Moor when a blizzard struck. A snow plough rescued me some hours later. Not quite as bad tonight and tomorrow, but a reminder that April is the most fickle of months.

Ben Nevis at Easter. A posse of poorly equipped walkers look like they’re praying, but are in fact trying to crawl up an icy slope near the summit. This level of incompetence would be hilarious were it not so serious.

📷 Rich Pyne, mountain guide. facebook.com/share/v/3yycxt…

Bitterly cold up on Ben Ledi this morning, but that didn’t stop this dog from enjoying one of the patches of snow near the path.

Easter fun fact. It is little-known that Watership Down is a real place, in Hampshire. The makers of the classic cartoon (a terrifying ‘children’s’ film) even got the topography of the escarpment spot-on.

What a snap from yesterday, from the summit of Braeriach looking towards Cairn Toul.

📷 British Backcountry Courses facebook.com/groups/British…

Sgòr Gaoith —the peak of wind— is a relatively unremarkable hill when approached from the traditional route via Glen Feshie. From the north, however, it is one of the Cairngorms’ shapeliest peaks.