Today I skived a little from all the packing and headed off into the hills. I know that down in the deep south you have had some really bad weather of late- sorry about that, we up here usually try to take the sting out of it before it falls on your soft English heads but something must have slipped by us this time as today was simply stunning.

The sky was deepest blue and the frozen leaves crunched underfoot. The high hills were anointed white but down lower the trees still clung to some colour.

I took my camera up from the Holy Loch up over the hills and down into Glen Kin, which can only be described as an ordinary glen, easily missed, choked with too many cash crop contour planted conifers. I followed one of the forestry trails that found its way to the head of the glen, where the old Coffin Road climbs up over the saddle to lay down the departed at the old chapel of Inverchoalain.

I was not ready for the friendly ground quite yet. Too many boxes to fill.