Snow again and a good run on the whw

Readers of this blog probably think that I'm obsessed by the weather but here in Scotland we do seem to get an awful lot of it ! All week we have had warm sunshine and balmy breezes; the birds have been singing and the bees buzzing.Yesterday when we had planned a long run it all changed.

 As we stood  on the station platform waiting for the train to Tyndrum it started to snow. Throughout the day we had vicious showers of sleet or snow coupled with a  bitterly cold wind.  There were short interludes of sunshine but they were very fleeting. Needless to say when we could see them the mountains were sublime - capped with white but now also coated with a silvery dusting of fresh snow.
 We ran on the West Highland Way north to Bridge of Orchy then across Rannoch Moor as far as the Glencoe Ski Centre . I used to dread Rannoch Moor; it is a long stretch of high open moorland . Underfoot it is hard and stony - the remains of the cobbled road built by Thomas Telford in 1803 - and it seems to go on for ever. However I have now grown to love it for the ever changing weather ,vast open spaces and stupendous mountain panorama.The area is called Blackmount which to me is a very evocative name.
 At the  Ski centre cafe we stopped for a break. .The cafe has big windows looking out on Glencoe so it is a great place to sketch. The picture of the Buachaille below is a two coffee sketch- Not only did I drink two excellent americanos whilst painting it but I used the coffee spilt in my saucer to do my washes as I had forgotten my water bottle. Better than having to use saliva which is something I have resorted to in the past!

Shortly after I finished the sketch the mountains disappeared behind a curtain of cloud and we headed out into the driving snow. We ran back to Tyndrum and after fish and chips at  the Real Food Cafe. got the train back home.

Despite the weather we had an exciting and enjoyable day and got a few miles in . Although slightly longer at about 37miles than our normal Bridge of Orchy to Fort William run I wasn't as tired , probably because there was less climbing.

Sketches of train passengers.

The Buachaille Etive Mor form the Glencoe Ski Centre cafe.

Another train passenger.