Some Recent Sketches

The cold and wet spring continues. There is now a lot more snow on the Ben than when I painted the above picture three days ago.The middle sketch of the view across Loch Linnhe was painted during a brief interlude in the rain , as was the top sketch  of the view from the Lidl supermarket in Fort William.
I was very sad to hear of the death today of Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and M.P. for this area for 32 years until he lost his seat on the 7th May. He won my admiration ( and my vote) for his opposition to the Iraq War.

Kingairloch

View of Loch Linnhe from Kingairloch.

Today I had to go to Kingairloch. The weather was better than the incessant cold rain that we've experienced over the last few days -there were some sunny intervals between showers.
 Kingairloch is very remote and very beautiful . To get there one has to take a narrow single track road with the sea on one side and cliffs on the other. Eventually you reach a stunning bay with a little white church and a few cottages. I visited the church and was to surprised to find some impressive stained glass windows , not what I would expect in a tiny place of worship in a remote hamlet.
 I'm not a Christian but I found the profound quietness in the church moving , an oasis of stillness in a busy chaotic world.
It turns out that the stained glass windows were commisioned by George Herbert Strutt who bought the estate in 1902. The Strutt family made their fortune in the cotton industry and were from Belper in Derbyshire.

Sketch of Lochailort

Lochailort

I went to Arisaig on Tuesday. The weather was very variable - quite challenging conditions to sketch as the lighting changes minute to minute. The far hills started in gloom- just monochrome grey, but by the time I finished they were sunlit and the middle ground was  dark. It is very tempting to try to follow the light conditions, but then you end up with up with muddled values. Instead I choose the conditions half way through and painted from memory.

Aonach Mor

Yesterday I went for a slow run in the forest and stopped for a sketch . I had just finished the above picture of Aonach Mor when heavy rain came on again . There is still snow on the hills and every shower of rain fell as a dusting of  new snow on the tops. It feels very cold for mid May.
The mountain bike downhill series races were on at Nevis Range. The riders cycle down a precipitous course on Aonach Mor ( the right hand side of the mountain in the view above). Normally they take the gondola to the top but yesterday it was closed due to high winds, so they had to push their bikes to the top.
Hopefully the weather will be better for the world championships on the 6-7th  June.

One Friday I went to Strontian and then around the peninsular to Glenuig then back to Fort William. It was very variable weather with grey skies and heavy showers. However at long last the oaks of Sunart are coming in to leaf. The woods look quite autumnal as the new leaves have a brownish hue when new.
I did the above watercolour sketch of the hills near Kinlochmoidart.

Mamores

Quick sketch in pen and watercolour of the Mamores done on the way to work on Thursday.

A Weekend On The West Highland Way

Yesterday I took the train to Milngavie.
 It was a lovely afternoon , I headed out along the West Highland Way. Near the far end of Mugdock Park I saw a water vole on the path. This is the first time I've seen a water vole for about thirty years. When I was growing up in Essex water voles were a common sight on waterways and ponds.  Their  dramatic decline is thought to be mainly due to predation by mink an alien species descended from escapees from fur farms.It was  really heartening to see this little animal; Maybe Ratty from 'Wind In The Willows' is making a comeback.
Just beyond Balmaha I climbed the little hill to the view point and did the above sketch  of Loch Lomond. Every few miles I heard cuckoos and also got a good view of woodpecker.
 This year the primroses are especially good.In contrast to two weeks ago when I did the Highland Fling Race the trees are a riot of green. Things seem to be further advanced on Loch Lomondside than in Lochaber. Even the beech trees are in leaf their delicate translucent leaves shimmering in the breeze.
I progressed slowly along Loch Lomondside and ended up just north of Inversnaid. By then it was raining, and I was looking for somewhere to spend the night. I found a rock with a decent overhang and bedded dowwn there in my sleeping bag and bivvy bag . Thanks to the rock I didn't get wet at all despite persistent rain all night.
Today I jogged further on the WHW. Near Tyndrum I bumped into my good friend Tony an inveterate ultrarunner who has completed more than ten West Highland Way races as well as the UTMB and Marathon des Sables, He is an inspiration! He was with his friend Craig . We ran together to Bridge of Orchy, I struggled to keep up - my fitness certainly needs some work.

Quick sketch from the station as I waited for the train.

I got the train home from Bridge of Orchy for a bath some food and a beer. I've had a  very enjoyable two days with about 60 miles of running.