We followed General Wade's Military Road for two miles on forest roads, then over farmland before taking a rather muddy track through Daviot Woods to Castleton Village. Although we went slowly, stopping frequently, I have still to make a definite sighting of a red squirrel. I have had a couple of possible glimpse and seen a dead one but nothing 100%.
The "White Wave Walk" theme has also suffered lately as I have not seen one hawthorn for over a week. Until today. Notice that, like my walk, the May blossom is nearly over. Also notice the broom which tends to dominate here over gorse.
The track became lane and then a road as I followed it into Inverness. I crossed the River Ness by two bridges that link an island to opposite banks.
Then o crossed the Caledonian Canal and made my way to Bunchrew. I have had to detour 2 miles to this site because the site in Inverness does not accept dogs. Zoe had a rather fraught conversation with a lady there. She intimated that the lady resembled a bovine ruminant that suffered from nasal secretion problems!
However, serendipity rules, okay! Bunchrew is owned by a very friendly man who was happy to receive my last parcel posted by Zoe. The shop is licensed, so I was able to have a couple of bottles of Black Isle "Red Kite Ale" with my chicken and chips from the onsite van.
However the real bonus is the view over Beauly Firth from the door of my tent.
I have spent five hours sitting in the sunshine watching the scene through binoculars. Swallows and house-martins zoom over our heads to get insects from over the burn. An assortment of waders are looking for their tea and an osprey has flown over three times, hovering over the water at times. Out on mudbanks over a hundred seals are sunbathing.
But, for me, the absolute killer is watching a member of the crow family. There are 8 resident members of Corvidae in Britain. Once I spotted the rarest, choughs, in Cornwall I wondered if I could complete the set in one walk. One by one I noted carrion crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays and magpies. Now I am sitting outside my tent in the evening sunshine, drinking beer and watching hooded crows pick over the seaweed. All this and Robbie Savage commentating on the radio. Can it get any better?
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