Late May Snow in the Cairngorms

Fresh Snow in the Cairngorms, May 24, 1.35 p.m.

The last few days have been cold and cloudy with strong winds and showers of sleet and hail. The hills have been hidden, with just the occasional glimpse of snowy slopes below the ragged edge of the clouds. Today the clouds have lifted to reveal the Cairngorms clad in fresh snow. The sun is shining and down here in the strath the air is warm. Bees hum on the flowering heathers and butterflies drift through the grasses. The first leaves are appearing on the birches and rowans. But up there in the hills it's still winter.

Cairn Gorm and the Northern Corries, May 24, 1.35 p.m.