The first touches of winter have gone from the hills. The air is warm. The forecast has been for stormy weather but with mild southerly winds. Wanting to have some time in the hills before heading south for the Kendal Mountain Festival, where I'll be on The Great Outdoors stand with Emily Rodway and Alex Roddie late Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday, I decided to wander up a favourite, Meall a'Bhuachaille. It's a good hill when the forecast is for stormforce winds and cloud cover on the higher Cairngorms.
Despite knowing the forecast was for mild weather the warmth still surprised me. A few strides into the forest and my jacket came off - and stayed off until I reached the summit. Just a base layer. In mid-November! That's not often possible in the middle of summer. The wind was strong too, gusting 30-35mph on the top. I was glad I hadn't gone any higher. The Cairngorm Plateau was enveloped in dense mist.
I'd left late hoping that at dusk the sun would cut below the clouds and give some good light, as happens quite often. It did, but only for a few fleeting minutes and then the greyness closed in again.
Cold weather is meant to return over the weekend. Maybe there'll be snow again by the time I return north. In the meantime if you're at the Mountain Festival stop by the TGO stand and say hello.
As they say Chris, "It's all about.....timing" I went up there on Tuesday hoping for some views from the summit but the cloud stayed stubbornly below it. As I drove back to Aviemore the cloud had lifted and the sun came out. Hey-ho.
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