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Last weekend we celebrated my sister’s birthday. Rather than heading out for a night on the town, we headed for the hills instead. How times have changed! Saturday morning found us on Bennachie, where I took the opportunity to gather reference material and take a closer look at cowberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea), a plant I…

Cottongrass is one of those plants I immediately associate with the Scottish hills.  Seeing its white, fluffy heads scattered across dark, boggy moorland is a familiar sight on Bennachie and many of the surrounding hills. It had also just become the second plant I chose for my final-year botanical illustration project, 5 Plants of Bennachie,…

An early July walk over Foudland Hill brought together two of my favourite things: a good hill walk and the chance to see Scottish wildflowers in their natural habitat. We set off via Red Hill, climbing towards the two prominent summit cairns. Even in July, the weather was characteristically Scottish: chilly, blustery and better…