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Cowberries in the Correen Hills
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…
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Discovering Cottongrass
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…
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Among the Cottongrass on Foudland Hill
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:…
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Finding Cross-leaved Heath on Bennachie
Today I headed up Bennachie in search of a plant that had been proving surprisingly difficult to find: cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix). The weather wasn’t exactly on our side. It was foggy, damp and thoroughly dreich, but there’s something I really enjoy about Bennachie in these conditions. The mist changes…
