And so the glorious Scottish summer continued… A first family outing to the west coast, and we really fancied an island adventure.  So we drove over to Oban and found the little ferry – strictly 12 people at a time, no more – that takes you over to the island of Kerrera.  We had a lovely day – picnic on the beach, overlooking Mull, Lismore and much boat traffic; the walk round the island, taking in the very welcome (and wonderful) tea shop; and as a grand finale, Sam and I toiled our way up to the highest point of the island (a monster 189m), called Carn Breugach.  Not all that frequently visited, we thought – finding a way down in the direction of the ferry proved quite a challenge!  However, we all made it back off the island in time for fish and chips in Oban…

On this weekend Sam and the other PLs and APLs from his scout troop had enterprisingly organised themselves to walk a chunk of the West Highland Way alongside Loch Lomond, with some midgy camping overnight thrown in.  On my way to meet them at Rowardennan at the end of their expedition, I stopped off for a quick dash up Conic Hill.  It was another stunning day in our extended spell of lovely weather – the scouts struggled with the sun beating down on them – and it was hot work.  A busy Sunday on the hill, I was snapped by some obliging Americans, to spare us all from another selfie…

A week later and a different climate… Ben Ledi is another much-walked hill, in the heart of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs national park.  Special visitors this time, Nigel, Maya and Yolands, up from Durham, and sister-in-law Fiona, on a break from PhD studies.  Not a day for lingering at the summit, the wind was strong and cold… Thanks to Sam for taking on summit t-shirt duties!

After two kinds of break – an Easter holiday skiing trip with friends in Sweden, and slow-mending broken ribs which may have been related to the first break – finally the chance to take advantage of some beautiful May weather.  Carstramon is a favourite place, fabulous woods on a hill in the Fleet valley in Galloway.  Thanks to a walk there later this year with forester friend Andrew, I now know that it’s woodland type NVC W11, though with lots of introduced beech – thanks Andrew!  Bluebell-carpeted in spring, and with excellent year-round tree-climbing opportunities, we are there as often as can be, almost always just to explore the woods.  But at the top of the woods you can walk out on to a tussocky hillside and up to the summit, for some great views.