Perthshire Sunset and stars above Ben Vrackie

[wilkiemurray]

Video

Chasing a Sunset

The clocks went back – an extra hour in bed – hoorah! Sunset also moved back an hour …
So when I found myself free for a few hours on a glorious Sunday afternoon, I decided to see if I could catch a sunset from the top of Ben Vrackie! Sunset was due to be around 16.30 so I thought if I set off from home at 1400, this would give me plenty of time to reach my goal….

Best laid plans of mice and men though! A rather slow phone update (well took nearly 50 minutes) put pay to that plan and I didn’t arrive at the car park till nearer 15.30. When I had arrived at the car park the bottom car park was full so I tried my luck at the top station and found a space. I knew it was a busy place, and rightly so.
Quickly getting the boots on I headed through the lovely Autumnal woods as the lowering sun glinted and flickered through the trees. The familiar path and gate through to the open hillside was soon reached and a stream of people were heading off the hill, having enjoyed a fine day in Perthshire.

Instead of taking the path much travelled, I decided to take the path which runs off to the NW of the main path and eventually takes you to the western shores of Loch a’ Choire. It was cracking, blue skies ahead and a fresh northerly wind ensured no overheating was occurring.

Loch a' Choire by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

A quick photo stop at the head of the loch and I was soon heather bashing up steep, pathless, heathery slopes. There isn’t a path on this side of the hill and it’s not for those who don’t like thick heather interspersed with boggy steep ground!! However it does provide a lovely contrast and differing views from the normal route.

The sun was just about touching the horizon but I was still 100m from the top, so I decided to stop and take some more pictures before heading onto the summit.

Sunset over the Perthshire mountains by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

Sunset over Schiehallion by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

BEN LAWERS by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

To my surprise, the summit was empty and there was no signs of life. I hadn’t expected this, so I enjoyed a good 20 minutes watching the clouds turn pink before fading and feeling the darkness creeping up from the east. I headed down the normal route and it wasn’t until the loch that the head torch was required. The stars were appearing too so I stopped on a few occasions and took some more snaps before arriving in pitch blackness at the now empty car park. Another fine outing on BEN Vrackie, never seems to disappoint!

vrackie stars ( by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

Stars above Ben Vrackie by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

Pitlochry Stars by Scotland's Mountains, on Flickr

[grey-heron]

Looks fantastic, makes me realise that I need to build up confidence with hiking with a head torch!