After a hectic week throughout with stormy weather has prevailed, we took the opportunity with a break in the weather to step out for fresh air this morning.  We're very fortunate in that we step out of our house and in to the hills.  We don't have to drive anywhere to "go for a walk", and we are always grateful for that.

On leaving the house we head inland, climbing quickly, and leaving the sea below and behind us:



We continue to climb (with regular stops to gasp for breath look at the view) until we reach the very pretty Water Loch.  It does have a proper Gaelic name, but is commonly known as Water Loch as this is the water supply for our locality.



Although it was pretty sunny over Water Loch, looking back towards the coast showed that we were always under threat of a shower.  Although this photograph looks like it is black and white, it isn't, and these were the real colours at the time:



Continuing inland you cannot avoid the fact that you are walking through some of the boggiest land in Scotland, and it stretches for miles and miles broken only to make way for a loch.



Some find this kind of landscape barren,and some find it rather frightening, but there is always something to look at, even if you have to get low to the ground to see an interesting rock, or a very hairy caterpillar.  There are no footpaths to follow, but living here you quickly find your way around and you come to recognise features in the landscape which give you an indication of where you are.  But be warned - it is easy to get lost here and having a map with you is always advisable.

Regular stops allows Lexie the opportunity to appreciate the view.



And all too soon we're heading back towards the sea and we reach the far end of Lexie's Loch, the closest loch to our house:



Signs of spring are starting to appear, with the heather starting to turn green and the foxgloves beginning to show signs of life, which is always good for the soul.

PS .....

Once I'd posted this entry I had a look at Stevan's photographs.  I thought there were a few I should add to this post.  Firstly, I know that Lexie features far more often on my blog than Peggy does.  There is a very good reason for that - she does not sit still!  Here are a couple taken today to illustrate the point:

Blurred Peggy:



Peggy disappearing south out of the picture when just two seconds before she'd been angelically sitting next to Lexie on the rock:



Finally!  A relatively non-blurred Peggy (although a trifle windblown!):



Another common feature of our Sunday walks is that I'm often to be found a little way behind Stevan, and not only because he has very long legs and is much fitter than I am.  I am always stopping to take photographs, and today he provided proof of this:



He is also well aware of my love of photographs of ripples, and today produced another lovely one taken up at Water Loch.