Glen Affric

Our second day on our tour of the Great Glen took us to sites in Glen Affric. This is a small valley to the west of Drumnadrochit. The team that previously visited reported it as the "site from hell" and a "midge infested nightmare". To be fair they did survey in poor conditions. We returned on one of the hottest days of the year. My butterfly transect was a few miles on from Dog Falls. I didn't see our target butterfly, the Scotch Argus, along the road or in the bracken infested woodland, but near the end of the survey I found a nice patch of Molinia grassland by the loch side, with a pair of butterflies dancing along the beach. Success! It was beautiful down by the water with views over the loch and surrounding hills. I did have to do a solo plant transect though, up through said bracken infested woodland which wasn't so much fun.  Still, I felt lucky to have seen the site at its best, and it was a day that was good for the soul.