A view from the hills

March in the Highlands. Daffodills and crocuses are cheerfully popping up everywhere, the snow is melting and Chase the Wild Goose Hostel is buzzing.

Having a car has given us the freedom to explore a wider area and we never cease to be amazed by the rugged majesty of it all. People have fought fiercely over this land since the beginning of time. There is something epic about the landscape that transcends even Mel Gibson's best efforts in Braveheart. What the English call 'mountains,' the Scots call 'hills' and there's no shortage of them, especially around this area. When you go out for a walk that is set at an incline, it is referred to over here as 'hill-walking', lest someone mistake you for someone that who only goes on walks that are flat. 'Hills' that are over 3000ft are often referred to as Munros, named after Sir Hugh Munro who was the first to measure them all. A popular sport over here is 'Munro-bagging' where you try to climb all 284 of them. So far our Munro count is 0, but whenever it comes up in conversation with climbers at the hostel, at least we can say we've done the Pyrenees!

The area has strong links with Commandos, past and present, as Spean Bridge was the original training ground during WWII. Last weekend, we had a group of royal marines staying with us who had come up to complete a memorial 8mile run carrying backpacks weighing 35lbs. Next weekend, we have a group of Dutch commando veterans who requested we find a bagpiper to pipe them up the first stages of Ben Nevis.

We've been on some fantastic walks of late, despite some less-than-fantastic weather. We took the path to the secret valley at Glencoe, scrambling over scree, sliding around moss covered boulders, fording streams and hugging ridge lines. It wasn't until we got to the easy flat part that I took a tumble, splitting my eyebrow. We were with our Kiwi friend Tim, who cheerfully observed -while Eddy used his beanie to stem the flow of blood- that now it was a real adventure. We looked for somewhere to sit down, and voila, the secret valley opened up to us. The boys gave me chocolate- for the shock- and in time I felt good enough to walk back out.

Our other wanders have been less eventful but just as scenic. We discovered (ie.we followed the signs) to an ancient fortress, Dun Deardil above Glen Nevis, explored the trails in Glenloy Forest, hearing the thuds of snow slipping off the branches around us, and climbed up a valley above Kinlochleven, stopping for a picnic at one of the amazing benches that spring up in the middle of nowhere. It's remarkable that almost wherever you walk in wild Scotland- you will find one of these benches, always perfectly situated for your lunch break. All you need to do is sit back and enjoy the view.