10/09/17
The day on Gigha had been a brief respite from the rain. The following morning it was tipping down again and difficult to believe we’d been chilling on the beach the previous day. We drove further North to the Knapdale forest where we parked at the Barnluasgan Forestry Commission parking area. There is a small information centre here displaying a few items about the beavers that have been re-introduced to the area.
We were feeling a little guilty for missing so many places out on our very quick journey up the west coast of the Kintyre peninsular, but we just didn’t see the value of trying to wait out the rain. We do have a fixed deadline with Aaron’s passing out in early October.
IN order to avoid being cooped up all day we donned our full waterproofs and set off to follow the beaver trail around the loch. We knew we wouldn’t see beavers as they don’t tend to be out in the daylight hours, but we thought we might see some sign of them. It wasn’t an unpleasant walk to start with as we made our way through the woodlands looking at the attractive flora and the lake. As we progressed, however, my trousers began to let in water. This reduced the appeal of the walk and we spent less time looking around us and more time trying to finish the walk and get back to Bertie where I could dry out.
That evening the rain didn’t let up, so any plans to try a twilight beaver watch were put on hold. I’ll have to wait till I’m home again and stake out the beavers on the River Otter.
Dead trees festooned with lichen