OTHER HIGH HABITATS

must hug the ground to survive. Woolly fringe-moss, grey, unassuming, is dominant here, while reindeer-moss provides forage for its namesake. Three-leaved rush and stiff sedge grow tenaciously among the gravel, and trailing azalea produces showy pink flowers. Dwarf willow sprawls along the ground, bonsai in extremis. Lichen-stained boulder fields harbour ptarmigan nests, mountain hares and moss campion. Monochromatic male snow buntings sing their glorious song from the summit cairns, while the females hoover up crumbs left by walkers. And high above soars the soul of the mountain, the golden eagle.

The high plateau is the least disturbed ecosystem in the country, but even here humans have their impacts. Visitors can disturb nesting birds when they step off the easily eroded footpaths. Plants that can happily withstand gale-force winds and temperatures of -10°C cannot survive the repeated footfall of humans. And of course, the impact of climate change lurks like a broken spectre. As the mountains warm, boisterous plants from lower altitudes are taking advantage, colonising the slopes, outcompeting the subarctic specialists. Recent research has shown that dotterels are moving 25 metres up the hill every decade. Soon they will simply run out of hill to move up to. Moulting mountain hares are coming out of sync with the annual cycle of snowfall. The precious summer snow patches and the unique species that they maintain may not survive into the future.

For all that, the massif remains our wildest landscape, a hostile habitat to humans, even on the most glorious of spring days. We are drawn to the high mountains because they reveal to us our limitations. Through showing us what we are not, the unique assemblage of life that thrives on the plateau reminds us of what it is to be human.

Visiting remote uplands can be dangerous. Safely enjoy our wild places by following safety advice from Mountain Rescue. scottishmountainrescue.org

Andrew Painting has worked as an ecologist at the Mar Lodge Estate in the Cairngorms since 2016, and is the author of Regeneration: the Rescue of a Wild Land (see page 95).

A Ben Lawers, Highlands: The highest mountain in the southern Highlands is home to a huge variety of Arctic-alpine plants, and a great place to see our only montane specialist butterfly, the mountain ringlet. B Dartmoor: It may be warmer and more southerly than Britain’s other mountain regions, but don’t be fooled – this is a wild and often dangerous place, with its tors reaching altitudes over 2,000 feet. C Helvellyn, Lake District: On the beautiful, rugged slopes of England’s third-highest mountain, the John Muir Trust has embarked on an innovative, 15-year project to restore the fortunes of some of the UK’s rarest plant species. D Snowdonia: Wales’ highest hills are the only place in Britain where you can find the beautiful and delicate Snowdon lily.