Weathering Winter

IKNOW plenty people who don’t like February much. It’s the coldest month of the year and when it’s not chucking it down and blowing a hoolie, it’s usually just dreich – the most boring of all bad weather.

February days are brief still and the fun of the festive season – in normal, pre-covid, years – a fading memory. At least it’s the shortest month.

But I quite like February. Usually, I take a week off to enjoy some climbing in the Highlands. Sure, you get claggy, wet days but I’ve also enjoyed clear days with Alpine-like conditions. I even like the days of zero visibility – they bring their own exciting challenges. Sadly, not this year.

At the time of writing, much of the country is heading for the toughest of restrictions in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19.

As I’ve written before, the pandemic has helped make me feel more fortunate than ever to live in rural Stirlingshire. I’ve found great solace in exploring the woodlands and hills around my home.

Like most of us, I should imagine, I just never envisaged that, almost a year on, we’d still be in what feels like pretty much the same situation and I’d still be writing about local adventures.

The picture above was taken on the summit of Ben Ledi. We climbed it on a still winter’s day from Brig o’turk, in the Trossachs – about 15 minutes from home.

One of the things I love most about the hills is – when it’s calm and you’re not concentrating on battling the elements – they provide wonderful thinking time.

There’s something about being out in nature, on mountain tops under big skies in an ageless landscape, that gives a bit of perspective.

You realise what’s important, and think about what really matters.

In these uncertain times, as we move up and down the tier system, what matters to me is the knowledge that the pandemic will pass and that during this terrible year we’ve re-discovered a sense of community and togetherness that I hope will live on.

@Scotsmaged