Alpine wildflowers on Ben Lawers
Starry saxifrage on Ben Lawers
Ben Lawers is the highest mountain in Perthshire and the tenth highest Munro in Scotland; at 1214m it reaches nearly 4,000ft. Its altitude provides a suitably harsh habitat for a wide range of arctic and alpine species of plants that are otherwise rare in the UK. The flora is particularly rich because calcareous schists and limestones outcrop at very high altitude, providing more fertile soil than is normal in the highlands. The mountains are part of the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve, which is managed by the National Trust for Scotland.
I was writing a feature about hill wildflowers for Outdoor Enthusiast magazine and Ben Lawers was an ideal place to visit to expand my selection of photos. I had meant to visit in July, but persistently wet weather had deterred me. By August I knew some flowers would have gone over, but hoped that at high altitude some plants on shady north-facing slopes would still be in bloom.
The forecast was good and I found the car park in sunshine with mist wreathing both the summits above and Loch Tay below. Setting off at a good pace, I climbed through the fenced nature trail area, passing harebells, yarrow, tormentil and many other common flowers of grassy hillsides. With one person out in front of me and one behind, I continued up the Beinn Ghlas path, gaining height rapidly via the many rock steps. After an hour and a half, I reached the summit cairn. The cloud had largely burnt off, or perhaps blown away The next two and a half hours I spent investigating the crags of Beinn Ghlas’s north face. The mountain appeared to be quite closely grazed, so that very few flowers were visible in the grass sward and most were confined to rock ledges beyond the reach of the sheep scattered across the slopes. The ledges are not readily accessible, being on extremely steep ground, and I went half way down the north ridge before finding what I felt was a safe approach. Taking care, I traversed the uncomfortably vertiginous grass slopes between the sheer crags then gradually worked back uphill. I managed to capture images of alpine forget-me-not, rock whitlowgrass and roseroot.
Although shaded from the sun, I was sheltered from the wind so stayed reasonably warm without adding layers. It was a different world on top when I emerged back to the summit: bright sunshine, cutting wind and hoards of people. Having been peacefully communing with the mountain away from external stimuli, it quite was an assault on my senses.
I dropped down to the bealach then ascended to the trig point on Ben Lawers. Here it was standing room only, with one couple using a selfie stick to photograph themselves and others on mobile phones or eating lunch. I didn’t linger but swiftly moved off down the south ridge to find a quiet spot by the ruin of the stone hut used for shelter when the first Ordnance Survey mapping was done in the 1870s. It is set in a rocky defile with crags on the south side that protected me from the wind while I ate lunch. While I sat with my back to the wall, a ring ouzel called from a rock nearby.
Afterwards, I spent another hour and a half botanising on the south and west slopes of Ben Lawers before returning to the bealach. Exposed to more sunshine, some flowers I’d seen on Beinn Ghlas had gone over here, but I still found plenty of nooks and crannies in the crags with a variety species. I just wish I knew more about ferns, mosses and liverworts, which were abundant here and, I understand, include several rare species.
My descent route was via the path that traverses the north side of Beinn Ghlas to the col between it and Meall Corranaich, then straight down Coire Odhar and back to the car park. I was out nine hours and half of that time was spent hunting for and photographing wild flowers. I enjoyed walking uphill at my own pace, not having to keep up with or stop for companions, though the best part of the day was crawling over the ‘skin and bones’ of the mountains and poking around places that few people visit. Being totally absorbed in the environment left me feeling calm and connected to the natural world.
It took me less than an hour to drive back home and re-enter the so called ‘real’ world of everyday concerns: checking my emails and thinking about what to cook for dinner. But days like this remind me that those things are of secondary importance.
Being no expert, I spent considerable time online trying to identify all the plants I photographed. Some closely related species proved difficult to pin down. The extremely rare snow pearlwort, which featured in the NTS talk, eluded me – probably because it has tiny insignificant looking flowers and only grows in a couple of ledges. However, I was happy to find a variety of other arctic alpine wildflowers, which are arguably more photogenic.
PS. This post isn’t intended to encourage others to do what I sometimes do: walking/scrambling alone on steep slopes, which I developed a taste for from doing mountain marathons with deviously placed controls. My advice to anyone going into the hills is to weigh up the dangers and minimise them by keeping well within your own limits. Also be aware that rare plants and habitats are easily damaged, so tread lightly on the land. Better to view from a distance than risk trampling or causing a disturbance to wildlife.