Weekend on film in the Cairngorms

As soon as the lockdown in Glasgow lifted my flatmate and I were eager to go somewhere for a night away and to get some quality nature time. This was my flatmates first time wild camping so I chose an easy and straightforward route that was only about 4km from where we could park overnight. We arrived at the Glenmore visitor centre and the employee there kindly gave us an overnight parking pass when we asked where was best for us to park after seeing so many no overnight parking signs. We went down first for a nosey at Loch Morlich but it was incredibly windy so we decided not to go for a swim and instead found ourselves at the Pine Marten Bar for a cider and sit down.

We gathered our things around 5pm from our car and set off on the walk. The forest protected us from the wind we found all too much at Loch Morlich and after a fairly grey day the sun started breaking through the clouds. I was eager to stop at Lochan Uaine (also known as the green loch) on our way to the bothy as I had been wanting to visit this tiny loch for quite some time. In Gaelic the word Uaine means green, while Scottish folklore states that the water is this colour because of fairies washing their clothes in the water. Although I love a bit of folklore, I found the turquoise water reminded me so much of the glacial lakes we have in abundance at home and I instantly felt an array of emotions ranging from homesickness to absolute bliss. The loch is known to occasionally have leeches but we didn’t spot any at the time and there was no one else around at the loch edge so we risked it and went in for a swim. The water was absolutely freezing yet so inviting.

After a very cold dook we got dressed and carried on to the bothy which was only about 30 minutes further up the path. Bothies are not yet open for you to stay inside due to the pandemic so I brought along my tent for us to camp next to the bothy. As it’s such an accessible spot and walk up I was concerned it would be quite busy however when we arrived it was about 8pm and there were only two other tents dotted next to the bothy which left us with lots of choice for where to pitch the tent. This area of the Cairngorms is a part of the Abernethy RSPB and we certainly were treated to an array of bird sounds on the walk up and all through the night, the most prominent and persistent bird we heard was a cuckoo.

I think I underestimated how rejuvenating it is to be out in nature beyond just going for a walk. I also just couldn’t believe how much this area reminded me of the mountains at home. Although we only spent one night I really hope to come back to this region of the Cairngorms again soon to explore more.

Film: 35mm Portra 160
Developing and scans: Gulabi Lab