Winter wonderland

January in Scotland is frequently cold, dark and dreich. Sometimes it snows, often it rains. It can be stormy too. It is the middle of winter after all, so none of this is a surprise. But when the clouds clear and the sun shines, the winter landscape is spectacular, especially on crisp, frosty days. Our local Ben Venue below, for example, looks majestic cloaked in snow rising above the blue waters of Loch Venachar.

Not convinced? Then have a look at this wonderful short video of the beautiful wintery Scottish landscape from rewilding charity Scotland: The Big Picture. (Did that mountain hare just wink?)

You can find out more about Scotland: The Big Picture online here.

Advertisement

Watching the wildlife

There is wildlife aplenty at Tigh a’ Mhaide and in the surrounding area but many of our resident or visiting creatures are shy – or nocturnal – so spotting them isn’t always easy.

Image credit: Cazalegg on Visual Hunt

However, thanks to a wildlife camera in the woods, we’ve recently been treated to images of foxes, deer and a local badger.

We’ve even caught a fleeting glimpse of a passing otter which came almost nose-to-nose with one of the foxes before retreating hastily to the river. There are an estimated 8,000 otters in Scotland, living along the coasts or beside clean rivers and lochs and although the population is flourishing, it was still a surprise to see one.

Image credit: Cazalegg on Visual Hunt

Keep an eye on the lower right quarter of the video.

Our most common visitors are roe deer. Along with red deer, these are native to Scotland and are a common sight.