Dingwall Field Club headed to the south side of Loch Ness for October’s Saturday walk. We started from Dores Beach, crossing the shingle at the edge of the bay. The view up the loch was magnificent, with the striking outline of Meall Fuar-Mhonaidh dominating the middle distance. It was a mild calm morning with clear visibility and this encouraged lingering to admire, and take photos.
At the end of the beach we entered a privately owned woodland that is open to the public. We chose a path from which we looked down onto the loch; great views through gaps in well-spaced conifers. Underneath these, the rather tatty blueberry bushes and clumps of faded heather reminded people that it was now autumn, as did the mixed greens and browns of the bracken. Leaves on the scattering of deciduous trees showed signs of turning too. More mixed greenery was to be seen as the walk progressed and the sun came out. Many smaller paths wound through the wooded slopes above and below, but our wide path had a dry, hard surface all the way.
The remains of a disused pier provided an ideal lunching spot, with bits of old stonework to sit on. From here we looked over the water to Lochend, to our right. Directly opposite, the steep wooded slope was vaguely reminiscent of an Alpine scene in summer; a few little holiday chalets sat on open patches of green grass among dark firs. Further to the left, we could see white houses high on the hill - probably the edge of Abriachan. No traffic was heard from the road over there - apart from one motor bike in a hurry. A peaceful corner for our break.
We met no Nessie hunters, but a recent newspaper article reported that a boat’s sonar had picked up something unusual on Loch Ness on 22nd September. A plesiosaur type outline had appeared in different colours, indicating pockets of air and heat that suggested the object was alive...
We walked back along the same path, with sun lighting up the lush mosses and a variety of fungi. We wondered what creatures had eaten chunks out of many of these, especially the brittle-gills which seemed very popular. When we found an enormous black slug crawling near a broken toadstool, we guessed we had one answer. Only a few, very tiny chanterelles were found – maybe human predators had taken others.
A small clump of scabious plants were still in flower under the trees and one or two golden rod had a few petals left. Coal tits were in good voice. The sharp eyes of our walk leader picked up an amazingly long filament of spider’s web spanning a wide gap between two stately conifer trunks. A spider could be seen suspended in the middle of this fine thread.
Back at the start of the wood again, we emerged onto a path above the beach that was lined with tempting ripe brambles. A large inflatable boat was in the bay now, with several people on board, probably the one we had spotted from the old Tor Point pier. Maybe Nessie hunters - or tourists anyway. The only monster we had seen was a big black slug, but it was a very fine specimen indeed!
