Coire Fionnaraich Bothy

Coire Fionnaraich Bothy (Olympus OM-D E-M1, Lumix G Vario 100-300mm f/4-5.6 OIS lens at 108mm, 1/80 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, handheld)

Saturday arrived with no real commitments so I decided, despite it being a bit overcast, with rain threatening, to try out a walking route that I have been interested in for ages - from Coulags to Coire Fionnaraich.  This route branches out in various directions as you move up the coire but I set my target as the loch. The other routes would have required meeting someone at the other end which was not an option for me.  The walk was 6.5 miles in total climbing about 225m, so not overly strenuous but long enough to make my feet a bit sore by the end - wrong socks!  I had the pleasure of the company of my collie - Broc - who at 13 years of age made the trip with no such signs of physical stress.

The above shot was taken from the path at the point where the bothy, operated by the Mountain Bothies Association, first comes into view.  Set against the dramatic hillsides of the coire I used my zoom telephoto lens to foreshorten the view and emphasise the steepness of the hills in the background.  The old stalking bothy has been built out of local stone and blends into the landscape completely, only the slate roof making it visible from a distance.  The shot below shows the bothy in its wider context.

Coire Fionnaraich Bothy from the path (Olympus OM-D E-M1, Olympus M 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 12mm, 1/80 sec at f/5.6, ISO 400, handheld)

The rest of the images were taken closer to the bothy, which is a really attractive building, in an amazingly remote and isolated spot.

Coire Fionnaraich Bothy (Olympus OM-D E-M1, Olympus M 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 12mm, 1/80 sec at f/8, ISO 400, tripod)

Ruined byre at the back of the bothy (Olympus OM-D E-M1, Olympus M 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 12mm, 1/80 sec at f/8, ISO 200, tripod)

Coire Fionnaraich Bothy from the rear (Olympus OM-D E-M1, Olympus M 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 35mm, 1/80 sec at f/8, ISO 400, handheld)

And finally shot on the phone, my faithful companion for the day - Broc by the loch - she never quite looks at you when you are taking a photo.