Country diary: Our first sunny day in a month – time to scale a summit | Merryn Glover

Sgòr Gaoith, Cairngorms: Our rucksacks are heavy with crampons and ice axe, and the wind is a menace, but it’s all worth it for the viewsThe weather app shows wall-to-wall spiky yellow suns. We haven’t had a day like this in over a month, nor is one foretold in the weeks to come, so I abandon the desk and, with a friend and a dog, head for the hills.We choose Sgòr Gaoith, the high point of the ridge above the River Feshie which forms the western edge of the Cairngorms. Our path starts in Scots Pine forest, where we walk in dappled light and can hear the soft chuckle of Allt Ruadh, the Red Burn. The trees thin as we gain height, but everywhere, new saplings are appearing across this once bare landscape and you can almost feel the rising of life. Our rucksacks are heavy with crampons and ice axe – just in case – but the air is fresh and spangling as the sun pours down the brown slopes and into our winter-dull eyes. Continue reading...