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Monday, August 29, 2016

Cairngorm Mountain, Scotland

Cairngorm Mountain is Britain's sixth highest mountain, but we climbed the easy way, travelling most of the way by car and then funicular railway, with just an hour's walk to the top with a national park ranger.  Unfortunately we were in thick cloud and didn't see much until we descended in the rail car and burst out from under the cloud to see the countryside spread out below.

From the summit when there was a small gap in the clouds.

There was lots to see in the detail of the alpine vegetation, with the lichen and mosses.  There was even a miniature willow tree species that only grows to about half a centimeter high.  The white rock there is quartz, and the other is granite.  This photo was taken on the "footpath" we were walking on.

We descended through the cloud layer just in time to pass the other railcar on it's way up.  In winter the railcar becomes the main access for skiers to reach the higher slopes.

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