Sunset over the high Cairngorms

To the left of this photograph stands Cairn Toul, the fourth highest mountain in the United Kingdom. It was to be the silent sentinel that watched over my tent, pitched in the heart of the Cairngorm mountains besides the swift running waters of the youthful river Dee.

My first experience of wild camping was a success. After watching the sun sink behind Cairn Toul I spent the brief hours of darkness asleep in my tent. I woke as the sun began to lift the dew from the heathery ground and was on the summit of my first Munro of the day, The Devil's Point, before 6am. The Devil's Point is a southern outlier of the mighty Cairn Toul and gave beautiful views south over the narrow glen holding the Tarff and east across Aberdeenshire.

Wild camping brings a new dimension to the hills. It gives you time to breathe in the scenery, and from a photographic stand point, to maximise your time enjoying the golden hours around dawn and dusk. It is something I hope to do more of over the summer and autumn.