Glasdrum and a Chequered Skipper Butterfly

On the final day of our holiday in Oban we went to Glasdrum, a stunning woodland nature reserve

 

and home to the Chequered Skipper, a rare butterfly in the UK (though I think it's more common in continental Europe). The weather was dull and damp when we started the walk and we didn't expect to see the butterfly. However, just 10 meters or so away from the information board telling us to look out for Chequered Skippers, we were incredibly lucky to see this:

It's a tiny, beautifully patterned butterfly and we were delighted to find it so easily! We enjoyed the rest of the walk too, the woodland itself is beautiful, with lots of fast flowing streams running between the trees 

There are also wonderful views from the high points of the reserve

 

There's plenty of insect life to find. I was pleased to be able to get a decent photo of this Scorpion fly, one of a group of about five that were fluttering around this birch tree.  

Like Glen Nant, which I wrote about a couple of days ago, in this post, it's a steep climb in places, but a wonderful walk.