1.9 cm of peat have formed since I last stood at 1,214 metres atop Ben Lawers. Within that time Joe has, in his nine of these years, grown strong enough to reach the summit. Whilst the mountain has remained constantly just short of 4,000 feet it has grown on itself violet Alpine gentians, delicate pink moss campions; on its rugged tumbled rocks nurtured intricate, slow lichens; been a home to redpoll, hovering hen harriers, fluttering mountain ringlet butterflies, throaty crawing ravens; and punctured the North Atlantic clouds to form, even at 3,500 feet up, peat.
Robin A Crawford 