I’ve wanted to visit the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve ever since I first got into botany.

Idolised among botanists for its unique assemblage of arctic-alpine plants, it is arguably the single most important botanical site in the British Isles for this flora. Its lime-rich schist rocks and high-altitude microclimates support an extraordinary diversity of plants, including rare alpine flowers, ferns, dwarf shrubs and all manner of other botanical treasures. Having finally agreed to make the trip north with a friend, last week, the time finally came.

Alas, with just two and a bit days to explore, it would surely be impossible to see everything we wanted to, particularly this late in the year.

Creag an Lochain

Creag an Lochain is an 840-metre-high ridge immediately west of Ben Lawers, overlooking Lochan na Lairige. It is a place I’d read an awful lot about and, with only a few hours to spare after the long drive from Newcastle to Perthshire, seemed like the perfect first stop on our trip. Parking at Lawers Dam and heading west, it is safe to say the view took our breath away somewhat…

I have honestly never, in all my years of botanising, seen an area quite so rich in tall herbs and associated flowering plants – a testament, presumably, to the benefits of reduced grazing at this site, carefully tended by the National Trust for Scotland. Indeed, flowers such as Devil’s-bit Scabious Succisa pratensis, Goldenrod Solidago virgaurea and Smooth Lady’s-mantle Alchemilla glabra were so abundant that finding anything more notable among them initially seemed rather daunting.

Almost as common were Grass-of-parnassus Parnassia palustris and Yellow Saxifrage Saxifraga aizoides in the wetter areas, both species I encounter only very infrequently, while Alpine Lady’s-mantle Alchemilla alpina was almost impossible to miss, growing seemingly everywhere. Lesser Clubmoss Selaginella selaginoides was easily found and some of the lady’s-mantles present had the look of Rock Lady’s-mantle Alchemilla wichurae but alas, I am quite bad at Alchemilla!

And the best part? All of this botanical abundance could be enjoyed within just a few steps of the loch shore. A rather spectacular introduction to the Lawers area.

Slightly higher up the bank, a rather different community was equally interesting, dominated by rank vegetation and scattered young trees regenerating in response to reduced grazing. Of the latter, I was particularly excited to look closer at the willows. Among the more familiar Eared Willow Salix aurita, Dark-leaved Willow S. myrsinifolia and Tea-leaved Willow S. phylicifolia, it was difficult to miss Downy Willow S. lapponum, its bright silver leaves standing out from the surrounding vegetation. A new one for me!

Mountain Willow S. arbuscula was also growing in some abundance, while, less frequent but still reasonably common, it was lovely to see a few examples of Dwarf Birch Betula nana – a tree I saw for the first time only last week in the Cheviots. Among these grew Wood Horsetail Equisetum sylvaticum, Wood Vetch Ervilia sylvatica and plenty of Lemon-scented Fern Oreopteris limbosperma.

Of course, much of the interest here was concentrated higher up, around the flushed rocky ledges and slopes above the taller, coarser vegetation. Truthfully, the plants here could have filled our entire weekend, and in quick succession we found a succession of mountain specialists including Roseroot Rhodiola rosea, Alpine Bistort Persicaria vivipara, Mountain Everlasting Antennaria dioica, Fir Clubmoss Huperzia selago and Viviparous Fescue Festuca vivipara.

Of course, it was the “new” plants that held the greatest appeal, and with a little further searching we encountered Alpine Saw-wort Saussurea alpina, now gone to seed, alongside Alpine Cinquefoil Potentilla crantzii, Mountain-sorrel Oxyria digyna and Moss Campion Silene acaulis. The latter wasn’t in flower, sadly, but we did catch the last few lingering blooms later in the trip.

A lucky spot by Sacha also yielded a surprise Frog Orchid Dactylorhiza viridis, long past flowering but still recognisable. A cheery little bonus!

This spot is also seemingly a magnet for pteridologists, and I can certainly see why. We enjoyed a fine selection of ferns during our visit, including Mountain Male-fern Dryopteris oreades, Brittle Bladder-fern Cystopteris fragilis and Maidenhair Spleenwort Asplenium trichomanes, alongside some sizeable colonies of the charming Green Spleenwort Asplenium viride.

The highlight, however, was surely the spectacular examples of Holly-fern Polystichum lonchitis. A rare species where I am in England, it seemed almost common in this part of the world. Beech Fern Phegopteris connectilis was nice to see too, while a solitary example of Alpine Clubmoss Diphasiastrum alpinum nicely foreshadowed what was to come further up the hill.

We enjoyed our visit to Creag an Lochain so much that on the last evening of our visit, we opted for another visit, this time walking from the far end of the loch. Sightings were much the same here and seeing so many scarce plants growing in such profusion was nothing short of a treat. And as an added bonus, a White-tailed Eagle drifted overhead towards the end of our walk!

Meall nan Tarmachan

Located a little west of Creag an Lochain, Meall nan Tarmachan is a 1,044-metre Munro and was a close `second on our hit list for our wee trip north. Known as the “rounded hill of the ptarmigan”, it offers a relatively quick ascent from a high car park and forms the main peak of the scenic Tarmachan Ridge walk, which we were keen to fit in alongside our trip to Ben Lawers itself. Happily, we managed both!

Starting out from the Ben Lawers car park, the initial leg of the walk took us through delightful grassland and a large area of woodland regeneration, once again dominated by interesting willows. Downy Willow Salix lapponum was common, but we did find one plant displaying features suggestive of Woolly Willow Salix lanata, one of the rarer montane species. I’m not entirely convinced, however, and it may be a hybrid.

Dwarf Birch grew here too, alongside plenty of more familiar species as we gradually gained height. We even paused to admire a Short-eared Owl giving a Buzzard a rather hard time – a suitably entertaining distraction before the climb really began.

Once we had climbed fairly high, though still a good distance below the summit, it was time to explore yet more ledges – particularly those safely out of reach of the local sheep. One particularly good outcrop held plenty of familiar favourites, including the Roseroot, Holly-fern, Green Spleenwort and Alpine Bistort combination.

Here, however, Alpine Meadow-rue Thalictrum alpinum was new for the trip, while a large scurvygrass growing on a flushed rock proved to be Pyrenean Scurvygrass Cochlearia pyrenaica subsp. alpina. Further careful rummaging also revealed some lovely Starry Saxifrage Saxifraga stellaris.

Much more exciting, however, was the real target of our visit to this particular rock: another new willow, Net-leaved Willow Salix reticulata. This was a species I particularly wanted to see during our jaunt north and, unlike many of the alpine flowers that had already gone over, one that ought still to be looking good.

Thankfully, it was, and made for a lovely sight cascading over the ledge alongside a host of other alpine goodies. It is a distinctive little willow, easily recognised by its rounded leaves with deeply impressed veins, giving them a striking wrinkled appearance.

From here, all that remained was to tackle a rather daunting set of stony steps up to the ridge – a steep ascent for this rather unfit botanist. Pausing along the way, we were pleased to find the remains of Alpine Cat’s-tail Phleum alpinum in a grassy section, while a small accumulation of water held Black Bog-rush Schoenus nigricans and Common Cottongrass Eriophorum angustifolium, with plenty of Stiff Sedge Carex bigelowii around the edges. Thrift Armeria maritima was also flowering in a small stream, which supported more Yellow Saxifrage Saxifraga aizoides and Butterwort Pinguicula vulgaris.

Having panted our way to the top, what followed was a slightly frustrating attempt to find some of the true montane specialists known from the mountain. Even armed with grid references, we failed to locate Rock Whitlowgrass Draba norvegica or Snow Pearlwort Sagina nivalis, but did at least enjoy poking around the stony areas where plenty of Dwarf Willow Salix herbacea was growing alongside yet more Starry Saxifrage Saxifraga stellaris.

Better still was the discovery of a flushed area supporting several small, cryptic species, including Hair-sedge Carex capillaris, Dioecious Sedge Carex dioica and, best of all, Alpine Pearlwort Sagina saginoides. Some impressive mats of Cyphel Cherleria sedoides were also scattered across the slopes, alongside a few small populations of Mountain Scurvygrass Cochlearia micacea. So, all was definitely not lost!

Nearby, some lovely patches of Alpine Clubmoss gave us something to admire while we tucked into our snacks, but alas, the view from the summit was somewhat underwhelming thanks to the encroaching fog.

Still, we had more than enough botanical highlights to make up for it.

To be continued… Our walk up Ben Lawers itself definitely felt deserving of a blog post all of its own.