This first experience of walking through a Scottish woodland was stunning. Henry and I enjoyed the walk through the forest on the property of the Ardanaiseig Hotel so much so, that we repeated it, each time marveling at the extraordinary beauty of mosses that grew on the trees. We were told that mosses only flourish in unpolluted environments, so we relished the air we breathed deeply while enjoying  the soft trail underfoot. I was captivated by the micro-forests of mosses and mushrooms that had clustered on the fallen tree stumps, as well as the masses of shamrocks that covered the ground. The silence and serenity of the forest was increased by the aching sound of trees swaying in the wind, their undulations strangely rhythmic and  their whispers exquisite. It was such a contrast to emerge from this  shaded, dense, and silent place into fields of grasses that transitioned to a garden of shrubs, huge rhododendrons, and once again, manicured lawns. This green landscape served as a reminder of the paintings we enjoyed seeing in the exhibition of Piet Mondrian at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. His early paintings, of mossy green forests with upright trees, are considered to have laid a foundation for the rhythms he later created in  his abstract black and white works of art.

PHOTOS: Views of the green woodland of Ardanaiseig Hotel near Loch Awe in Argyll, Scotland.

JOURDAN ARPELLE-ZIEGLER                                      BACK TO MAP  PAGE