A Year in the Life of Glencoe

Enclosed by sweeping bastions of rock that stretch a thousand metres to touch the sky, the North West Highland's Glencoe plunges from the wilds of Rannoch Moor to the burial isles of Eilean Munde.

Shaped by ancient volcanoes, Ice Age glaciers and the attrition of wind and rain, it is a raw landscape of awesome proportion - one of the most spectacular in Britain.

Carrying on from his breathtaking A Year in the Life of the Langdale Valleys, noted climber, photographer and writer Bill Birkett turns his attention to the seasonal changes in this most famous of mountain glens.

The challenging heights, in the main protected and conserved by the National Trust for Scotland, are the province of the rock climber and mountaineer, while down below scattered farms and the little communities of Glencoe and Ballachuilish function through the extremes of the seasons as they have done since the Bronze Age.

The magical rowans bear blossom, unfurl their leaves and hang red with berries before the deep savage snows of winter blanket all.

Above, beyond the snow-capped peaks, the golden eagle rules the air.

On the slopes, the red stag stamps his authority across the purple heather. In this stunning photographic essay, Bill Birkett captures the heartbeat of the awesome highlands of Scotland.