At Loch Insh, autumn’s fading daylight brings a different kind of brilliance

Writing from Loch Insh in the Cairngorms, Merryn Glover describes a clear day following a fortnight dominated by cloud, wind and rain. Her Guardian diary, published on 30 October 2026, records snow on the surrounding hills, swans on the water and low sunlight illuminating autumn foliage as daylight hours shorten.

Glover, an Australian who grew up in south Asia, recalls struggling with Scotland’s darker months after moving there and using a light box for several winters. Over three decades, her response changed. She now finds enjoyment in the contrast between autumn’s bright colours and deep shadows, and in the night sky.

The diary offers a personal account of adapting to seasonal darkness in the Scottish Highlands, rather than a weather assessment or health report. Glover links her changing feelings to close observation of light, landscape and stars; her experience does not establish how other residents respond to the shorter days.