It was like entering a different world as I made my way up Dollar Glen, almost primeval in aura with the moss and fern-festooned trees spiralling the mind back to the dawn of time.
Wispy mist enveloped the skeletal tree canopy like a mysterious grey shroud and lichens and liverworts clung tenaciously to the damp rocks.
Despite the persistent rain, I stopped awhile to examine some of the mosses more closely, their delicate frond-like structures so intricate in creation.
There were several species present, including juniper haircap and broom fork-moss.
I brushed my forefinger across the velvety surface of one moss-carpeted patch, its softness yielding to the touch.
Moss tends to get overlooked, so prolific that its presence is taken for granted, yet it is in effect the very beating heart of our environment, and in Dollar Glen, virtually every tree trunk was coated in its vibrant greenness.
Moss is so very important to our environment and forms vital shelter, humidity and safe breeding places for a huge number of tiny creatures.
These little bugs are the food for a host of larger animals, which means that without mosses the whole web of life would potentially crumble.
Mosses also protect the ground from erosion caused by wind and rain. Indeed, the very presence of moss can spark new life into exposed and infertile terrain by acting as the catalyst that initiates soil formation.
Sphagnum moss, of course, is the main constituent of peat, which is so important for the long-term storage of carbon.
On reaching Castle Campbell, I struck along a small path that connects to the trail that ascends Hillfoot Hill.
Soon, a drystane dyke became the renewed focus of my attention because as well as mosses, there were many lichens, too.
Rather than one organism, lichens consist of a symbiotic association between fungi and algae that work together in a mutually beneficial partnership in providing food and structural support.
Lichens are mini ecosystems, and like moss, many micro-creatures shelter within their tucks and folds.
The rain in Dollar Glen meant the birdlife was lying low, and it was perhaps not the best day for a walk, yet this did not really matter because the abundance of lichens and mosses had enthralled me in a way that only nature can.
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