A wild camper visiting Scotland has captured the magical moment he discovered a cloud inversion waiting for him at the top of Ben Lomond - describing the scene as "looking just like heaven".
Jake Day, 32, who is also a fully licensed drone pilot, has had fond memories of Scotland ever since he was a kid, thanks to his dad - who was originally from Bonnyrigg and who Jake tragically lost recently - and was looking forward to a memorable holiday on Loch Lomond.
The builder from Derby was camping near the loch with his friend Massimo Berrington, when the pair decided to climb Ben Lomond three days into their trip.
He explained that when they got up at about half five in the morning, it was "super cloudy, miserable and dark".
Incredibly, they had almost turned back about three-quarters of the way up when an intervention from a kind stranger encouraged them to keep going.
"Massimo and I were struggling and as we were about to turn back down, a wee Scottish bloke came out of nowhere from amongst the clouds and told us to keep going.
"When he mentioned the cloud inversion I knew we had to reach the top, it might sound funny but it felt like my dad was giving us a message.
"It took us another hour, but slowly but surely the dark cloud began to turn to white cloud and it began to get really warm, then we just turned this corner and well it was just like heaven!"
Thankfully, Jake, who always has his drone to hand, was able to film an incredible clip and even manages to capture his own infectious elation at witnessing the breathtaking scene.
He added: "Everywhere I go I take my drone with me as you never know when you are going to find a stunning location or stunning place.
"I really got lucky on Ben Lomond that morning it was amazing.
"It was a magical experience, I didn't have a lot of battery left on my drone or my phone so there were a lot of things against me, but it all just seemed to come together.
"It's never going to leave me."
Jake explained that he never got to thank the fellow hiker who encouraged him to keep going as he seemed to disappear after telling them about the cloud inversion.
Jake has since posted his epic clip on several FB groups, and his own Facebook page where it has now had over 30,000 views and has been overwhelmed by the response.
He said: "It's been absolutely crazy. I shared it on quite a lot of the Scotland Facebook sites and I've not had one negative comment. I've never had so much good feedback on one video."
The drone specialist, who has been all over the world filming, said it has helped to connect in a special way with others who have also lost loved ones recently.
He said: "I've had people who have lost relatives recently messaging me and saying 'thank you' and that it's really helped them.
"One person even said that they can now sleep better because if they know their relatives are now in a place like that, it makes me feel better because it's so beautiful - it really touched me in a profound way, it was really nice."
Don't miss the top culture and heritage stories from around Scotland. Sign up to our twice weekly Scotland Now newsletter here.
