I've been assessing Duke of Edinburgh groups north of the Great Glen for over 20 years and it's the first time I've heard of a group having to be "supplied" with water. Maybe you need to rethink and revise your training regime. As for vehicular access, I think it's bad practice for a grou...

Hi Fudgie, the "Bheithir Pair" I reckon is one of the best ridge walks going for position and the views - great report and some super images there!

Kind Regards

Ian

Oh, lovely!

This is one of my favourite walks, and one we walk with friends who claim they're "not really hillwalkers"...

Just a cracker and I love the images you've illustrated it with. Becky - get used to bothies Quieinie!

Kind Regards

Ian

There seems to be quite a few black Adders in the Cairngorm region - I don't suppose this was near White Bridge by any chance? - I've seen at least two very dark ones there

Kind Regards

Ian

Great stuff!

Terpersie is less than a mile from my house and there are some great walking opportunities around the area

Kind Regards

Ian

Hi BP, I think I may have seen you walking out towards the East Head last Sunday :) I did a short trip from Portsoy to Whitehills and back; my preparations were watched with interest..... http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr29/ianj2008/DSC02623.jpg This young seal was very curious about the content...

After exploring Boyne, we stopped in Portsoy for lunch and then went for a walk on the cliffs to the east of the village. We saw a guy in a kayak just off the shore - maybe it was you? :D :D Cheers BP If it was on Sunday 2nd, a yellow kayak and blue top/buoyancy aid, then it was me :) Small world i...

What a super report! Despite living within 45 minutes of Portsoy and regularly kayaking the coastline hereabouts (in fact i was in boyne Bay just this week) I had no idea that this impressive ruin was here. I really must get to visit the site, perhaps in winter when the vegetation has died back a bi...

Hi Jambo, Snow Buntings ( Plectropenax nivalis do breed in small numbers on the high Cairngorm tops, but Snow Finches are (as far as i can tell) confined to the high alpine regions of central Europe. Difficult to tell from the photo, but these might be juvenile and/or moulting adult Snow Buntings - ...

A nice close encounter with a 3 metre Basking Shark whilst sea kayaking near Portsoy on the Moray Firth. These are the second largest fish in the world and can grow up to 11 metres so this one was a bit of a tiddler. http://i466.photobucket.com/albums/rr29/ianj2008/P8230119.jpg It was feeding very c...

Great stuff Dooterbang!

As others have said, its a favourite for so many folk. I'm lucky to be just a few hours away, and whatever the weather the area never disappoints whether on the hill, on the sea or taking pictures

Here's to the next visit!

Kind Regards

Ian

Superb; already on my "must do" list for sea kayaking - this report has bumped it up several notches!

Kind Regards

Ian

Great report Alastair!

I've kayaked around Handa and "had a look" at the base of the Great Stack but the swell was too big to try squeezing into the gaps at its base.

During the nesting season the view from sea-level is astonishing - as of course is the smell

Kind Regards

Ian

During a spell of fine April weather we were in Argyll and made a visit to the Kilmartin area. There are an astonishing 800 historic sites within a 10 kilometre radius of Kilmartin, the vast majority of them prehistoric. They include over 350 monuments, incised rocks, cairns and burial sites. The ne...

Wow Walk Aboot, Well done indeed on capturing a St Kilda wren on camera! We saw two in Village Bay area, but they were way too quick for us! One slight surprise was that species such as Rock Pipits seem to be well established. One can only assume that they have bred from birds blown out to the archi...