Irvine Butterfield – Perthshire based writer, photographer and mountain enthusiast – was today granted the John Muir Trust’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the Dundee Mountain Festival. Irvine has dedicated his life to the conservation of wild land and has authored many books on our High Mountains. The most recent, The Magic of Munros, was published in 2005. Irvine is only the fourth person to be granted a Lifetime Achievement Award in the 26 years of the Trust’s life. Irvine Butterfield’s enthusiasm for mountain country and wild land in Scotland dates back to the inception of the John Muir Trust in…

The short days and long dark nights may be a winter curse to many hill walkers but a Scottish project is seeking to get people to use this time to appreciate the stars and report the best places to view them. Astronomers from the Dark Sky Scotland programme are working with the John Muir Trust and Forestry Commission Scotland to help communities and outdoor learning providers find local Dark Sky Discovery sites as part of the build up to International Year of Astronomy 2009. Every community in Scotland, even in the towns and cities, has a local open space that…

Last week brought the first sustained cold snap in the Highlands, bringing snow to most mountain summits and icy conditions in many places. For skilled mountaineers this is the season when the Scottish Hills can bring their greatest rewards, but it is also a time when the hills are full of danger for the unsuspecting. Every year there are many accidents which could have been avoided to hillwalkers who couldn’t cope with the conditions. Remember – there is no such thing as winter hillwalking – it’s mountaineering. In winter every hillwalker heading for summits above the snow line needs to…