Stay at home

Scotland is under national lockdown. People are asked to stay at home except for essential purposes.
Click for details

Monthly Archives: May 2010

Steall Falls bridge closed

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Helen Webster

The wire bridge over the Water of Nevis at Steall, Glen Nevis, has been closed after one of its cables snapped on Wednesday 26 May. The bridge links the Glen Nevis property, owned by the John Muir Trust, with land owned by Rio Tinto Alcan. After the incident, the Trust’s Nevis Ranger acted quickly to close off both sides of the bridge and put up warning signs for walkers. Andrew Campbell, head of land management for the John Muir Trust said: “The wire bridge is a Glen Nevis landmark and many walkers enjoy crossing it. It receives a regular maintenance…

Posted in Access issues, News

One year on for Scottish beavers

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Helen Webster

A year ago, on 29 May 2009, Scotland’s first wild beavers for over 400 years were released into Knapdale Forest, Mid-Argyll. This marked the start of the Scottish Beaver Trial, a five-year time-limited trial reintroduction and a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) and host Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). This week marks the first year milestone for the project, which aims to follow the beavers’ activities in the wild and gather information on how the presence of beavers might affect the Scottish environment and determine if the beaver might prosper again…

Posted in Nature

Three Osprey chicks at Loch Garten

Posted on May 27, 2010 by Helen Webster

Staff at the Loch Garten RSPB reserve near Aviemore are celebrating the arrival of a third osprey chick. Breeding pair, EJ and Odin had two chicks hatch last weekend with the third making its arrival yesterday. Three Osprey chicks are being raised by a pair of ospreys at an RSPB reserve in the Highlands. The chicks progress can be monitored on the RSPB webcam which updates images every two minutes although sightings of the chicks are rare at this stage as the adult bird remains on the nest most of the time.

Posted in Nature

40 day Munro challenger conquers Cuillin

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Helen Webster

Stephen Pyke (better known as Spyke) is still well on track to finish his Munro challenge in 40 days, although there are still some supremely challenging days ahead. On Monday of this week Spyke completed the Cuillin ridge on Skye, starting at 6 in the morning from Glenbrittle campsite and finishing at Sligachan at 9.30pm. Since then Spyke has been tackling the north Glenshiel Munros with time for a brief and unexpected encounter with Hamish Brown, the first person to complete a continuous round. Spyke is covering all the ground under his own steam, using a bike to get between…

Posted in Uncategorized

Wolves plan scrapped at Alladale

Posted on May 19, 2010 by Helen Webster

Alladale Esate in Sutherland has axed plans to keep four wolves in a secure enclosure. The plan had been to import the wolves from Romania and keep them in a relatively small enclosure but this has now been shelved because of concerns about the animal’s welfare. The Estate had originally planned to keep two entire wolf packs across 50,000 acres which would have involved the use of land from neighbouring estates but these plans were scaled back. The Estate, owned by MFI heir, Paul Lister, says that it still plans to keep wolves in the future but that the current…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Speyside Way extension likely to go ahead

Posted on May 17, 2010 by Helen Webster

The Cairngorms National Park (CPNA) has decided to go ahead with the proposed extension of the Speyside Way to Newtonmore despite objections from one landowner. Last Friday (14 May) the National Park Authority’s Board approved the making of a ‘Path Order’ under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 which if given Ministerial approval will allow the path to be built without the land owner’s consent. This decision follows years of work on the proposed route and approval ‘in principle’ in 2009 from the Scottish Government to extend the Speyside Way through the Cairngorms National Park. The work has included negotiations…

Posted in Access issues, News

Follow walks from Monty Halls’ Great Escape

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Helen Webster

Fans of the ongoing BBC2 series Monty Halls’ Great Hebridean Escape have been enjoying great footage of the superb scenery, hills and beaches of the Outer Hebrides. In the program, Monty has been working as a voluntary ranger on North Uist, and has been helping to improve waymarking and information on walks from Berneray in the north to Barra in the south. Now Walkhighlands has added coverage of North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, Berneray and Eriskay so you can check out Monty’s waymarker posts for yourselves – and discover many more walks! Begin exploring our new Outer Hebrides walks. The…

Posted in Uncategorized

NTS offers high level Glencoe walks

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Helen Webster

The National Trust for Scotland’s Glencoe will mark the UN International Year of Biodiversity by giving visitors the opportunity to experience some of its highest mountains in a series of special ranger-led hikes. The challenging, high-level walks, which each take in a wide variety of habitats, begin on the International Day of Biodiversity – Saturday 22 May. Property Manager Scott McCombie said: “As a site of special scientific interest and home to a vast number of plant and animal species, Glencoe is the perfect place to celebrate biodiversity. I’m sure hikers will enjoy spotting the creatures that live on its…

Posted in Nature, News

Avalanche service needs your views

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Helen Webster

Last year the Scottish Avalanche Information Service changed the format of its forecasts with the aim of making them more user-friendly. The Service is now seeking the views of walkers and climbers who have used the forecasts so they can see how the new format is working and whether it needs to be improved. If you used the Avalanche Information Service last winter you can take part in the survey here.

Posted in News

Stephen Pyke Munro-run nears halfway stage

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Helen Webster

Stephen Pyke (better known as Spyke) is still well on track on his attempted record-breaking run over all the Munros, despite reporting a problem with his achilles a couple of days ago. Spyke is climbing all the peaks under his own steam, including using a bike between some mountains and kayaking to get to the islands. As of yesterday, day 19, he had completed 136 Munros and was today heading for a mammoth route over 13 summits from Ben Cruachan to Glen Etive before tackling Glencoe over the weekend. You can follow Spyke’s progress at his blog, sponsor him (the…

Posted in Uncategorized