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Monthly Archives: November 2011

New bothy for Eskdalemuir Forest

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountain Bothy Association (MBA) has opened a new bothy at Greensykes in Eskdalemuir Forest in Dumfries and Galloway. The building will provide shelter for walkers tackling the hills and through routes around Langholm and Eskdalemuir. An MBA spokesman said, “The building has been used as an open shelter for a number of years and its owner was keen that it should continue to be available for use by walkers and cyclists. Its adoption by the MBA will ensure that this continues to be the case. We are grateful to the owner for agreeing that the MBA should assume responsibility…

Posted in Access issues, News

Cheaper island ferry fares here to stay

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Helen Webster

A scheme to reduce the cost of Scottish ferry travel is to be extended, the Scottish government has announced. The road equivalent tariff (RET) has been operating on a pilot basis and is now to become permanent on services to the Western Isles and Coll and Tiree and will also be extended to Sounds of Barra and Harris routes. The RET scheme pegs ferry fares at the rate it would cost to travel the same distance by road. The Scottish Government also plans to extend the scheme to to cover the Colonsay, Islay and Gigha ferries from October 2012 and…

Posted in Uncategorized

New attempt to topple The Mannie on Ben Bhraggie

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Helen Webster

Police are appealing for information after a second attempt was made to topple the Duke of Sutherland’s statue near Golspie. The huge statue, known locally as The Mannie, stands on Ben Bhraggie and commemorates the duke who was reasonable for some of the most notorious and cruel Highland Clearances in Sutherland. Police say that stone on the plinth has recently been damaged and removed in places and they are appealing for further information. A Police spokesperson said that tools had been used, implying that the vandalism was planned. An earlier attempt was made to dynamite the controversial statue in 1994.…

Posted in News

Campaigners say Monadhliath windfarm will hurt tourism

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Helen Webster

Rural tourism is the lifeblood of the Highlands economy and there are significant concerns that the local tourism economy stands to be severely damaged by the Allt Duine wind farm if the go ahead for the site is granted, warns the “Save the Monadhliath Mountains” (SMM) campaign. The Allt Duine site is one of 11 wind farms being developed in-and-around the Cairngorms National Park. The SMM campaign believes there is a line in the sand and this is it, and that this windfarm is a step too far. A spokesman for the campaign said, “Landscapes and wildlife are one of…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

A82 closure planned for December weekend

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Helen Webster

The A82, south of Fort William, will be closed over the weekend of 9 – 12 December to remove a potentially hazardous rock mass. Walkers and climbers hoping to use this main route to Fort William and further north need to be aware that the road will be closed from 10pm on Friday 9 until 6am on Monday 12 December. The closure affects the road just south of Fort William, between the Corran ferry junction and Fort William. Forestry Commission Scotland has advised that there will be signage on all main routes into the area in the weeks leading up…

Posted in Access issues

Dundee Mountain Film Festival this weekend

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Helen Webster

This year’s Dundee Mountain Film Festival boasts a glittering array of varied films covering caving, climbing, kayaking, mountaineering, running and cycling. In addition there will be talks by round the world cyclist, Mark Beaumont, hillwalking writer Ian Mitchell, and Peter Habeler, who climbed Everest without oxygen with Reinhold Messner in 1978. Art work and photographs will be on display during the Festival as well as stalls, a raffle, and the chance to vote for the People’s Choice Film. The 29th Festival will run from the evening of Friday 25 and all day on Saturday 26 November at Bonar Hall in…

Posted in Uncategorized

Harris Mountain Festival becomes annual event

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Helen Webster

Following the success of the first Isle of Harris Mountain Festival, dates have been fixed for next year’s event and it looks set to become an annual fixture in the walking festival calendar. The new event ran across seven days from Saturday 24 September to Saturday 1 October. Ann-Marie Hewitt from the North Harris Trust reported: “The main crowds were drawn on Wednesday 28 September when Cameron McNeish gave an evening presentation titled ‘Mountains: Earth’s Enduring Monuments’. Cameron took his audience on a tour of the world’s famous mountain ranges, beginning and ending in the famous, Scottish, Nevis range. “On…

Posted in News

First Great Climb re-created for TV

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Helen Webster

Tonight (Tues 22 November) BBC Scotland will be showing a programme that aims to show that rock climbing started in the Northwest of Scotland rather than the English Lake District as is usually claimed. On The First Great Climb three of Scotland’s best climbers embark on a challenging mission to scale the Great Stac of Handa, an isolated pillar of rock on the north-west coast. Dave MacLeod, Dave Cuthbertson and Donald King hope to replicate an ascent first made by a trio of climbers from Lewis nearly 140 years ago, using only equipment and clothing that would have been available…

Posted in Uncategorized

Winter rail discount for walkers and climbers

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has once again teamed up with ScotRail to offer members a fantastic deal on rail travel in the Highlands this coming winter. From January 2nd to March 31st MCofS members will be entitled to a 50% discount on rail travel on the Fort William to Mallaig, Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh, and Inverness to Wick and Thurso lines. MCofS Membership Development Officer, Mike Dales, said: “We are grateful to ScotRail for providing this great offer to our members. We’re still in November, but hill walkers, climbers and ski tourers can already start planning a…

Posted in Access issues, News

Protesters camp out over Loch Lomond cycle track

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Helen Webster

Protesters have been camping out at Inversnaid, on Loch Lomond, in an attempt to stop the construction of a cycle track. The track, which was granted planning permission by Stirling Council and is being built by Forestry Commission Scotland, will eventually link Inversnaid to Stronachlachar on Loch Katrine following the route of an old military road. Although the project began as a community effort, residents in Inversnaid are concerned about how close the cycle track will be to their houses, the scale of the track, and possible damage to the only road into the hamlet which may be caused during…

Posted in Access issues