Yearly Archives: 2011

Highland Tiger spotted at Leith Hall

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Helen Webster

Conservationists at the National Trust for Scotland have caught a rare image of a wildcat in the grounds of Leith Hall estate in Aberdeenshire. The image which was caught by wildlife surveillance cameras, which were funded by Scottish Natural Heritage, set up on Craigfall Hill in the grounds of the historic property a few weeks ago, while snow still blanketed the ground. Nature conservation advisor Rob Dewar said: “Leith Hall nestles below open moorland and plantation forests deep in the Aberdeenshire countryside and is a haven for wildlife. “Sightings of Scottish wildcats had been reported on Craigfall Hill, but was…

Posted in Nature, News

Wind farms an election issue say MCofS

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is calling on political parties in May’s Scottish Parliamentary election to show a commitment to Scotland’s wild land and world famous landscapes by speaking out against wind farm proposals in our dwindling areas of wildness. The MCofS says the proposed Allt Duine wind farm, on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, is a prime example of a renewable energy project that will cause irrevocable damage to a cherished wild landscape and ruin views in the Monadhliath mountains. The mountaineering body believes the character of this special area is in the hands of the…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Minimal Impact training offered

Posted on April 2, 2011 by Helen Webster

Following the launch of its Minimal Impact Mountaineering Advice earlier this year, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is planning a series of training events to take place in 2011. At the time of the launch of the advice, known as MIMA, the MCofS said, “Scottish access rights are a balance of having statutory rights of access to land and exercising those rights in a responsible manner. MIMA provides detailed information on a wide range of topics that hill walkers, climbers, ski tourers, instructors and other leaders can refer to in order to gain a better understanding of the practical…

Posted in Access issues, News

Ayrshire Coastal Path on Walkhighlands

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Ayrshire Coastal Path is the latest route to be added to the Walkhighlands website. The addition of a detailed route description, complete with 1:250,00 Ordnance Survey mapping, photos and GPS downloads means the site now boasts over 1300 Scottish walking routes. Stretching for 147km from the southern to northernmost limits of the county, the Ayrshire Coastal Path sticks close to the coastline itself and for much of its length runs along sandy beaches. The two halves of the route have a contrasting character, with remoter, more rural countryside – and rougher walking – on the first half to Ayr,…

Posted in Walkhighlands news

Walkhighlands launches new IKEA walk

Posted on April 1, 2011 by Helen Webster

Today Walkhighlands has finally added coverage of perhaps the most popular weekend walk in all Scotland, the route around IKEA in Glasgow. The exploration of the Swedish home superstore is planned to be just the first in a new series of routes which will focus on walks relevant and accessible to more people. “We hope this will help to counter the idea that Walkhighlands is only for those who love to get out in the outdoors on their weekends, ” said site co-founder, Paul Webster. “We already feature several great city walks, and we hope that our new routes in…

Posted in Walkhighlands news

Isle of May opens to walkers

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Helen Webster

Boat trips to Scottish Natural Heritage’s Isle of May National Nature Reserve re-start for this year’s visitor season on 1 April. The island is renowned for its bird populations, its seals, its history and its carpets of flowers. The reserve, at the mouth of the Forth, has a boat service from Fife and East Lothian during the visitor season. Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) welcomes boat trips to the island from April until the end of September and SNH does not charge for visiting. The island has a visitor centre and marked paths covering the island. The private May Princess boat…

Posted in Nature, News

National Nature Reserve walks highlighted

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Helen Webster

There are over fifty National Nature Reserves (NNRs) in Scotland which are some of the best places for wildlife spotting in the country. It is now possible to search the 1300 routes on Walkhighlands to find walks in these Reserves. NNR’s are managed primarily for nature, but people are welcome too, many have facilities to enable visitors to appreciate the wildlife living there. Walkhighlands has 69 detailed walking routes in NNRs across Scotland – to find them go to the Find A Walk search facility and click NNR in the Walk Features option. Put together, the NNRs showcase the wide…

Posted in Nature, News, Walkhighlands news

MCofS publishes Hillwalking Factfile

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Helen Webster

The body which represents hillwalkers and climbers in Scotland, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has published a new Factfile about hillwalking. The A5 leaflet is aimed at anyone thinking of taking up hillwalking. On launching it, the MCofS said, “This new FactFile gives anyone considering hill walking in Scotland’s hills and mountains in summer for the first time a concise list of what they need to know, what gear they need to get and where they can start.” “The first chapter gives some practical advice on what clothing is the best for hill walking and what else you need…

Posted in News

Experts baffled by Osprey's return

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has today (29 March 2011) confirmed that the osprey thought to be oldest breeding female of its kind ever recorded in the UK has returned for the 21st consecutive year to the charity’s Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve in Perthshire. Wildlife experts have now positively identified the bird as the resident female osprey, ‘Lady’, thanks to a close-up image of the bird’s iris seen from the charity’s nest camera. The confirmation comes after an unidentified bird was spotted landing on the reserve’s nesting site at 12.10 pm yesterday (28 March) where it remained for no…

Posted in Nature

Osprey spotted at Loch of the Lowes

Posted on March 28, 2011 by Helen Webster

Jonathan Pinnick, the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Visitor Centre Assistant, said: “We are pleased to confirm that at around 12.10 pm today (Monday 28 March) an unidentified osprey paid a visit to the osprey nest at Loch of the Lowes. “The bird’s visit was brief, landing on the nest for only a few minutes before it flew off again. As a result, we are unfortunately unable to make a positive identification of this bird. However we are hopeful that it could have been our resident female osprey, known by many as ‘Lady’, because the bird did not appear to have a…

Posted in Nature