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Monthly Archives: December 2014

Bucking the corporate trend…

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Cameron McNeish

TO suggest I was shocked to get a press release the other day telling me about a new waterproof jacket that retails for £750, with matching over-trousers that cost £630, would be an understatement. Someone later sent me details of a snowboarding jacket that cost a cool £1200! Has the outdoor industry gone berserk? I thought we were living in times of austerity? Apparently not for some… Like many hill goers I’ve gone through periods of being a bit of a gear junkie. Having edited outdoor magazines for over 30 years I’ve pretty much had access to the best of…

Posted in Features, Magazine

John Muir remembered on centenary

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Helen Webster

On December 24 1914 John Muir died in a Los Angeles hospital after being stricken with pneumonia while on a visit to the Southern Californian city to visit his daughter. The pioneering Scots-born conservationist, explorer, author and campaigner remains a giant figure in American culture. His picture hangs in the California Hall of Fame alongside Clint Eastwood, Walt Disney and Barbara Streisand, while across the United States, libraries, schools, universities, hospitals, parks and mountains are named in his honour. Stuart Brooks, Chief Executive of the John Muir Trust said: “Over the past century since his death, John Muir’s relevance has…

Posted in Nature

Tom Weir Statue to be unveiled

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Helen Webster

A statue of Tom Weir will be unveiled on the shores of Loch Lomond to coincide with the 100th anniversary of his birth on 29 December. The unveiling event – at Balmaha Bay picnic area – will include a musical tribute and will mark the centenary of Tom Weir’s birthday, with special guests including well-known outdoor writers and broadcasters Cameron McNeish and Jimmie MacGregor, Scottish minstrel Alistair MacDonald and sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn. Attendance on the 29th at midday is free, and samples of Tom’s favourite brew and snack will be available. Those attending are encouraged to wear one of Tom’s…

Posted in News

Fort William Mountain Festival line up announced

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Helen Webster

The full programme for the 2015 Fort William Mountain Festival has now been announced. Some of the best inspirational speakers made up of top climbers, and mountaineers, will join adventure film screenings, ski mountaineering and hill running races and mountain skills workshops for the four day festival. Staged in and around the Highland town of Fort William it will run from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 22nd February 2015. Mike Pescod, Chairman of the Highland Mountain Culture Association, organisers of the Festival, said: “The Fort William Mountain Festival celebrates our wild landscape and the opportunities it presents. It’s guaranteed to inspire,…

Posted in News

Turbine development could blight Rob Roy Way

Posted on December 19, 2014 by Paul Webster

Responding to a public consultation which closed this week, the John Muir Trust has lodged an objection to the proposed Crossburns Wind Farm in Highland Perthshire, pointing out that the scheme would disfigure one of Scotland’s Great Trails. West Coast energy has submitted a planning application for 25 turbines, each 115 metres high, to be built across the Ardtalnaig to Aberfeldy leg of the walk. The turbines will also be on the route of the Scottish National Trail. If approved, this section of the Rob Roy Way, considered one of the highlights of the entire walk, will be re-routed during…

Posted in Nature, News

Our pick: 16 shots of Festive Scotland

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Paul Webster

Need to get into that festive frame of mind? We’ve put together a gallery of wintry scenes from across Scotland to inspire you to venture out and explore before settling down by the fireside on these long evenings. A ballet is one of the collective nouns used for a group of swans, well-suited to this group of Whoopers alighting from the River Spey near Grantown. With a white-out on the summits, there’s still sometimes the chance of a stunning winter walk on the lower slopes and foothills. Winter also gives the chance to try out other ways of getting around…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks, Walkhighlands news

Trust completes £60k footpath repair work on Skye’s Blà Bheinn

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Paul Webster

Contractors finished restoration work this week on the 3.8km footpath that rises 928 metres to the spectacular summit of the ‘Blue Mountain’ on the edge of the Cuillin. Earlier this year, the John Muir Trust, which looks after Blà Bheinn, won £24,000 in an online poll organised by the European Outdoor Conservation Association towards the costs. The Trust followed this up with an appeal among its members and supporters to raise the balance to fund the project. Chris Goodman, Footpath Manager for the John Muir Trust said: “This was a substantial piece of work that included building 100 metres of…

Posted in Nature, News

Shooting the Breeze – the Jamie Grant interview

Posted on December 14, 2014 by David Lintern

As his exhibition opens in Pitlochry this month, David Lintern spoke to photographic journalist Jamie Grant about his love of the longest glen in Scotland. Tell us about where you live. Compared to other places you have lived and worked, what’s different about the Glen that inspires you? I’ve been incredibly lucky to have lived in Glen Lyon for the last 12 years. There is a magic to daily life in such a stunning and remote spot that nowhere else can match but the practical frustrations of trying to make a living from the end of a long, single track road…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

First avalanche forecasts of season show ‘considerable’ risk

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Paul Webster

The Scottish Avalanche Information service has begun its forecasts for the 2014-15 winter season. The forecasts began on Thursday, covering North and South Cairngorms, Glencoe, Lochaber and Creag Meagaidh; the Torridon service will begin on the 24th Dec 2014, this will cover holiday periods and weekends throughout the season. With considerable snowfalls this last week, the forecast for all the regions includes areas of ‘considerable’ avalanche risk for this weekend, so be sure to check the detailed forecasts on the Scottish Avalanche Information Service website. Link: SAIS

Posted in News

‘The oldest living thing in Europe’

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Ben Dolphin

I’ve travelled a fair bit around the world and the one thing I keep encountering again and again, no matter what country I’m in, is the superlative settlement. That is to say, those tiny towns or villages with superlative claims to fame. The tiniest church, the longest slide, the highest chimney, the angriest lama. Often they’re dreamed up or made in a deliberate attempt to get people to stop in a town, but some lucky wee places are blessed with the genuine article. Fortingall in Perthshire is one such place but frankly you’d never know it if you were just…

Posted in Features, Magazine