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Monthly Archives: February 2016

A sideways look at outdoor gear

Posted on February 29, 2016 by Peter Macfarlane

There’s no getting away from it. If we have shoes on our feet, a jacket on our backs and we’re carrying something on our back to keep our lunch in, we’re using outdoor gear. Of course as we’re human beings it’s not as simple as that – gear isn’t just a means to an end or a tool. We can’t help ourselves, we get enthused, we want to know more about it, what’s it made of, what’s coming next season, what’s the best? Many will roll their eyes at the thought of this enthusiasm and are happy in the same…

Posted in Features, Gear reviews, Magazine

Is it time to pay for our pleasures?

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Cameron McNeish

“NATIONAL Trust for Scotland to ‘ask people to pay towards wilderness upkeep’ for first time,” declared the headline in The Herald last month. You might be forgiven for thinking the NTS was going to start charging folk to climb hills on their properties and indeed, following that headline several journalists rang me to ask ask for my opinion. My opinion was simple. The headline was misleading. Under Scotland’s Land Reform legislation you can’t be asked to pay to climb a hill, or go for a walk and it wasn’t until I fully read the NTS press release that I discovered…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Skye path workers battle Atlantic storms

Posted on February 23, 2016 by Helen Webster

Footpath workers have been battling ferocious weather conditions to complete repair works on a popular section of path on the Isle of Skye. After a great start in balmy October sunshine, the team working to repair the footpath over Druim Hain to Loch Coruisk have more recently had to contend with fierce gales and driving rain. And that’s on top of a daily two–hour trek from Glen Sligachan to reach the work site. Yet the work is still on course to be completed by the middle of next month. Chris Goodman, John Muir Trust Footpath Officer said: “The guys have…

Posted in Access issues, News

Our pick – walking Scotland’s cities

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Paul Webster

In our latest gallery we feature urban walking routes taking in the best of Scotland’s seven cities – or was that eight? Edinburgh Scotland’s capital has recently been voted one of the world’s most beautiful cities, and with its combination of stunning architecture spanning the centuries and its dramatic landscape, it’s the perfect city to explore on foot. We feature routes that explore the wonders of both the medieval Old Town and the Georgian New Town, but be sure not to miss areas like Dean Village, or the Botanic Gardens. The Water of Leith provides a cross-section through the whole…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Where are we at with Windfarms?

Posted on February 20, 2016 by David Lintern

After a series of recent wind farm rejections, columnist David Lintern gives his take on what’s next for wind energy and Scotland’s wild places. Wind energy is a hugely contentious issue, and it would be a mistake to assume that readers of this article will agree one way or another. What I’d like to do here is to try and take the temperature of the situation – take a brief look at what’s happened historically, what’s changed recently and what it might mean for the future. Inevitably that will be a snapshot. I will be honest about my own position…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Three die in two separate incidents in Scottish hills

Posted on February 18, 2016 by Paul Webster

A total of three people have now died over the last two days in the Scottish hills, and the search for a couple who went missing at the weekend continues. A second of the three walkers rescued from Lowther Hills above Durisdeer yesterday died in hospital this lunchtime. The two fatalities were named as Geoffrey Stewart and George Crosbie, 74 and 73. The third walker in their party – Bobby Thompson – is still in hospital. The three men – described by police as experienced – were stuck overnight in the hills and were affected by hypothermia. Colin Golphin, Moffat…

Posted in News

Police and rescuers appeal for info on couple missing on Ben Nevis

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Helen Webster

Police Scotland and the Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team are appealing for information about two climbers who are missing on Ben Nevis. Tim Newton and Rachel Slater, both from Bradford and in their twenties – were climbing on the mountain over the weekend. It is thought they camped behind the CIC hut in a green tent. Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team carried out searches on Monday night and further searches now under way. Anyone with information about the missing couple should call Police Scotland on 101 and ask for Fort William police. Police Scotland have released a picture of the couple and…

Posted in News

Nacreous clouds – better than Photoshop!

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Ben Dolphin

Colour can be in short supply during the average Scottish winter. Whether it’s due to low cloud, mist or rain, or invariably all three at the same time, we spend much of the winter under a blanket of grey that drains anything bright and sharp from the landscape. Ours is a muted world made of different hues of grey, brown and green. This inevitably means that when something colourful does finally come along it stands out with all the subtlety of a nuclear explosion. Waking up after weeks of dreichness to find a sparkling blue sky in the morning is…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Moray’s Ian Cameron wins Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

Posted on February 10, 2016 by Helen Webster

Veteran photographer Ian Cameron, who still prefers to shoot in film rather than digital, has been announced winner of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award. Forres-based Ian beat off strong competition from thousands of entries submitted from all over the world to win the prestigious accolade with his magnificently evocative images shot in the Highlands with his “ancient” camera. His evocative winning images were all shot in the Highlands with what he describes as his “ancient Pentax”. They included ‘ Caramel Ice’, shot at a lonely loch side in Wester Ross as the temperature plunged to minus 25…

Posted in Magazine, Photography

Recruitment fayre for path repair trainees

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Paul Webster

A recruitment fayre for a new conservation project – The Mountains & The People – will be held in Balloch tomorrow (9th Feb) evening. Its aim is to recruit 9 people to work on this unique partnership project in a mix of roles – from those interested in starting a career in practical conservation to experienced education and countryside volunteering coordinators. The Mountains & The People is a five-tear initiative that aims to engage the people of Scotland in the conservation of the , Loch Lomond & The Trossachs and Cairngorms National Parks. As well as protecting mountain environments through…

Posted in Access issues, Nature