walkhighlands

Monthly Archives: December 2016

Roads Less Travelled – Sutherland, Caithness and Orkney

I’M beginning to feel a little like the Rev IM Jolly. The only time the Glesca clergyman and I are on the telly is at Christmas! This year our two hour-long programmes feature a campervan journey between Dornoch Point in Sutherland and North Ronaldsay, the most remote island in the Orkney archipelago. Last year we broke from our previous format of filming a long walk somewhere in Scotland. We’d walked the length of the Hebrides; we’d crossed Scotland from coast to coast a couple of time; created a new long distance walk in Sutherland; backpacked the length of Skye and

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Towards better winter photos

David Lintern shares a few tips and tricks for photos in the finest season of them all. It seems ages since we’ve done one of these photography articles, and the start of the winter season is as good an opportunity as any to return. No one does anything creative so they can follow the rules, and my only real rule on workshops is that rules (not legs or hearts) are meant for breaking… but that said, banking a few ideas about foreground, leading lines, light and so on means you can concentrate on being in the moment and going with

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Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

Heaven is….. sunny, dry, cold and calm

As I sit here at home I can hear the surging roar of approaching gusts of wind. They’re whooshing through the tree branches and clunking at the wheelie bins. They’re whistling through tiny gaps in the double glazing, prompting a couple of the interior doors to creak ever so slightly. And between the gusts I can hear a constant low hum as though someone has left a diesel engine running outside. These are the sounds of a Scottish gale and, strange as it may seem I think I’ve actually missed them. A bit. Not because I carry any particular torch

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Avalanche Forecasts start Friday for 17 December

Scottish avalanche forecasts will start for the season on Friday, with the first forecast for 17 December. The Sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) provides a daily avalanche hazard report for six Scottish areas – Lochaber, Glencoe, Creag Meagaidh, Southern Cairngorms, Northern Cairngorms and Torridon. The service usually runs until mid-April but is dependent on the snow conditions. Anyone planning a hillwalk during the winter is advised to check the avalanche service in the same way as they would routinely check the weather forecast and plan their route accordingly.

Posted in News

Walkhighlands brings Google Streetview to Highlands’ walks

Stunning all-round imagery captured by Walkhighlands this summer has just been launched on Google Street View opening up some amazing Highland paths to virtual visitors. We hope that being able to see the routes on the screen will encourage people from far and wide to visit Scotland and also encourage Scots to tackle an iconic walk. The Walkhighlands team spent parts of last summer capturing the 360° imagery using the futuristic Google Trekker. This weighty device combines 15 camera lens and a GPS and automatically snaps a series of photos every 2.5 seconds. In addition to carrying the 44lb backpack

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Posted in Magazine, News, Walkhighlands news

Mountaineers call for Loch Lomond National Park to defer new camping byelaws

Against the background of the Scottish Government arguing in the Supreme Court for the need for proper consultation over Brexit with the Scottish Parliament, mountaineers in Scotland have expressed serious concerns over a lack of proper consultation closer to home. On Monday 12 December the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Park Authority Board will consider proposals for a permit system and related signage which will facilitate the introduction of restrictive camping byelaws in the National Park. The relevant papers are published on the Park Authority’s website. David Gibson, CEO of Mountaineering Scotland said: “The Park Authority is rushing through the

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Posted in Access issues

A Community That Takes to the Hills

Mid November and the forecast for our walk was bad enough that I wondered if we would still go. After the previous day of high winds and sleet, it was now to be steady precipitation and no more than 2 or 3 degrees. But as we gathered around the minibus at the Corbenic Community in slight drizzle, no one raised the question. Curtains of cloud hung just below 1000 feet, and were pulled open occasionally to show the surrounding hills marked with the low boundary of new snow. This was my first outing with Corbenic’s hill-walking group, a weekly event

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Tickets available for Mar Lodge Mountain Film Festival

The Mar Lodge Mountain Film Festival has now become an annual event and will be held in February next year with tickets now available. The National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate, near Braemar, makes a great backdrop to the event. The organisers of next year’s event say the festival will feature six epic films which showcase mountain landscapes, extreme ascents in far flung corners of the world and the stories of the people who visit them. Friday the 10th February is an ‘Explore’ night and will feature The Last Great Climb, a mountain epic depicting Leo Houlding and his

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Posted in News


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You should always carry a backup means of navigation and not rely on a single phone, app or map. Walking can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk. Information is provided free of charge; it is every walker's responsibility to check it and to navigate safely.