In Between Days – the cure for winter blues?

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Ben Dolphin

As something of a winter enthusiast I have a hard time letting go of the coldest season, even when…as this winter has been…..it’s the warmest, least frosty and most snow-starved winter I’ve experienced since moving to the Lomond Hills in 2010. Under those trying circumstances I stubbornly ignore the exit signs for as long as possible, not least the big patch of snowdrops that appears outside the house. For weeks I have to pass it every morning, but I make a point of looking in the opposite direction as I do so because I’ve no interest in looking at flowers…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Red Alert: Aurora Likely!

Posted on February 2, 2022 by Ben Dolphin

If any four words can make me spill my mug of tea on my legs as I leap up from the sofa, it’s these. If any four words can, in so doing, make me scald my delicates without stopping to check they’re okay, it’s these. If any four words can have me tripping over the death-trap of boots at the front door as I stumble blindly outside into the darkness whilst screwing my camera to its tripod with one hand, tying my laces with the other and simultaneously trying to pull a woolly hat down over my head…..yep, it’s these.…

Posted in Features, Magazine

National Nature Reserves – Scotland’s Showrooms

Posted on December 3, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

I recently found myself stuck between a week’s holiday in Argyll and a week’s holiday in Glen Cannich. Between getting kicked out of one cottage and being able to check in to the next were seven long (and very soggy) hours. Factor in a 3.5hr drive and an hour faffing about in a Fort William supermarket and I’d be left with about 3 hours to kill. Now, if you’re an outdoorsy person then killing three hours on the west coast is unlikely to be a chore or a challenge. You’re spoilt for choice, but I really wanted to continue the…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Go on. Give moths a chance

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

On a warm dark night this summer, I found myself sat next to a glowing bright white ball in the garden, sunglasses over my eyes, watching moths of all sizes disappear into a big black box. Yes, I was getting eaten alive by mozzies and midges but I really didn’t care, because this was one of the undisputed wildlife highlights of my life. That might strike you as odd, given moths’ underwhelming reputation, but bear with me! Until relatively recently I have no memory whatsoever of peering closely at a moth or even being remotely motivated to do so. What…

Posted in Magazine, News

A Tale of Two Canals

Posted on August 2, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

If I set you the challenge of walking or cycling between Edinburgh and Glasgow, how much poring over maps would you do to find the best route? You’d want it to be as pleasant as possible of course, so you’d probably want to avoid roads, avoid complicated navigation problems and, assuming that you ARE off-road, be as certain as you can be that the paths would be in reasonable condition. You’ll probably lose a few weeks of your life pondering this one so let me save you the bother by asking…..would it occur to you to simply use the canals?…

Posted in Magazine

The thunderstorm, the flood and the landslide

Posted on June 4, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

Generally speaking, we in Scotland live in a quiet corner of the world. Our volcanoes are long extinct and there’s not been a major landscaping event since the glacial ice retreated. Sure, the earth shakes from time to time, and the turbulent atmosphere occasionally rattles our homes, but for the most part we live on pretty solid ground. We can therefore be forgiven for looking at our landscapes with a comforting sense of permanence. This is how it has always been, and this is how it will always be. Scotland is timeless. Scotland is forever. It’s an illusion of course,…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

I finally bought my own trail camera!

Posted on April 27, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

I’m a bit excited when I check my new trail camera for the first time. It’s that same feeling I remember so vividly from Christmas Day in the 1980s – when you finally got to see just how amazing that new toy you’d been craving from the Argos catalogue for the past year actually was. What hidden garden wonders will be revealed? What new creatures will be discovered? Oh the anticipation! I walk up to it, open the housing, and the display inside reads 4/455. YES! Four new files have been created. Four 20-second snippets of an animal moving in…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature, Photography

Following Footprints

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

Ben Dolphin gains a glimpse into hidden lives through studying the trails and tracks left in the snow. I spend a disproportionately huge amount of time staring out the kitchen window. Partly because, like everyone else, I’m spending a lot of time at home just now and I can’t help myself. And partly because there’s always the chance that something of interest will come ambling through the garden while I’m watching. But in recent weeks I’ve seen very little. The snow and cold have driven migratory species off the hill, snooze-prone species into slumber, and the remainder into networks of…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Cause & effect – five walks that changed my life

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Ben Dolphin

Many of us who love the hills and wild places are finding solace or keeping sane at the moment by reflecting on our most treasured outdoors memories. Here Ben Dolphin reflects on five walks that changed the course of his life. Every walk you take contributes to your knowledge and experience, whether you’re aware of it or not. Most of the time the learning is subtle but it’s there nonetheless, happening quietly in the background. But there are also walks that go way beyond mere enrichment of your walking experience and, although it might not be apparent at the time,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

What does a ranger actually do?

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Ben Dolphin

I’m currently in my seventh ranger season. I say ‘season’ because I’m a seasonal ranger. We get employed during the busier, warmer months when more folk are flocking to the great outdoors, whether that’s urban green spaces, Country Parks, or the wider countryside. And across those seven seasons the question I’ve probably been asked most is….what does a ranger actually do? Well, let’s set the context first. Countryside rangers have been around for 50 years in Scotland, the first having assumed their post in 1969. The impetus for this landmark event was the expansion of leisure time in the 1960s…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine, Nature