Walkhighlands, or bikehighlands? This time it’s a temporary two wheeled takeover, as David Lintern and family take to their steeds to reach the parts that little legs can’t quite manage. Getting a young family out and about is harder than it should be. Mum is bone tired and the kids (aged 4 and 1) aren’t independently mobile as yet. Before the really cold weather came in last year, we enjoyed one wild camp, but carrying the volume of stuff needed for four means that moving from place to place becomes next to impossible without tantrums… and that’s just the adults.…

David Lintern reports on the ‘Rewilding and Repeopling‘ event held by the Cairngorms National Park last month. In May, Cairngorms National Park held an interesting talk at Boat of Garten as part of their Big Weekend (which aims to encourage active interest and participation in wildlife and nature). Before the discussion was opened out to the audience, there were presentations from Managing Director for Rewilding Europe; Frans Schepers, Rob McMorran from the Wildland Research Institute, the new Policy Director of Community Land Scotland; Calum Macleod, and Stuart Brooks; Head of Natural Heritage Policy at National Trust for Scotland. What’s the…

David Lintern builds the right kind of border wall – a dry stone dyke in the Borders. “I like it here, it has a nice feel. And it’s great that it’s local to me”, says Ellen. With nothing more to add, we slurp our tea in silent agreement as waterproofs steam gently near the stove. We’re in a hut on the edge of a wood a few miles outside Peebles, and we are dirty, damp, tired and happy. The previous day, I joined Emily, Sandy, Hugh and Ellen to get hands on with drystone walling. Under the guidance of Neil…

Dawn leaked over the roof of the Rec’, a pale blue canvas, a promise. I was already late but it would do. I crept out of the still sleeping house, hard frosted back garden grass, hard frosted windscreen glass. Newtonmore stirred, turned over and went back to sleep as I passed, Laggan still rested, afloat in a frozen floodplain. To the west, a milky gauze lay softly, poised between out breath and in breath, a stillness I’d forgotten existed recently. Our human world can be so self-involved, I’d not had time to look around me this winter. As the road…

Finding your way in winter means facing challenging weather and shorter daylight hours, but with the right tools you can still enjoy the hills with confidence. David Lintern goes back to basics (again). “It’s about having good strategies, and sticking to them. Everything you do in these conditions needs to be clear headed, focused and reversible. If it all goes pear shaped you need to be able to backtrack exactly. The very last thing you should do is randomly ‘wander over for a look’”. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what she said. I’m standing in a tight circle with…