Shooting the Breeze – Nick Hanson Interview

Posted on September 20, 2017 by David Lintern

Nick Hanson is the current holder of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award. David Lintern finds out more. Tell us a little about yourself – where’s home, is photography your full time job, and so on? I am originally from Dumfries in south west Scotland, however my family moved down to Cambridgeshire back in 1989 when I was 17. Dumfries and Galloway is a beautiful place to live, with rolling hills, forests and lots of lovely coastline. As a youngster, although I loved to be outdoors, it was more about my enjoyment of being out there rather than…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

The numbers game – a grouse moor primer for hillwalkers

Posted on August 19, 2017 by David Lintern

With the grouse shooting season underway, David Lintern takes a look at the controversies surrounding the intensive management of grouse moors. About a week ago, on August 12th, the grouse season shooting started. Aside from the odd news piece and an article by campaigner Dr. Mark Avery a year ago, I don’t think it’s had much coverage on Walkhighlands, so I thought it might be timely (well, within about a week or so of being timely) to recap the issue. I’ll confess I’m late to the table on the subject. I’m not a birder, just a hillgoer. To be honest,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Hill skills and Camp Craft – Being prepared

Posted on July 20, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern looks at 5 ways to be better prepared in the hills. There’s something to be said for thinking about how much we’re hauling up those hills, on our backs, bellies or feet. The phrase ultralight may come and go, but it’s not all marketing. More interesting for me is one of the tenets of going lightweight; abstraction. What items have a shared use? What can I do without altogether, and what constitutes cutting it too fine? What knowledge I can carry, instead of kit, which makes my outdoors life simpler, safer and more enjoyable? I rarely think about…

Posted in News

Campcraft and hill skills – open fires

Posted on June 12, 2017 by David Lintern

As we move into peak walking and camping season, I wanted to spend some time on what seems to be a controversial subject; camp fires. There’s a huge range of attitudes towards when, where and why it’s acceptable to make a fire outdoors, even among experienced outdoors people and professionals, but there’s also a lack of public discussion which seems to me to be much more harmful than useful. I’ve also seen a fair amount of ‘social shaming’ dished out to folk posting pictures of campfires online, regardless of their age or experience… and of course the more you tell…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Shooting the Breeze – Eve Russell interview

Posted on May 20, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern catches up with a wildlife photographer and graphic artist living and working in the north. Where are you based and why? I live on the Black Isle, just North of Inverness, with stunning views of the Fyrish monument and Ben Wyvis. I work as a freelance Graphic Designer and photographer, alongside a part-time job with the Royal Mail. I’m here for the wildlife and the landscape. Do you have a favourite place at the moment to visit and take photos? Recently I’ve been keeping things local for a few dog photography shoots. More usually I spend a lot…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

Search and Rescue

Posted on April 23, 2017 by David Lintern

Britain’s voluntary land-based mountain rescue teams are supported by professional helicopter search and rescue operations. David Lintern visits the new Coastguard Search and Rescue base at Prestwick. Prestwick SAR (search and rescue) became operational in Jan 2016, and in that year it was the busiest base in the UK. It’s one of ten bases across the UK, and the 6th to come online in a phased transfer from the old mix of military and civilian services. Bristow Helicopters Limited now operates the service on behalf of Her Majesty’s Coastguard. Overall, it’s a £1.9 billion operation that rescues or assists about…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Trespass in the Park

Posted on March 17, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern lifts the lid on the new wild camping byelaws. On March 1st 2017, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park introduced a byelaw which prohibits free and informal camping within new ‘management zones’, which includes around 150km of the most popular loch shores. Camping is allowed in predetermined places and the Park is selling permits for £3 a time, but camping elsewhere in these zones carries the immediate threat of having your details taken for further use by the Park and ultimately, a criminal record and a fine. On March 10th, some friends and I chose to consciously…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

What have the mountains ever done for us?

Posted on February 16, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern wrestles with the outdoors, inside. I’ll confess that writing anything about ‘the outdoors’ at the moment is a struggle. I’m driven to distraction by world events. Five minutes chat at the school gate or surfing the stormy seas of social media and it’s clear that regardless of political persuasion, we’re mostly confused, worried and angry. As the Chinese curse has it, we live ‘in interesting times’. The call of the wild is strong when our human world is fraught, but I’m resistant to the idea of the mountains as pure escapism, because I think by getting out we’re…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Gear of the Year 2016 – Part Two

Posted on January 23, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern continues his round up of his favourites from an outdoors year in gear. You can see his pick from 2016s trailshoes and layers – including jackets, trousers and gloves – in the first part here. Pack Millet Prolighter MXP 60+20 £160.00 This is my other cheat on the timing front – I’ve actually used the Prolighter for about 20 months now and it’s become my go-to winter heavy lifter. I think it’s a good general purpose hauler, but comes into its own for winter backpacking and mountaineering, with a removable hip belt, zoned 1000d Cordura for extra durability…

Posted in Features, Gear reviews, Magazine

Bare hill of the hind

Posted on January 14, 2017 by David Lintern

Are deer eating us out of house and home? David Lintern weighs the evidence in the latest battle for the heart of the beast. Red Deer may be Scottish icons, but they represent much more than a shortbread tin version of our beautiful country. They are at the heart of an ongoing struggle over land use and ownership, symbolic of our nature both wild and tamed, and are emblematic of the often-ambiguous relationship with the ground under our feet. And lest we forget in a sea of tourist (card)board cutouts and political metaphors, they are also real, physical animals… over…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature