walkhighlands



Peebles for Pleasure

Situated on the banks of the beautiful, meandering River Tweed, surrounded by gently rolling hills and just a 30-minute drive south of Scotland’s capital city, it is no surprise that the town of Peebles is a popular tourist destination. On most weekends year-round – and on holiday week days – the High Street throngs with both locals and visitors popping in and out of an array of independent shops, delis, cafes, pubs and restaurants. If you like a sweet treat, Cocoa Black, run by the award-winning chocolatier Ruth Hinks, on Cuddybridge, at the start of the Old Town is enticing,

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Discovering Aviemore

In the 25 years that I have been visiting Aviemore, the size of the Scottish Highlands town and the volume of people that stroll the streets has vastly increased. Some might say that this has been to the detriment of the attractiveness of the settlement, located in the naturally beautiful Cairngorms National Park. Certainly, the modern housing estates that sprawl to the north of Aviemore do it few architectural favours and the pubs, cafés, restaurants and shops are often full to bursting with visitors. But I like the busy, yet relaxed and friendly, atmosphere of the outdoors town. It is

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Exploring Ullapool

Sitting on a low wall edging the shoreline of beautiful Loch Broom in the Ross-shire town of Ullapool, a takeaway container of delicious crab cakes and salad on my knee and a day of mountain walking in my legs, I indulge in a little people watching. My chosen spot is located on one side of Ullapool’s bustling main street and is the perfect place to take in a vast array of outdoorsy folks. In a short space of time, I am passed by young backpackers; day hikers in their 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s; cyclists, some on lightweight racer bikes

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Exploring Dunoon

Climbing the steep path and numerous uneven stone-slab steps through deeply moss-covered Puck’s Glen on the Cowal Peninsula, it is easy to imagine I have been transported to another world. Is that the hushed voices of mischievous sprites casting their devilish magic or simply the wind whispering through the tall forest trees? Perhaps I might hear a little better – and learn more of the mysteries – in this fairy-tale location if it was not for the background of burbling and splashing water from the many waterfalls that cascade through the gorge. Of course, these thoughts are purely fantasy, although

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Discovering Torridon

In my opinion, there are few glens in Scotland as dramatic as Torridon and a drive along the road that winds through the base of the glacier-eroded valley is always breath-taking. No matter the season or the weather – and in this wilderness area of Scotland it can be fast-changing and fickle – the steep-sided, rugged mountainscape of ancient Lewisian gneiss, white quartzite and red Torridonian sandstone offers magnificent views. It is a place, too, where the pace is more old-fashioned and relaxed. Both locals and visitors willingly pull into passing places on the smoothly tarmacked singletrack A896, which winds

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Posted in Features, Magazine

Exploring the outdoors around Glasgow

Despite being Scotland’s biggest city, it is surprisingly easy to leave Glasgow behind for a remote-feeling countryside adventure. Head out of the city boundaries in almost every direction and you discover farmland, hills and mountains that seem to pop up almost instantly. Go by car, bus or train and it’s an easy and speedy transition from busy urban life to peaceful rural enjoyment. But I urge you to do as I prefer, to journey on foot or by bike on a superb network of off-road trails and paths to exit the city limits. One of my favourite routes to adventures

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Posted in Features, Magazine

A visit to Colonsay and Oronsay

You might imagine a tiny, low-lying Scottish island in the middle of the Atlantic, 20 miles from any other community and with only a lighthouse between it and the coast of Canada to the west, to be an inhospitable place. Indeed, the Hebridean Isle of Colonsay, measuring only 10 miles by two miles if you include its even smaller “semi-detached” neighbour Oronsay, is inhabited by fewer than 150 people and requires a two-hour boat trip from the Scottish ferry town of Oban, available once a day in summer and three times in winter. Yet the island has a surprisingly sunny

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Posted in Features, Magazine


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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.