New waterbus route aimed at Ben Lomond walkers

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Helen Webster

The Loch Lomond water bus service is now up and running again for the summer and this year includes a morning sailing to Rowardennan aimed at walkers wanting to make an early start on Ben Lomond. This service will leave Tarbet at 8.45am leaving plenty of time to climb the popular Munro before the last waterbus returns from Rowardennan. A new service linking Balloch and Luss will also be launched later this summer. Fiona Logan, CEO of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park said, “We had a fantastic response to the introduction of regular daily water bus routes last…

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Magical Places exhibition opens in Argyll

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Helen Webster

A photogrpahic exhibition is currently open at Taynish national nature reserve in Argyll, taking visitors on a trip through some of Scotland’s best natural spectacles. The Magical Places exhibition opens today at the Piggery at Taynish and features images from national nature reserves from across Scotland by the people who know them best, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) reserve staff and SNH photographer Lorne Gill. Caroline Anderson, the SNH unit administrator who runs the project, said: “This exhibition is a real must see. If you live nearby or are in the area over Easter, I really recommend making the trip to…

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Scottish avalanche warning issued

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Helen Webster

Recent heavy snowfalls across the Scottish mountains has resulted in a raised risk of avalanche. The SportScotland Avalanche Information Service has resumed daily forecasts and walkers in all mountain areas are being advised to check the forecast before planning their route. After a week of warm weather, with particularly hot temperatures in the Cairngorms, the return of winter conditions caused a party of nine Belgium walkers to be airlifted from the slopes of Ben MacDui yesterday (Tues 3 April). The group, which was equipped for an overnight camping trip, were caught out by heavy snow, very strong winds and extreme…

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New rules give more protection to Scottish deer

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Helen Webster

New deer management rules coming into effect this week will give more protection to Scotland’s wild deer, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has advised. Changes to the Deer Scotland Act (1996) mean deer can no longer be culled during the close season without authorisation from SNH. The shooting of all deer during the close season now requires a license, even when it takes place to prevent damage to farmland and woodland. To make this change as straightforward as possible, SNH plans to issue general annual licences to allow culling to prevent damage, so landowners won’t have to apply each time deer…

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Wildfarm industry to discuss impact on birds

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Helen Webster

More than 80 developers, consultants and planners involved in windfarm development will gather in Battleby, near Perth today (3 April) to share information on assessing the impacts of windfarms on birds. The event has organised by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) in partnership with the Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group. One of the main aspects of the day will be for industry and science delegates to share their experiences and findings from monitoring windfarm impacts after construction. The event will also focus on the work of the Scottish Windfarm Bird Steering Group. This group will bring together the results of studies…

Posted in Nature

Navigation courses aim to reduce Mountain Rescue call outs

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Helen Webster

The most recent mountain rescue statistics highlight that 60 out of 340, almost 20 percent, of mountaineering incidents were caused by a navigation error. In response to this, The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has organised several one day training events to help Scottish hill goers with their navigation skills. MCofS's Mountain Safety Adviser, Heather Morning, says, “Mountaineering incident statistics show that around half of all incidents requiring assistance from a mountain rescue team can be traced back to a navigation error. “We are running a series of Navigation courses this spring on a not-for-profit basis as part of our…

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MBA warns walkers to carry tents due to bothy repairs

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Helen Webster

The Mountain Bothy Association says that its volunteers are going to have a busy few months. The Association is planning a large number of work parties, mostly in April and May. Inevitably, this will mean that there will have to be restrictions on use at some bothies while the work is being undertaken, and intending users should be prepared to camp during the periods that this essential maintenance is taking place. As much information as possible is being posted on the Association’s website but the MBA possible to be completely precise about how usage of individual bothies might be affected.…

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Unique Rum walk will celebrate return of Manx Shearwaters

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Helen Webster

Visitors and enthusiasts have the chance to get up close and personal with one of Scotland's most special birds thanks to a brand new event on Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR). The return of the Ocean Wanderers is a day of activities on Saturday 7 April celebrating the Manx Shearwater. Affectionately know as manxies, they nest in burrows high in the mountains on Rum, only returning to their nests at night. The birds spend the summer here, rearing their single chick, before undertaking an incredible winter migration along the coast of South America to the Falkland Islands before returning to…

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Speyside Way bridge closed until June

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Helen Webster

The old railway bridge to Ballindalloch on the popular Speyside Way long distance path is currently closed for repair. It is expected that works on the bridge will continue until June 1st. There is no official or signed detour available, and avoiding the bridge would add many miles of roadwalking as well as omitting Ballindalloch from the route. A free taxi service is being provided by Moray Council, enabling walkers to leave the way at Blacksboat old station car park and rejoin it at Ballindalloch. The service will be available from 9am to 8pm daily whilst the bridge is closed.…

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Walkhighlands reaches 1,500 route milestone

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Helen Webster

With the addition of route descriptions for a handful of walks at the north end of the Isle of Lewis, walker's website, Walkhighlands, has reached the milestone of 1,500 walking routes. The site now covers the whole of Scotland with current projects including adding more walks in Lewis, Harris, Orkney and the Borders. All the routes are walked and researched on the ground and GPS recordings taken so that the routes can be accurately mapped. The routes range from short family rambles to epic long distance multi-day walks and include descriptions of all the Munros as well as many Corbetts…

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