Summer Mountain Leader offer for Scottish walking clubs

Posted on April 20, 2011 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is offering Scottish club members the opportunity to participate in a Summer Mountain Leader Training Course based from the Loch Lomond Outdoor Centre at a special discounted rate on two sets of dates in September. This SMLTB award is for members who wish to lead hill-walking parties in mountainous terrain in summer conditions. A commitment will need to be shown towards using the training to benefit other club members. A two day overnight camping expedition is part of this course. Who is eligible to apply? Club members who are currently involved or keen to…

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Tyndrum gold mine plans revised

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Helen Webster

The John Muir Trust has cautiously welcomed the prospect of revised plans for a gold mine at Cononish, near Tyndrum in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Developer Scotgold Resources Ltd has issued a letter to interested parties stating its intention to submit a new application for the mine, which will include a Tailings Management Facility (which will deal with excavated waste) that is “approximately half” the size of the original. The waste treatment and the effect on the River Cononish was the main reason for the refusal of the original planning application by the National Park Authority. The…

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Borders long distance walks mapped out

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Helen Webster

Walker’s website Walkhighlands has added two more long distance routes in the Scottish Borders. Full descriptions, OS mapping, GPS downloads and photos are now available free of charge for the Borders Abbeys Way and the St Cuthbert’s Way. The Scottish Borders are famed for their magnificent ruined abbeys at Melrose, Dryburgh, Jedburgh, and the more ruinous Kelso. The Borders Abbeys Way is a long distance walk that links all four Abbeys in a circular route of 107km. The walk has five stages, each ending at an attractive town as the route takes in Jedburgh near the English border, the old…

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Twitcher delight at new Forvie hide

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Helen Webster

One of northeast Scotland’s top wildlife watching sites is sporting a new bird hide in time for summer. Forvie national nature reserve, just north of Aberdeen, is famous for wading birds and geese. The hide overlooks the Ythan estuary at Waulkmill, a vast area of mudflats, reed beds and nearby fields. Recent counts have found over 22,000 pink-footed geese use the estuary and nearby fields. Visitors also often see large numbers of other birds like lapwing, golden plover and redshank. One of the reasons the hide’s location is terrific for bird-watching is the mud: the mud in front of the…

Posted in Nature, News

Spring advice to dog walkers

Posted on April 16, 2011 by Helen Webster

With the lambing season well underway, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) is reminding dog owners of the responsibilities that come with the right to roam and is also offering free poop scoops. Scotland has by far the best access legislation for walkers in the UK; allowing access to most land. With those rights come a number of responsibilities which are outlined in the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. At this time of year the main concern for dog owners is to ensure that dogs do not disturb livestock with young and also ground nesting birds. SNH has summarised the main issues for…

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Where eagles dare to be seen live on TV

Posted on April 14, 2011 by Helen Webster

Live pictures of a golden eagle nest at a secret location in north west Scotland are set to be beamed to tourists and locals under an innovative new scheme macked by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). A new CCTV camera is perched at the site in an area of west Sutherland and is set to go live at Easter on a large screen in the Assynt Visitor Centre in Lochinver, Sutherland. This will let enthusiasts experience what it must be like to get up close and personal with golden eagles among the soaring peaks and glens of the north west. The…

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Oldest Osprey lays 59th egg

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Helen Webster

The UK’s oldest breeding female osprey, a bird which returned for the 21st consecutive year to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) Loch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve last month, has laid the first egg of its breeding season, it was announced today (Wednesday 13 April). The egg, which is the 59th egg to be laid by this individual osprey in its lifetime, has sparked hopes that this bird, whose fertility is under doubt due to its incredible 26 years of age, could produce its 49th chick on the nest this year. Spotted protectively hunched over an egg at 13.34 pm…

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Trees for Life gets financial boost

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Helen Webster

Valuable work carried out by a conservation charity to restore and preserve the ancient Highland Caledonian pine forest has received a major boost from Scottish Nautral Heritage (SNH). Trees for Life plan to plant native trees, remove non-native trees, restore wetlands, remove fences, carry out tree protection measures, plant ground flora and collect seeds and berries. The charity will work to promote peoples’ contact with nature in order to improve health and well-being. The work will take place at the RSPB Corrimony reserve and on land at Inverinate, Strathconon, Strathfarrar, and Scatwell Estate. Trees for Life organise week-long ‘conservation holidays’…

Posted in Nature

Beinn Eighe visitor centre open for season

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Helen Webster

A visitor centre at Britain’s oldest national nature reserve opened its doors for the Easter break on Sunday 10 April and will remain open until 31 October. Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve’s visitor centre in Kinlochewe, Wester Ross, will be open daily from 10am-5pm. The reserve has three all-ability trails which are open year-round and other facilities for visitors include the two self-guiding Glas Leitir woodland and mountain trails. Beinn Eighe was created in 1951 with its species of interest including golden eagle, Scottish crossbill, mountain hare, red deer and black throated divers, while its internationally important habitats include juniper…

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New advice to dog walkers

Posted on April 12, 2011 by Helen Webster

In response to increased levels of two diseases found in cattle and sheep which can be spread by dogs, new advice has been issued to dog walkers. Neosporosis, which can cause abortions in cattle, and Sarcocytosis, which can cause neurological disease and death in sheep, have been linked to the presence on grazing land of dog faeces from infected dogs. Dogs can be infected without showing any symptoms and are most likely to pick up the disease by eating contaminated material, including raw meat, infected placentas or other material which the dog might find on farmland. In the advice, which…

Posted in Access issues