Loch Lomond island drama

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Helen Webster

Experience Inchcailloch, a very special island in Loch Lomond, on Saturday 4 or Sunday 5 September in the company of some of the characters who used to live and work there: the boatman, the minister who brought his flock across from the mainland each Sunday, the farmer who worked the land and mourners at a funeral. Join National Park Rangers and Drymen Community Theatre in an exciting recreation of life on this secluded island. Performances start at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm on Saturday and 12.30pm and 2pm on Sunday. The event is free but there is a charge of £5…

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Watch The Great Climb live

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Helen Webster

The BBC will be broadcasting a five and a half hour live climbing marathon later without knowing whether the two climbers will be able to complete the overhanging cliff challenge on Harris in the Outer Hebrides. Top climbers Dave Macleod and Tim Emmett have been practising and checking out routes on Sron Ulladale for weeks. Now the 55-strong production team is also on site and the BBC plans to broadcast the climb attempt live from 1:35 today (Sat 28 August) on BBC2 Scotland and from 5pm on the BBC HD channel as well as being streamed live on the internet.…

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Dead Red Kite was poisoned say Police

Posted on August 27, 2010 by Helen Webster

Tayside Police have confirmed that a red kite found dead near Aberfeldy in July was poisoned. The bird was found in Strathtay and may have been dead for a few months. Recent tests have discovered that it was poisoned, adding to a tally of five buzzards and a tawny owl which have also been found poisoned in the same area over the last year. Tayside Police’s wildlife crime officer Alan Stewart told the BBC, “There is no doubt that the scourge of poisoning wildlife in Scotland has decreased in general terms in recent years. However there remain a number of…

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Freak injury puts Great Climb at risk

Posted on August 26, 2010 by Helen Webster

One of the two climbers set to take part in the BBC’s Great Climb to be broadcast from Sron Ulladale in two days time, has suffered a severe ankle injury which may put the event in jeopardy. Dave Macleod, who has spent much of the last month checking out routes on the overhanging cliff on Harris alongside fellow climber Tim Emmett, was hit by a falling rock the size of a breeze block on Monday. The rock caught Dave Macleod’s unprotected ankle causing a 3cm gash down to the bone. After abseiling back down, the deep cut required 5 stitches…

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Still places left on Mountain Leader course for clubs

Posted on August 24, 2010 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland are running a subsidised summer Mountain Leadership course to train members of hillwalking and mountaineering clubs to lead groups in the hills. Normally costing £470, the subsidy brings it down to just £320. The training course is run on a 1:6 ratio and is for a maximum of 12. This price includes food and accommodation, use of equipment , instruction and travel to each days training, you just have to get yourself to Glenmore Lodge. This award is for club members who wish to lead hill-walking parties in mountainous terrain in summer conditions. A commitment…

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Bonington lecture tickets up for grabs

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) has launched a competition for one member to win a pair of tickets to see the Chris Bonington lecture at Dunfermline on Friday September 24th. Details of how to enter the competition, along with the question, can be found at the MCofS website. To enter the competition you have to be an individual member of the MCofS or a member of one of the MCofS’s member clubs. The closing date for entries is midday on Friday 10th September. MCofS Membership Development Officer Mike Dales said, “This is a great opportunity for one of our…

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Deer stalking website officially opened

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Helen Webster

The new website with deer stalking information for walkers has been officially launched by Cameron McNeish today. The new service will supplement the existing ‘Hillphones’ service. This alerts hillwalkers and climbers about locations at which red deer stalking takes place through regularly updated phone messages from 1 July to 20 October. The new pilot website covers 13 estates in the Hillphones and Blackmount areas with more expected to be added this month. Hillphones is coordinated and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) and participating estates and covers popular mountain areas in Scotland. It was…

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Steall bridge re-opens

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Helen Webster

The wire bridge over the Water of Nevis at Steall, Glen Nevis, has now been repaired and is once again open to walkers and others. The bridge has been closed since one its cables snapped on 26 May this year. The bridge links the Glen Nevis property, owned by the John Muir Trust, with land owned by Rio Tinto Alcan.

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Sandwood appeal raises £40k

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Helen Webster

An appeal for money to repair the track and footpath to iconic Sandwood Bay in Sutherland has raised £40,000. The John Muir Trust (JMT) which owns the Sandwood Estate said the amount donated by its members and supporters to the appeal was “incredible”. A vast expanse of beach is one of the most remote on mainland Britain, accessible only on foot by the public along a 6.5km track and path. The spot is increasingly popular and erosion by walkers and recent heavy rain had made the path very eroded in places. The money raised will be used to stabilise the…

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Tyndrum gold mine refused planning

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Helen Webster

The application to drill for gold at the abandoned Cononish gold mine near Tyndrum has been turned down. Scotgold Resources had applied to mine gold and silver and develop a controversial water extraction system. The mine had previously been abandoned as uneconomic in 1997 but recent surges in world gold prices had fuelled interest and exploratory work by Scotgold. The planning application has been refused by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority. The convenor of the Park Authority, Dr Mike Cantlay said potential economic benefits could not be balanced against conservation concerns, but explained that the application…

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