Gear Review: Rab Blizzard Mitt

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Helen Webster

RRP: £80 Weight: 235g per pair (small) When is a mitt not really a mitt? With the Rab Blizzard, the mitt outer conceals a glove-shaped inner supposedly to give the best of both worlds; I’ve been testing it over the winter. This is a gauntlet-style mitt with box wall construction in a pre-formed shape with single finger inserts. I found them to be close fitting – the women’s small really is small, particularly in width and unlike normal mitts the finger inserts mean there is little extra room inside. However the fit is well-designed, giving good articulation and being comfortable…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews

£5.6million Lottery cash for Scottish landscapes

Posted on March 20, 2018 by Helen Webster

The National Lottery has marked the first day of Spring with an investment of over £5.6million in three large-scale Scottish landscapes from the remotest islands of Orkney to the industrial coastline of North Ayrshire. The North Isles in Orkney, Callander’s Pass on the eastern edge of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and River Garnock catchment in Ayrshire will benefit from this major funding package which is set to impact on over 700 square km of countryside, an area the same size as Singapore. Around 60 individual projects will take place to conserve many different habitats while creating…

Posted in Nature

Closures to Glen Nevis and other roads during filming

Posted on March 17, 2018 by Helen Webster

A feature film currently being shot in Scotland is going to lead to a number of road, car park and footpath closures on certain days over the next couple of weeks. The details given on the closures are below: Glen Nevis The Glen Nevis Road C1162 will be temporarily closed to traffic from Wednesday 21 March to Saturday 24 March 2018, as we film along the road from the Glen Nevis Youth Hostel to the Lower Falls Car park and around the set we are currently building in the Lower Falls area. During the road closure, access to the paths…

Posted in Access issues

On TV tonight: The Battle for Scotland’s Countryside

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Helen Webster

On BBC One Scotland tonight at 9pm: “Fifteen years after the passing of Scotland’s historic Land Reform Act, actor David Hayman presents a personal view of the battle for access to Scotland’s stunning countryside, revealing how this conflict has shaped the physical and cultural landscape of the country. He meets landowners, gamekeepers and hill walkers to discover how ordinary Scots have come to claim their right to roam over their country’s mountains and glens. The story begins with Victorian rebels who dared to march across private grouse moors. Then on to the 1930s, when thousands of urban Scots streamed out…

Posted in Access issues

Review: Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir and Insulated Delivery System

Posted on March 11, 2018 by Helen Webster

Osprey Hydraulics Reservoir RRP: £34 Weight: 21g (2 litre) I switched to using hydration bladders over bottles about 10 years ago and despite the faffing involved with cleaning and drying I wouldn’t go back. I drink more, find the reservoir is more comfortable in my rucksack, and they are generally easier to fill from streams than bottles. In recent months I’ve been testing a 2 litre Osprey reservoir and as it’s been winter, the optional insulated tube and bite valve cover that goes with it. The resevoir is made from BPA and PVC-free flexible thermoplastic polyurethane, which despite feeling thin…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews

Walkhighlands’ Paul wins Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

Posted on March 6, 2018 by Helen Webster

Walkhighlands founder Paul Webster has been announced as this year’s winner of the prestigious Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award. Based in the Cairngorms National Park, Paul beat off strong competition from thousands of entries submitted by photographers from across the globe to win the prestigious title. His winning portfolio comprised of 3 magnificently evocative images shot in the mountain ranges of the Lochaber Geopark and Glen Affric with his Fujifilm digital camera. They included ‘Dreams and Nightmares’, a shot of light breaking through to light up Aonach Eagach whilst two ravens circled overhead; ‘The Mamores’, capturing the mists…

Posted in Magazine, News, Photography, Walkhighlands news

Review: Black Diamond Revolt headtorch

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Helen Webster

RRP: £45 Weight: 100g (including batteries) Headtorches have improved in leaps and bounds in the last few years and now come with an array of different light settings and features. I’ve been testing Black Diamond’s updated ReVolt on my weekly night runs, a couple of short night walks and an impromtu hill descent as darkness fell. Having been used to a basic Lenser headtorch with one light and two options for adjusting the brightness and field, I was a bit flummoxed by the options on the ReVolt. It features a main triple-power LED which comes on when you click the…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews, Magazine

Line up announced for Braemar Mountain Festival

Posted on February 16, 2018 by Helen Webster

Organisers of the Braemar Mountain Festival today revealed they have doubled the number of events and venues following the huge success of the inaugural event last year. The four-day celebration of the mountains in winter will take place from Thursday 1st – Sunday 4th March 2018 at Braemar, located in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park. New events for 2018’s expanded programme include mountain bike skill sessions, film making classes with award winning adventure film producer Chris Prescott and a special series of talks and films highlighting the feats of inspirational women in adventure sports. The Braemar Mountain Festival…

Posted in News

Mountain experts warn against magnets in clothing

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Helen Webster

Mountain safety experts have warned against a worrying trend in the outdoor clothing market. Magnetic closures on gloves and jackets are being marketed as the modern alternative to Velcro or poppers. But magnets are well-known for deflecting compass needles, and there is already evidence that this may have been the cause of a recent Mountain Rescue call-out. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Adviser for Mountaineering Scotland, said: “We have reviewed the circumstances of a recent incident in the mountains east of Glen Shee, which involved hundreds of hours of rescue personnel hours and police time. “A group of walkers were caught…

Posted in News

Black Diamond Distance Carbon Z Poles

Posted on February 13, 2018 by Helen Webster

RRP: £120 per pair Weight: 285g per pair (110cm length) I had thought my previous go-to trekking poles were lightweight until I picked up these carbon poles from Black Diamond. Weighing in at a mere 285g for the pair the weight is truly featherlight, you genuinely don’t notice them when stowed in a pack and barely notice them in use or carrying them in one hand. I was therefore very interested to find out how these spindly-lightweights would perform in Scottish conditions. The main trade off on the weight v. features is the lack of adjustability. These poles come in…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews, Magazine