MCofS warns hill walkers that it’s still deep winter in the mountains

Posted on March 14, 2015 by Paul Webster

With spring flowers showing through the ground and warmer temperatures becoming more common, hill walkers have been reminded that it’s still winter in the mountains. “With the days getting longer and warmer, people start to get more enthusiastic about the idea of getting out there in the mountains,” said mountain safety expert Heather Morning. “But they should remember that it’s just March – and conditions in the mountains can be as fierce as they are at any time in the winter.” Heather, who is Mountain Safety Adviser with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, reminded those intending heading for the hills…

Posted in News

New vision offers a positive future for Scotland’s mountains

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Paul Webster

Scotland’s decision makers have been challenged to support a new vision for the future of the country’s mountains and wild land – a major resource increasingly under threat. And the public are being asked to add their weight to the call, by signing an online petition demanding that designated areas of wild land are protected from large scale development. Scotland’s decision makers have been challenged to support a new vision for the future of the country’s mountains and wild land – a major resource increasingly under threat. And the public are being asked to add their weight to the call,…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Mountaineers urge councillors to reject wind farm near Glen Affric

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Paul Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is urging elected members of the Highland Council South Planning Applications Committee to refuse consent for the Beinn Mhor wind farm on the edge of the world-famous landscape of Glen Affric. Mountaineers objected to the proposals to build the wind farm – which would consist of six turbines each almost 400 feet high – on the slopes of Beinn Mhor, near Tomich, just south of the iconic glen. Elected members of the South Planning Applications Committee and officials from Highland Council will visit the site of the proposed wind farm on Monday 23 February,…

Posted in Nature

Police release video of masked gunmen attacking goshawk nest in Cairngorms National Park

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Paul Webster

Police Scotland and the RSPB have appealed for help identifying wildlife criminals, after releasing video footage of masked gunmen appearing to repeatedly attack a goshawk nest in the Cairngorms National Park. In May 2014, a video camera deployed by RSPB Scotland staff to monitor a goshawk nest at Glenochty, Strathdon, on land owned by Forestry Commission Scotland captured footage revealing a group of men repeatedly visiting the area in what appears to be an attempt to kill the birds and destroy the nest. The goshawk is a specially protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and it is…

Posted in Nature

Coast to coast over the 4000′ summits – by packraft

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Paul Webster

Walkhighlands’ columnist David Lintern and his friend David Hine are planning to walk and paddle from coast to coast, visiting the nine tallest mountains in the UK on the way, in aid of outdoor learning. They are calling the challenge C2C4K – coast to coast over the 4,000ft summits. The two Davids will begin from the most westerly point of the UK, on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, paddle lochs and rivers, camp on islands and climb the nine highest mountains in the country before finishing at Spey Bay. They plan to use portable, inflatable boats – packrafts – and will take…

Posted in Nature, News, Walkhighlands news

Mammut X Shot Head Torch Competition: Three to win

Posted on February 5, 2015 by Paul Webster

One of the most essential pieces of kit when out hiking or climbing is a good head torch. Even if you think you will be off the hill before the sun dips below the horizon it is always wise to be prepared just in case you are not. Navigating and walking in the dark is not fun, at worse it can lead to a bad fall or a night out on the hill. Mammut have three of their Mammut X-shot head torches (SRP £80) to give away in this exclusive Walkhighlands competition. Mammut X Shot The Mammut X Shot is…

Posted in Walkhighlands news

Our Pick: 13 walks with abandoned villages

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Paul Webster

The remoter corners of the Scottish Highlands and Islands are dotted with the remains of long deserted settlements. Some of them were victims of the Highland Clearances, when whole populations were forcibly evicted to make way for sheep; others actually became villages due to the Clearances, with people being forced to move there from more fertile ground. Still others were abandoned due to changing economics, the decline of hill-farming, the shift to towns and cities, or the sheer difficulty of making a living in remote and sometimes inhospitable locations. All are eerie places to visit, remembering the cruelty and hardships…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Climber killed in Torridon avalanche

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Paul Webster

A climber been killed after being swept up in an avalanche in Torridon. His body was found after his partner reached search and rescue teams on foot following the accident in Coireag Dubh Mor, one of the corries behind Liathach. The Torridon Mountain Rescue Team – assisted by the Coastguard Helicopter – were called out after the two men had failed to return from their climb on Friday. The Police said the search had taken place in poor weather conditions. Both men were from Suffolk, and were well equipped and experienced winter climbers.

Posted in News

Ramblers and MCofS call on government to intervene in Loch Lomond dispute

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Paul Webster

Scotland’s rambling and mountaineering organisations today joined forces to express serious concerns over the recent consultation by Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authority on proposed byelaws to ban camping from large areas of low ground within the park. Ramblers Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland together called for the intervention of the Scottish Government to help resolve the dispute with the Park Authority. The call comes after Cameron McNeish’s Walkhighlands column on Friday and a report in the Sunday Herald in which Kevin Findlater MBE, a former Chief Inspector of Police in the Loch Lomond area, heavily criticised…

Posted in Access issues

Our picks: 11 shots of curious Scotland

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Paul Webster

Beyond the obvious attractions, Scotland has some more curious treasures to discover… Achmelvich Castle, Assynt Scotland has hundreds of castles – we’ve already offered in a previous gallery a pick of 10 of the best. But those wandering the magnificent Assynt coastline have this strange structure to discover. This tiny ‘castle’ was constructed in concrete in the 1960s by a newly qualified architect… After completing the castle and making local friends, it is thought he spent only one night in it before leaving never to return. You can find it on our Achmelvich Beach walk. MacCulloch’s Fossil Tree, Isle of…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks