Winter hillgoers urged to read new avalanche leaflet

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Paul Webster

An essential new leaflet for winter mountaineers has been made available on the Scottish Avalanche Information Service website. The 'Be Avalanche Aware' leaflet – which can be downloaded free – gives essential advice for anyone heading into Scotland’s mountains in winter. The leaflet is also available in print form from specialist outdoor shops, National Outdoor Training Centres, Ski Resorts and other places. The leaflet – funded by sportscotland – provides a simply-written and clear guide for walkers, mountaineers and climbers on making decisions prior to and during their trips to the winter hills. The illustrated advice covers covering pre-trip planning,…

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Distilled wins Edinburgh Mountain Film festival top prize

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Paul Webster

Distilled won the top prize of best film at the Edinburgh Mountain Film Festival in George Square last night. The latest movie from Paul Diffley of Hot Aches charts the life of Andy Cave, from the Yorkshire pits to the ground-breaking climb of Changabang in the Himalaya. The narration was set against the backdrop of Andy’s Scottish winter climbing exploits. A special commendation was also given to Keeper of the Mountains, telling the story of 90 year old Miss Elizabeth Hawley. Miss Hawley has never been hiking, let alone climbed a mountain. But – keeping detailed records of the expeditions…

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Rum do as rat collared on Scots isle

Posted on February 1, 2014 by Paul Webster

A rat on the Isle of Rum is being tagged and its travels round the island logged via satellite in one of the first projects of its kind anywhere in the world. Researchers on Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR) are keen to move closer to understanding the impact of brown rat behaviour on nearby colonies of the Manx shearwater seabird. The work will be carried out by Sean Carlisle, a PhD researcher from Anglia Ruskin University. Rum is owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The island is home to around a quarter of the world’s breeding population of…

Posted in Nature

Hillwalkers help sought on Glen Lyon Munros access

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Paul Webster

A survey of access problems on a Glen Lyon estate is being carried out by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland. Long-running problems on the North Chesthill Estate have seen a steady stream of complaints from hill walkers who feel they have been obstructed from their legal right of responsible access. Besides being internationally renowned for its beauty, the glen is also home to a popular circuit of four Munros – mountains over 3000 feet – but at the most popular starting point for the walk a gate is regularly locked and signs imply that access is forbidden. Perth & Kinross…

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Mountaineering Council objects to windfarm near Dingwall

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Paul Webster

A wind farm proposed near Ben Wyvis in Easter Ross would be “an unacceptable escalation of wind farm development in the area” – in the view of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS), which has lodged an objection with Highland Council planners to the Woodlands Wind Farm proposed for a site between two hills near Dingwall, adjacent to the Ben Wyvis massif. ABO Wind UK Ltd has applied for consent to construct five wind turbines, three of 125m blade-tip height and two of 110m blade-tip height, at Woodlands Farm, Dingwall. While of limited impact on views from the summit plateau…

Posted in Nature

SNH claims leaving redundant windfarms in place would benefit recreation

Posted on January 15, 2014 by Paul Webster

A Scottish Natural Heritage report considering the options for decommissioning and restoring the sites of redundant wind farms has claimed that leaving the windfarm infrastructure in place would be a positive result for recreational interests. The report – which considers options for windfarms reaching the end of their 25 year useful lifetimes, including “repowering” the sites with new wind turbines, removing all evidence of the windfarm and restoring the site, or simply leaving the redundant infrastructure in place. When comparing the advantages and disadvantages of restoring the sites to their former condition, the report claims that leaving the unused windfarm…

Posted in Nature

Walkhighlands' launches 2014 user survey

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Paul Webster

Walkhighlands is calling for people to fill in its 2014 user survey. The previous survey two years ago led to many changes and enhancement to the website, including new overall designs including for tablet and mobile phones, maps from each area page enabling the various walk start points to be located, more search options for accommodation, redesigned user walks diaries and extension of the site to cover walks in Harris, Lewis and other islands as well as an ever increasing number of Corbetts. The new survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete and is completely anonymous. You can fill in the…

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Man rescued after surviving 250m fall in Cairngorms

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Paul Webster

A man has been airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary after falling and sliding a total of 250m in the Cairngorms yesterday. The 25-year-old man fell at 3.30pm over the rim of Coire Sputan Dearg on the plateau below the summit of Ben Macdui, and slid around 250m down the mountainside. He was found following a rescue operation involving Braemar and Aberdeen Mountain rescue teams at 6.30pm and was evacuated by stretcher before being airlifted to hospital. Police Scotland described the evacuation as being carried out in “challenging conditions”.

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John Muir Trust calls for Wild Land Map to be adopted in Muir centenary year

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Paul Webster

As Scotland enters a momentous new year, the John Muir Trust is urging all political parties to unite behind the proposed wild land map of Scotland in honour of one of our nation's greatest heroes. John Muir died on Christmas Eve 1914, leaving behind him an enduring legacy of respect for nature, ecology and landscape. He is today a household name in the United States for his role in establishing the national parks. In his adopted state of California, streets, schools, museums, health centres, parks, rivers valleys and mountains are named in honour of the Dunbar-born writer, explorer, ecologist, activist,…

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Chris Townsend to be BMC hillwalking ambassador

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Paul Webster

Outdoors writer and photographer Chris Townsend has been announced as the first ‘hill-walking ambassador’ at the British Mountaineering Council (BMC). Chris Townsend – who is renowned for his long distance walks as well as his widely respected gear reviews and books – walked more than 15,000 miles on 12 huge epic walks. He is also the author of 15 books as well as being the writer/photographer for Walkhighlands’ own guides to the Southern Upland Way and the Annandale Way. More recently Chris was the star of the ‘Cairngorms in Winter’ documentary film shot by Terry Abraham, which featured at the…

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