Anyone planning to take a vehicle into Glen Strathfarrar between 21 December and 3 January needs to phone the MCofS to get the combination code for the gate. The usual winter access arrangements for the glen apply from 1 November to 25 March when the gatekeeper is not on duty and it is necessary to arrange access with the MCofS. However the MCofS office will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period so anyone wanting to gain access (unless on foot or bike) needs to phone before 21 December. The number to call is 01738 493 942, you…

Footpath repair work planned for 12 and 13 November has had to be postponed due to bad weather. The closures at Glen Nevis will now affect a number of routes on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 November. This is to allow stones to be airlifted onto the path leading to Steall Falls as part of a major footpath repair being undertaken by the John Muir Trust. Walking routes affected include Steall Falls and the Nevis Gorge and the Mamores mountain route known as The Ring of Steall. Adverse weather conditions on Monday and Tuesday this week meant that the helicopter…

Having been closed for forestry operations for much of the last year, access paths up Gleann Cia-aig are to remain closed for all of 2013 due to the start of work on a hydro scheme on the Chia-aig Burn. This affects access to the Loch Lochy Munros, although the work does not affect access from the more popular Kilfinnan start point, and the picnic site and viewing area for the Falls will remain open. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) and Loch Eil Estates in partnership with RWE Npower Renewables announced the start of construction works on the Glen Cia-aig hydro renewables…

The Coire Gabhail bridge, used to access routes into the Lost Valley and Gearr Aonach in Glencoe has is now open following repair work. The essential repairs work were carried out by the National Trust for Scotland and were initially due to be completed in mid-august, but unforseen circumstances meant the project over ran and the bridge has only now re-opened.

Today (20 October) marks the end of the Scottish stag stalking season and SNH would like to know more from hillwalkers about the information that would be helpful when planning walks. If you have been hillwalking this year, please fill in the survey here. Three years ago SNH set up the Heading for the Scottish Hills website. The web service has proved popular with walkers with 7500 visits last year. This year, in a collaboration between SNH and Walkhighlands, the detailed information from the Heading for the Scottish Hills were also be directly available on the relevant hill routes on…

Forestry Commission Scotland has had to close off the bridge leading into the Glengarry woodland until next Tuesday (16th Oct) due to essential repair work. This affects the Allt na Calliche Trail and the Gleann Laogh Trail which are currently closed along with the car park. Last Thursday evening, a small side section of the embankment beside the bridge collapsed into the river and now civil engineering specialists are carrying out work to fix it. Kevin Peace, Forestry Commission Scotland’s District Manager in Lochaber said: “In these circumstances we always put public safety before anything else, so whilst the work…

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has launched a survey to ask hillwalkers how they find out about deer stalking before heading for the hills and how useful the online information about stalking is. The results will be used to improve the information provided in future years. Whether or not you have used the stalking information, if you have been hillwalking since the start of July, please fill in the survey here. The stag stalking season (1st July to 20th October) is a popular time of year for walkers, so three years ago SNH set up the Heading for the Scottish Hills…

Highland Council says that it will start removing the 'no overnight parking' signs from roadside lay bys that it is responsibile for following a committee decision yesterday (Thursday 20 September). Transport Scotland has already committed to removing approximately 50 notices from trunk roads. There has been some general discussion about the legality of the signs in the last few years and the latest move by Highland Council comes after lobbying by Andy Strangeway. Mr Strangeway, from East Yorkshire, is a regular visitor to the Scottish Highlands, in 2007 he completed his aim to sleep on all of Scotland’s 162 islands…