The daily bus service to Durness from Inverness will start again on Monday 16 May. The service will operate with a 24-Seat Mercedes Midi Coach, and have facilities to carry 12 bikes on a fully enclosed trailer. Advance booking for bikes is essential. In the past the service has proved popular with walkers, cyclists and backpackers able to explore the remote far north. Donald Mathieson of D&E Coaches, said: “We are delighted to have secured the Highland Council Summer Service 804 from Inverness to Durness, and look forward to being of service to the communities en route to the north…

A visitor centre at Britain’s oldest national nature reserve opened its doors for the Easter break on Sunday 10 April and will remain open until 31 October. Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve’s visitor centre in Kinlochewe, Wester Ross, will be open daily from 10am-5pm. The reserve has three all-ability trails which are open year-round and other facilities for visitors include the two self-guiding Glas Leitir woodland and mountain trails. Beinn Eighe was created in 1951 with its species of interest including golden eagle, Scottish crossbill, mountain hare, red deer and black throated divers, while its internationally important habitats include juniper…

Following the launch of its Minimal Impact Mountaineering Advice earlier this year, the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) is planning a series of training events to take place in 2011. At the time of the launch of the advice, known as MIMA, the MCofS said, “Scottish access rights are a balance of having statutory rights of access to land and exercising those rights in a responsible manner. MIMA provides detailed information on a wide range of topics that hill walkers, climbers, ski tourers, instructors and other leaders can refer to in order to gain a better understanding of the practical…

The Scottish Government has published the consultation on proposals to change Permitted Development Rights for the construction of Hill Tracks. At the moment most hill tracks are constructed without the need for planning permission as they are deemed to be Permitted Development. This consultation is in response to a campaign to change the Permitted Development Rights (PDR) which resulted in a parliamentary debate in June last year. The consultation document stops well short of proposing removing PDR for this sort of development totally or from specified designated areas which was recommended in research carried out by Herriot Watt University. The…