The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposed legislation which would mean new bulldozed hill tracks would require planning permission. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) which has campaigned hard for this new law, is urging hillwalkers to make their voices heard and respond to the consultation. At the moment landowners currently enjoy Permitted Development Rights (PDR), which means that a planning application and consent is not required prior to bulldozing a track. The consultation is seeking views on a proposal to remove PDR for the formation of access tracks for forestry and agriculture purposes. The MCofS welcomes these proposals…

Visitors and enthusiasts have the chance to get up close and personal with one of Scotland's most special birds thanks to a brand new event on Rum National Nature Reserve (NNR). The return of the Ocean Wanderers is a day of activities on Saturday 7 April celebrating the Manx Shearwater. Affectionately know as manxies, they nest in burrows high in the mountains on Rum, only returning to their nests at night. The birds spend the summer here, rearing their single chick, before undertaking an incredible winter migration along the coast of South America to the Falkland Islands before returning to…

The Steall Gorge path in Glen Nevis will receive £25,000 towards repairs after it won the public vote in a European competition. The John Muir Trust (JMT) won the Alpine category of the European Outdoor Conservation Association with a massive 48% of the votes. The John Muir Trust was competing for funding to undertake essential repairs to the Steall Gorge path in Glen Nevis, Lochaber, which is in desperate need of maintenance if it’s to stay open to the thousands of visitors that venture along it each year. Fran Lockhart, the Trust’s Nevis property manager, said: “Over the last two…

Conservation charities have failed in their attempt to buy what they described as the 'wild heart' of the Southern Uplands. The John Muir Trust (JMT) and the Borders Forest Trust had hoped to purchase the Talla and Gameshope Estate. After the 5,000 acre estate was put on the open market with an asking price of £1.1m, the two organisations launched a public appeal to help raise funds. However it is now understood that the charities have been outbid and that their “race against time” to save the heart of the historic Ettrick Forest, which once provided sanctuary to William Wallace…

The John Muir Trust is competing for funding to undertake essential repairs to the Steall Gorge path in Glen Nevis, Lochaber, which is in desperate need of maintenance if it's to stay open to the thousands of visitors that venture along it each year. This exciting rocky route can be enjoyed by day visitors and winds through the wild wooded gorge to Steall Meadow where it opens to staggering views of Britain's second highest waterfall, An Steall Bàn. The route also provides an inspiring start to more challenging hikes for seasoned walkers, such as the Ring of Steall – an…