Features

Outside in

Posted on March 31, 2020 by John Burns

These are difficult times for all of us. If you love the outdoors it can be difficult to be separated from the hills. From his home in Inverness, John D Burns (author of The Last Hillwalker and Sky Dance) looks for the lighter side of confinement and gives us something to smile about. I’m indoors, isolated and trying write my next book on my PC but the words won’t come. I’ve not been more than a few hundred yards from my flat door for two weeks, and the confinement is getting to me. I’m staring at the keyboard, trying to…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Lockdown reads for lovers of the outdoors

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Helen Webster

Isolation Shepherd – Iain R. Thomson Delve into the world of remote isolation in this moving and very readable account of a shepherd and young family’s life in Glen Strathfarrar. Set in the mid 1950’s it tells of a world before modern communications and comforts but with many aspects – the mountains around Loch Monar, the relationship between laird and tenant, the tough winter weather, and the working of sheepdogs, that remain to this day. Plenty of photographs help to bring the story to life and the loving descriptions of the landscape mentally teleport you to that remote cottage at…

Posted in Books, Features, Magazine, News, Walkhighlands news

Infected – a call for love in the time of Corona

Posted on March 28, 2020 by David Lintern

In the few days before Lockdown was announced, a friend and I went into the mountains northwest of Inverness for the last of winter. It was remote, miles from the nearest road, but we were mindful of the (then) most recent advice to minimise our risk. We’ve both been off the hill more than on recently, but the weather was tempting and for my friend, a keyworker, this was his last leave for what might be some time. On balance, we were cautious: We allowed an extra day and talked down our expectations for a fairly long and quite isolated,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Dear oh Deer: Scotland’s land use saga continues

Posted on February 22, 2020 by David Lintern

Deer are our largest and most populous wild mammal – Are they also an icon of our feudal past, or a conservation whipping boy? David Lintern exhumes the bones of an ongoing debate.

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Our picks: Scotland’s finest sea arches

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Paul Webster

Scotland’s magnificent coasts extend as far as 16,500km if the islands are included. As well as picturesque fishing villages and magnificent sandy beaches, there is some fantastic cliff scenery, including many mighty sea stacks as featured in a previous ‘our picks’. This time we take a look at natural arches… The Vat of Kirbuster, Stronsay, Orkney The Vat of Kirbuster is a blow hole – locally known as a gloup – whose entrance is spanned by the most spectacular rock arch in Orkney. The Whale’s Mouth, Cullen, Moray Our circular route from Cullen on the Moray Coast reveals not one but two…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

The Return of the Taghan

Posted on January 26, 2020 by Polly Pullar

Despite centuries of persecution and habitat loss, pine martens have proven themselves to be survivors, and as they expand their range, they’re revealing some surprising secrets. Even a dead pine marten leaves its mark. I won’t forget that first sighting. In front of me lay a beautiful cocoa-coloured animal brought into the public bar of my parent’s hotel in Kilchoan, on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. It had been caught in a snare and then squeezed into a bloodied game bag. Now it lay on the table revealing an exquisitely furred body so soft to the touch. Its tail was full and…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature, Photography

Shooting the Breeze – Anke Addy

Posted on December 28, 2019 by David Lintern

Our occasional series of interviews with photographers living and working in Scotland continues. David Lintern speaks to Cairngorms afficionado, Anke Addy. You are originally from the lowlands of the Netherlands. How did you end up living and working in Scotland and what attracted you here? As is often the case, it was for work. First, a short-term job at a field centre in South Wales, and from there to Scotland. Having arrived in the North East, more than 35 years ago, we soon appreciated the varied landscape and spent a lot of time out of doors, and still do. How…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

A Greener Gear Guide, Part 1

Posted on November 3, 2019 by David Lintern

In the first part of a short series, David Lintern looks at choosing clothes and kit that work for you, how to extend the life of your gear, plus some of the eco-labelling to look out for when buying. Responding to questions from readers and followers, Walkhighlands have asked me to pen a few thoughts on ‘green’ outdoor clothing and equipment. I’ve spent a good deal of time studying the issue over the last 3 years, and it’s worth starting on a positive note: It has become easier to find out about the outdoor trade’s environmental impact over that time.…

Posted in Features, Gear reviews, Magazine

Land of Ghosts

Posted on October 14, 2019 by John Burns

John D. Burns is an award-winning writer who has spent over forty years exploring Britain’s mountains. A past member of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, he has walked and climbed in the American and Canadian Rockies, Kenya, the Alps and the Pyrenees. He has taken one-man plays to the Edinburgh Fringe and toured widely. His first two books, The Last Hillwalker and Bothy Tales, were both shortlisted for TGO Magazine’s Outdoor Book of the Year. His first novel – Sky Dance – was published last month; here he explains why he wrote it. What do you see when you look at our hills? Do you see…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

What does a ranger actually do?

Posted on October 8, 2019 by Ben Dolphin

I’m currently in my seventh ranger season. I say ‘season’ because I’m a seasonal ranger. We get employed during the busier, warmer months when more folk are flocking to the great outdoors, whether that’s urban green spaces, Country Parks, or the wider countryside. And across those seven seasons the question I’ve probably been asked most is….what does a ranger actually do? Well, let’s set the context first. Countryside rangers have been around for 50 years in Scotland, the first having assumed their post in 1969. The impetus for this landmark event was the expansion of leisure time in the 1960s…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine, Nature