Features

Fata Morgana: when Morgan le Fay comes out to play

Posted on February 3, 2026 by Ben Dolphin

At first it was subtle, barely enough to suggest anything was amiss – a long, flat-topped plateau in the distance, somewhere over towards Drumochter, and I was struggling to identify it. We do of course have plenty of flat-topped hills in Scotland, especially around Drumochter, but this one was properly flat, like a table. Hmm. I assumed my natural compass was just a bit off, and when I reached the summit I’d take another look and try to work it out. But when I looked back behind me just five minutes later, that flat-topped hill was now whale-backed, and had…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

When the Hills Wear Stripes

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Ben Dolphin

Have you noticed stripey patterns on high hillsides? I’ve noticed a lot recently. That’s undoubtedly because I’m spending so much time in the Cairngorms these days, where such patterns are common, but you’ll see them on many big hills across the country. I’m specifically thinking of bands of vegetation, interspersed with strips of rock or bare ground, which together form a sequence that paints a stripey pattern across a hillside. Some of these sequences are found on flat ground, while others are aligned with the contours on gently sloping ground. The latter can have the appearance of steps or terraces,…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Our pick: Scotland’s hilltop monuments

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Helen Webster

Earlier in the year we featured our pick from Scotland’s best wee hills. But apart from the promise of a view, little attracts people more to climb a smaller hill than the chance to visit a hilltop monument. Built to become local landmarks, these follies, memorials and towers appear in many forms, and scattered all around the country. They form the subject of our latest gallery. Fyrish Monument, Easter Ross The striking monument on Cnoc Fyrish above the Cromarty Firth is a familiar sight to travellers on this part of the A9. Close up it is even more impressive than…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

The rut

Posted on October 2, 2025 by Ben Dolphin

I always look forwards to the first subzero morning. Coming so early in the autumn season, when summer still holds the days, it typically occurs after a clear night, which means the subsequent morning is a real beauty. Low sun, mist in the glen, everything tinged with white. A bleary-eyed glance out of the window as I put the kettle on for a cup of tea is never enough, though. I want to both feel and smell the cold, so I stumble outside to be embraced by the frost. Such was the scene on 13th September this year as I…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Our pick: Scotland’s outdoors towns

Posted on September 6, 2025 by Paul Webster

One of our most popular posts was our pick of Scotland’s most picturesque villages. This time we take a look at larger centres, highlighting 15 Scottish towns which make great bases for outdoors activities. All of the links below give access to places to stay as well as routes to walk. Aberfeldy, Perthshire The attractive grey stone buildings of Aberfeldy cluster on the south side of Scotland’s mightiest river, the Tay, and serve as a gateway to the lower end of Loch Tay and to beautiful Glen Lyon. The town is a great base for countless family walks (the local…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Litter in Scotland – why are we so rubbish?

Posted on August 5, 2025 by Ben Dolphin

One of my guilty pleasures is watching YouTube travel videos, made by overseas visitors to Scotland and the UK. It’s interesting to see and hear an unfiltered, instant impression of where you live, partly because you have pride in where you live and you hope folk have a nice time, but also because it’s nice to have positive aspects about your home pointed out to you that you’ve forgotten about, taken for granted, or perhaps not even considered before. In short, as a country, it can make us feel better about ourselves. So there I was, watching one such vlog…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Our pick – Scotland’s waterfalls

Posted on July 23, 2025 by Paul Webster

Scotland is renowned for its rapidly changeable and unpredictable weather – but if you get caught out by the rain, it does have its advantages. Not only does it keep our ancient forests green and verdant, but the rain also powers our rivers and burns – and their waterfalls. Here’s our pick of some of Scotland’s most scenic and impressive cataracts. Plodda Falls, near Glen Affric Mighty Plodda Falls is not just one of Scotland’s most majestic falls, it is one of the most accessible too, requiring only a short walk from a parking area above Tomich, south of Glen…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Culra Bothy to be replaced

Posted on June 19, 2025 by Paul Webster

The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) and Ben Alder Estate have announced that Culra bothy in the Central Highlands is to be replaced. The existing building, which is situated 10 miles west of Dalwhinnie and was commonly used by people as a base for climbing several remote peaks including Ben Alder was closed in 2014 when a professional survey advised that asbestos was present in the fabric of the building making it unsafe for public use. It is expected that work on will commence in mid-October 2025 and that the new bothy will be available for use early in the New…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine, News

Splat!

Posted on June 4, 2025 by Ben Dolphin

Splat! Something hit the windscreen. Something large. One of those ones you REALLY notice. And another. The wipers tried their best but a misty smear nonetheless formed in their wake across the whole of the windscreen. It was only then that I noticed just how many smaller, soundless collisions there had been during my drive down the A90. On arriving in Fife, I exclaimed aloud when I saw that the front of my white car wasn’t white anymore. Anyone who drives will be accustomed to this happening, but I genuinely couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen the car in…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Our picks: another 10 walks you can reach by train

Posted on June 1, 2025 by Paul Webster

Whether you have no car, are trying to minimise your impact on the environment, or are just looking to save the stress of driving and instead enjoy the comfort of relaxing on a train rather than face driving home with tired legs, Scotland’s railways can help you reach some truly superb walks in comfort. Following on from last year’s article, we’ve selected another ten great walks you can reach by train, scattered all around the country. This article is sponsored by ScotRail, Scotland’s national train operator. Loch Faskally and the Salmon Ladder (Pitlochry) Walk the walk This enchanting walk makes a…

Posted in Features, Magazine