The sun shone as the ferry pulled away from Uig pier. A health and safety announcement crackled over the tannoy system in English and Gaelic. Car alarms sounded from the vehicle deck as the vessel gently rocked to the starboard side, sweeping out of the bay. The rugged profile of the Trotternish ridge was revealed and, in the distance, the magnificent peaks of the Cuillin came into view. I meandered around the passenger deck with my parents, watching Skye gradually recede into the distance and catching glimpses of puffins skimming above the water surface. We made our way indoors and…

Finding your way in winter means facing challenging weather and shorter daylight hours, but with the right tools you can still enjoy the hills with confidence. David Lintern goes back to basics (again). “It’s about having good strategies, and sticking to them. Everything you do in these conditions needs to be clear headed, focused and reversible. If it all goes pear shaped you need to be able to backtrack exactly. The very last thing you should do is randomly ‘wander over for a look’”. At least I’m pretty sure that’s what she said. I’m standing in a tight circle with…

Situated on the banks of the beautiful, meandering River Tweed, surrounded by gently rolling hills and just a 30-minute drive south of Scotland’s capital city, it is no surprise that the town of Peebles is a popular tourist destination. On most weekends year-round – and on holiday week days – the High Street throngs with both locals and visitors popping in and out of an array of independent shops, delis, cafes, pubs and restaurants. If you like a sweet treat, Cocoa Black, run by the award-winning chocolatier Ruth Hinks, on Cuddybridge, at the start of the Old Town is enticing,…

I write this on ‘Blue Monday’, the day associated with winter doldrums, when holiday companies prey upon our sense of daylight deprivation, lack of exercise, divorce from life ‘out there’. It’s when I feel most like hibernating, so it was perhaps contrary to choose this time of year to travel 250 miles further north from my home in Perthshire’s heartlands. In Orkney this is the season of upended goalposts when empty frames stand on pavements as their swinging coffee signs are torn away by gales to announce a hiatus in hospitality. Days are defined by their extreme shortness. The sky…