Growing up in a remote corner of the Scottish West Highlands, animals and nature have always been at the heart of Polly Pullar’s world. But an otherwise idyllic childhood was marred by family secrets which ultimately turned to tragedy. As her new book The Horizontal Oak is published, she tells us how the natural world has given her the strength to rebuild her life. There’s a single oak high on the flank of Ben Hiant, overlooking the Sound of Mull. I have known this resilient tree since my early child­hood. It’s in a place I love very much. Massaged by…

December. Oh thank goodness for December to end 2022!! Cold and icy, it offered up a truly memorable snowshoe excursion up Glen Derry and over Beinn Bhreac. -17C, alpenglow, sparkling hoar frost and not a breath of wind. Yep, December was marvellous. Okay, so the pipes in our house froze, but December’s icy breath was a welcome return to something approaching vaguely normal. By ‘normal’ in this sense I mean the traditional weather patterns of old, where we’d get colder than average months as well as warmer than average months. It seems incredible, even now, but if you’d told me…

With Scotland’s mountains resplendent in their white winter coats, David Lintern looks at winters past. Did he make good decisions, or was he just lucky? I love winter. I love everything about it – the challenge, the wild weather, that light, a land made strange and alien under snow. And yes, the extra risk. But in 2018, I was confronted with the less palatable side of that fascination. My friend Stef suggested a 3-day trip around some of the harder to reach bits of the Highlands – a few Corbetts and Munros in Monar, including Lurg Mhòr and Bidein a’…

It’s funny how moving homes motivates you to visit the things you thought you always would, but somehow never did. Those famous local places that you assumed would always be on your doorstep, but then one morning you wake up to find you have a completely new doorstep, and those hitherto local places…..aren’t. Earlier this year, after 12 years in Fife, I moved to Braemar. Obviously, I love my new doorstep. It’s the Cairngorms for goodness sake! But it’s also about as far from the coast as you can get, and I do miss having the sea close by. True,…

A new book by Mike Dixon chronicles the brief but brilliant life of Dr Tom Patey: bard, musician, and one of Scotland’s foremost climbers and mountaineers. His story is one of pioneering ascents and boundless enthusiasm, and his spontaneity, carefree approach and ability to burn the candle at both ends remain legendary, several decades after his untimely death. By drawing on Patey’s essays and verses the narrative is imbued with dry wit and gentle satire, and brought to life by unseen images from renowned photographer John Cleare and the Patey family archive. Supported by a foreword from Mick Fowler and…

Intrigued by the name of her new album, Helen Webster caught up with modern folk-singer, songwriter and storyteller Iona Lane to find out how the Scottish landscape inspires her music. Congratulations on your debut album and the high praise it’s been receiving. It’s called Hallival after the mountain on the Scottish island of Rum and you’ve said that a lot of the songs stem from walks you have done thanks to Walkhighlands, can you describe how walking and the landscape inspires you and your music? Thank you so much, it’s been an amazing journey so far and it’s wonderful to…