David Lintern walks out of lockdown with a Black Dog. (What shall we doWith all this useless beauty?The stuff that can’t be harnessedTo the yoke of productivity,Or another ideology.) With restrictions relaxed, I’m content to head north and camp again. I’ve unfinished business in the Fannichs, and want to catch the last snows. This time, I’m ‘extreme camping’. I have forgotten the hot drinks bag, so it’s snowmelt only; a suitable beverage for this particular pilgrimage. It’s been a year since I was last here. My friend and I left in a hurry, as high winds and lockdown stopped us…

Patrick Baker’s book The Unremembered Places was shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Award, and is published this month in paperback. In it, he uncovers the human histories that have left traces in Scotland’s wild places. His writing blends walk report with archival research to tell the story of what you see in the landscape. This extract tells the story of the building of the Blackwater Dam above Kinlochleven in Lochaber, and the graveyard that is to be found there. At the start of the twentieth century, in a remote glen in the West Highlands, the clatter of pickaxes and voices…

Getting your head around preparation for a big trip can be confusing. David Lintern takes it step by step… Over the coming months, we’re all looking forward to a little more freedom to travel and more outdoor exploration, but where to start, after what might well be a year away from the hills? A brief glance at the Long-Distance Route page on Walkhighlands is more than enough to whet the appetite, and the first and most obvious to say is not all long walks are created equal. Some require lots of logistical wrangling, others are more straightforward. Walkers on the…