Magazine

Getting Scotland’s outdoors ready for busyness

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Helen Todd

Helen Todd, campaigns and policy manager at Ramblers Scotland, takes a look at efforts to ensure Scotland will be better prepared than last summer to cope with the pent-up demand for the great outdoors when lockdown is eased. Last summer, outdoor recreation in Scotland hit the headlines, but not always for the right reasons. After all the pain of the first Covid lockdown, it was uplifting to see so many people – especially beginners – enjoying the outdoors. In fact, a major independent survey published this month by the David Hume Institute (DHI) showed 36% of people in Scotland spent…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

A Dog’s Life

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Lucy Wallace

What does it mean to be a responsible dog owner in the hills with an enthusiastic young dog? Wildlife Guide Lucy Wallace is finding out. Meet Nuis… a yearling border collie with a big heart. He is officially a Good Boy, but there are two things that he finds really tricky: walking nicely on the lead (more on that shortly), and not chasing stuff. Nuis will chase everything. This includes (but is not limited to) bikes, balls, deer, other dogs, cars, leaves, cats, squirrels, birds, people and I’m sure if he could get the chance, sheep. He’s fun loving, impulsive,…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine, Nature

Scottish winter hillwalkers needed for survey

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Helen Webster

Do you regularly head out into the Scottish hills in winter? The Scottish Avalanche Information Service has teamed up with Stirling University to find out more about how walkers, climbers and skiers plan their trips. The researchers are keen to hear from everyone who would normally (assuming no Covid-restrictions) go out at least a couple of times in winter. Researchers are hoping as many people as possible will complete the survey from novice walkers to experienced mountaineers. The aim of the survey is to better understand how published avalanche reports and the avalanche service is used and understood by climbers,…

Posted in Magazine, News

Shooting the Breeze – Ways of Seeing

Posted on February 23, 2021 by David Lintern

David Lintern shares a few tips for unlocking a more creative outdoor photography It’s been a year since the last photographer interview on Walkhighlands, at least two since the last photo tutorial, and the start-stop nature of Lockdown (and of my tutoring and guiding work) has afforded time to reflect on why I still love to teach, and the kinds of technical and artistic issues students often present with. As discussed online and in magazines, there’s no shortage of dogmas, opinions and ‘rules’ in outdoor photography, but face to face teaching has shown again and again that many of these…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

Plea for dog owners to take the lead and be responsible

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Paul Webster

Several Scottish organisations have united in an urgent plea to dog owners across the country to keep their dogs under proper control around livestock. Lambing season is already well underway in Scotland, and most of the ewes we see now grazing the hills and fields are heavily pregnant at this time of year. Already farmers are reporting worrying attacks on their sheep by dogs, often because dog walkers have not kept their pets under control. Many attacks also involve unaccompanied dogs which have been allowed to stray. Some reports include horrible physical injuries to sheep. However, a dog doesn’t need…

Posted in Magazine, Nature, News

Scotland’s Canals – a refuge

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Nina Smirnoff

With the hills out of reach, outdoors enthusiast Nina Smirnoff tackles the towpaths on her doorstep to escape the strains of the pandemic. Canals were once the lifeline of central Scotland, transporting goods and connecting people, as important then as the roads and internet are today. Struggling with modern stresses and the constraints of lockdown, those same canals have been a very real lifeline to me centuries later. Since 1790 and 1822 when the Forth & Clyde and Union canals respectively opened, they were vital to business and communities in the Central Belt of Scotland. Connecting the North Sea with…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Scottish Walking Awards 2021

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Helen Webster

Scotland’s leading walking charities have launched a new National Award to celebrate the people, organisations and communities who are supporting others to enjoy an active lifestyle. The first-ever Scottish Walking Awards will showcase a broad range of inspiring walking projects – from businesses, councils, land managers and housing associations to the journalists, staff and local volunteers who inspire others to step out. The Scottish Walking Awards launches on 4 February 2021, and features ten categories celebrating a wide range of contributions to getting people moving more in Scotland – as well as an overall Champion of Champions. The awards are…

Posted in Magazine, News

Carrifran “Survivor Tree” up for European Tree of the Year

Posted on February 4, 2021 by Fiona Love

As you walk through Carrifran Wildwood, you are surrounded by young native trees. In the mid 90s, a group of friends in the Scottish Borders thought “Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could restore a whole bare valley to native woodland?”. That dream has become a reality and the Borders Forest Trust have planted nearly 2 million trees across the borders – many by volunteers. The first trees were planted at Carrifran Wildwood on millennium day. When money was being raised to buy the land – crowd funding in its earliest form, the leaflet used had a photo of a…

Posted in Magazine, Nature, News

Favourite Scottish Nature Photography Book Vote 2020

Posted on February 2, 2021 by Paul Webster

Walkhighlands “Scottish Island Bagging” guidebook has made the shortlist of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards. A celebration of nature, wildlife and landscape photography in Scotland, the awards include one presented every two years that recognises the merits of photographic books and asks members of the public to choose their favourites. The sixth biennial Favourite Scottish Nature Photography Book Vote is open at https://scottishnaturephotographyawards.com/bookvote, where you can see the shortlist and register your own vote. Courtesy of the publishers, everyone who takes part in the online vote will be entered into a free prize draw for one lucky individual to win the entire shortlist of books. The eleven books shortlisted for the 2020 Award highlight…

Posted in Magazine, Nature, News, Photography, Walkhighlands news

Following Footprints

Posted on February 1, 2021 by Ben Dolphin

Ben Dolphin gains a glimpse into hidden lives through studying the trails and tracks left in the snow. I spend a disproportionately huge amount of time staring out the kitchen window. Partly because, like everyone else, I’m spending a lot of time at home just now and I can’t help myself. And partly because there’s always the chance that something of interest will come ambling through the garden while I’m watching. But in recent weeks I’ve seen very little. The snow and cold have driven migratory species off the hill, snooze-prone species into slumber, and the remainder into networks of…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature