Magazine

John o’ Groats Trail now on Walkhighlands

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Helen Webster

A new long distance trail linking Inverness and John o’ Groats has been developed and is now featured on Walkhighlands at this link: John o’ Groats Trail guide. The challenging route is 235.5km long and is split into 14 stages and there is accommodation and public transport at or near most of the stage ends. The Trail will provide a vital missing link for Land’s End to John o’ Groats walkers. The route was devised by Jay Wilson, who lives at Berriedale. It’s an unofficial route but Jay and an enthusiastic group of volunteers have been busy adding waymarks, stiles…

Posted in Magazine, News, Walkhighlands news

Undercover Osprey reveals itself as an Award winner

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Helen Webster

A juvenile Osprey that appears to be in ‘stealth mode’ has been revealed as the overall winner of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards 2016. Photographer Gordon Rae, from Lockerbie in Dumfries and Galloway, took the shot at Rothiemurchus near Aviemore. The judging panel – Andy Hall, Richard Shucksmith and Niall Irvine – chose Undercover Osprey as their overall winner from categories covering wildlife, landscape, environmental, botanical and abstract subjects, awarding Gordon the title Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year 2016. Gordon said: “My winning image came by chance one morning when the light was in my favour really early on.…

Posted in Photography

Try a Great Trail

Posted on March 27, 2017 by Cameron McNeish

IN a message on Facebook someone recently asked about finding accommodation on the West Highland Way in June. “The plan is to turn up each night along the Way and hope to get a room somewhere without booking in advance.” It didn’t take long before an avalanche of response said “forget it.” It was clear from all the comments that accommodation is extremely scarce on the West Highland Way in June. Some said they had tried to book rooms in January for a June trip but with little success. My wife tried to book accommodation on the West Highland Way…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Trespass in the Park

Posted on March 17, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern lifts the lid on the new wild camping byelaws. On March 1st 2017, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park introduced a byelaw which prohibits free and informal camping within new ‘management zones’, which includes around 150km of the most popular loch shores. Camping is allowed in predetermined places and the Park is selling permits for £3 a time, but camping elsewhere in these zones carries the immediate threat of having your details taken for further use by the Park and ultimately, a criminal record and a fine. On March 10th, some friends and I chose to consciously…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Our pick: Outlander filming locations

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Helen Webster

We know that many of you watch the TV series Outlander… so by popular request, our latest pick is of walks in locations featured in the two series of the historical and time-travel drama. Glen Coe The very first scenes of the first episode of Outlander were shot in Glen Coe – one of Scotland’s most iconic locations; the glen features in the credits. The glen has a dark real-life history too, being the setting for the massacre of the MacDonalds in 1692. Glencoe village lies at the foot of the glen, which is justly famed for its superb walking…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

When does spring start?

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Ben Dolphin

On 15th February I went for a walk up West Lomond in Fife and, as I walked through the fields everything around me screamed ‘SPRING!’ for the first time this year. It was only 7C but it was a clear blue-sky day, utterly calm with a warm sun. There was some gorse blooming on the side of the path and skylarks twittered over the fields. It looked, felt and sounded like spring….but was it? None of those signs are unique to spring of course. Beautiful days occur all year round, as do gorse flowers. A winter sun can be warm…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Ben Dolphin named Ramblers Scotland president

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Helen Webster

Journalist, blogger, countryside ranger and Walkhighlands columnist Ben Dolphin has been named President of Ramblers Scotland, the representative body for Scottish walkers. He follows in the footsteps of the late conservationist Dick Balharry, award-winning broadcaster Cameron McNeish and most recently Dr Andrew Murray, who was the Scottish Government’s first Physical Activity Champion. Ben is a West Lothian Council ranger and well known in the Scottish outdoor scene for writing for both Walkhighlands and Outdoor Enthusiast magazine, as well as for his blogs, photos and videos on his own Benvironment website. He was elected to the honorary position at Ramblers Scotland’s…

Posted in Magazine, News, Walkhighlands news

Putting walks into words

Posted on March 5, 2017 by Linda Cracknell

Award-winning writer Linda Cracknell gives her tips on sharing your walking experiences through the written word. After a day out in the hills, or even tramping for a couple of weeks on a long-distance footpath, some of us have the urge to commit the experience to writing. It might be scribbled in a journal as a personal record, a walk report or blog post with tips for those considering something similar, or even something crafted to communicate a story to a wider audience. One of the things I love about doing this is that I get to take the journey…

Posted in Features, Magazine

A look to the future?

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Cameron McNeish

BACK at the turn of the century my wife and I hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California with a bunch of friends During our traverse of the trail one of our companions, Terry Leyland, decided to shortcut a series of zig-zags on the trail by jogging directly downhill. Waiting for him at the foot of the zigzags was a National Park ranger, uniformed and impatiently tap-tap-tapping the holster on her hip, as though gently reminding Terry that there was something inside it. It was apparently a felony to short-cut the zig-zags. Probably because he…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Skye man scoops Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Helen Webster

Dumfries-born photographer Nick Hanson, has been announced as this year’s winner of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award. Skye-based Nick beat off strong competition from thousands of entries submitted from across the globe to win the prestigious accolade with his magnificently evocative images shot in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. His evocative winning images were shot in the Cairngorms, Skye and Glen Affric with his Canon digital camera. They included ‘Autumn colours”, a shot of mist dancing around some golden grasses on a cold night by the side of Loch Pityoulish in the Cairngorms National Park; ‘Glamaig Reflection’,…

Posted in Magazine, Photography