Magazine

Scotland gets a soaking in extraordinary winter

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Ben Dolphin

Shortly before midnight on 18th December I happened to glance at my weather station’s console. Its comforting green glow informed me that it was 11.1C outside. I did a double take, and then I had to step outside to check it wasn’t an error. Sure enough, it was insanely mild in the darkness, and the warm wind felt like a hairdryer on my face. It felt weird. It felt…..wrong. I checked my weather data from the last five years and, true enough, that night time temperature of 11.1C was higher than ANY temperature I’d recorded in any of the previous…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Locations from Roads Less Travelled: West Highlands Part 2

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Paul Webster

Many of you will have watched the Adventure Show Special programmes, Roads Less Travelled: The West Highlands, presented by Cameron McNeish. The programmes are currently still available on the BBC iplayer. This second of our galleries for the programmes features locations seen in the second episode. You can see the locations for the first episode on this link. Aird of Sleat, Isle of Skye The second episode began on the Isle of Skye, with Cameron travelling to the Aird of Sleat and cycling the track down towards the Point of Sleat – before wildcamping nearby. Kylerhea – Glenelg ferry Cameron…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Locations from Roads Less Travelled: The West Highlands Part 1

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Paul Webster

Many of you will have watched the Adventure Show Special programmes, Roads Less Travelled: The West Highlands, presented by Cameron McNeish. The programmes are currently still available on the BBC iplayer. If you wanted to explore some of the locations in the programmes yourself, then have a look at the gallery below. Isle of Luing Cameron’s journey started at the picturesque former quarrying village of Cullipool on the Isle of Luing. He followed a walk around the coastline of the island past the quarries – this route is featured on Walkhighlands as our Isle of Luing and the Slate Quarries…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

The road to the western lands

Posted on December 28, 2015 by David Lintern

David Lintern embarks on a voyage of discovery to 3 of the smaller ‘sacred’ isles. “Your body is a boat to lay aside when you reach the far shore” – William Burroughs There’s something about islands, an irresistible draw. They loom large in our imagination… or at least they do in mine. In particular, there are countless ‘holy’ islands, dotted along the west coast and festooning the lochs that are particularly beguiling, not least because they play a huge part in our cultural history. My first visit was to an A-lister – Isle Maree, situated in the wooded archipelago that…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Our pick – Boxing Day walks

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Helen Webster

With Christmas upon us, here’s our pick of Boxing Day walks that may help you digest all that over indulgence – or perhaps escape your least favourite relative! Allermuir Hill and Swanson, Pentland Hills, Edinburgh At the time of writing a white Christmas doesn’t look very likely, but whatever the temperature Allermuir Hill offers the most stunning views over Edinburgh. The nearest of the Pentland Hills to the city, Allermuir is within easy reach for a great many people for their Boxing Day jaunt. Benarty Hill, Fife Though it may be smaller than its neighbours amongst the Lomonds, Benarty Hill…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Clearing up some of the confusion around rewilding

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Mike Daniels

By Mike Daniels, Head of Land Management, John Muir Trust and Trustee at Rewilding Britain. Cameron McNeish’s piece for Walkhighlands, ‘Confused about rewilding – so am I?’, has raised some interesting questions and sparked off a well-informed debate about the issues. It is understandable that when a new movement arises, people might be concerned and will seek to clarify what exactly is being proposed. And rewilding is an emerging and a growing grass-roots movement based on a realisation by many people that the way we have managed much of our land has been damaging, and that it doesn’t have to…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Not Fit For Purpose

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

It’s not camping byelaws that are needed on Loch Lomondside but a complete shake-up of the National Park management structure, says Cameron McNeish. LIKE many others I was hugely heartened when the delegates at the Scottish National Party autumn conference voiced their concern at the Government’s proposals for Land Reform. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon had promised a radical land reform agenda would be a key objective of the Scottish Government, but it would appear that civil servants had watered down the government’s proposals to such an extent they were barely recognisable. I sincerely hope, especially with the SNP’s political dominance…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

A knee, a boulder, and a geologist

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Ben Dolphin

As a result of a pesky knee injury at the hands of Bidean nam Bian, my forays north have been few and far between lately. It’s five months since I last climbed a highland hill and because such trips form the mainstay of my articles for Walkhighlands, I admit I started to worry where my next piece would come from. Thankfully, there is a wonderful phenomenon in the writing world where inspiration hits you when you least expect it. Usually when you need it most, and often it’s from the most unlikely of places. In this instance….the cold, clinical, rain-soaked…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Gear test – Hooded fleece

Posted on November 30, 2015 by Peter Macfarlane

Last winter I did a roundup of various midlayers and some of the feedback I got was that plain old fleece still has a lot of fans. This includes myself by the way, more often than not you’ll find me in a microfleece of some sort as its versatile, quick drying and low bulk which means it layers well. With these thoughts in mind I put together this review, but because it’s coming out in early winter I added in another favourite feature of mine: a hood. A fleece hood done well replaces a hat as it’ll move with your…

Posted in Gear reviews, Jackets, Magazine

Confused about re-wilding? So am I!

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

I guess website columnists are paid to inspire and inform, provide solutions to problems or to offer a sensible analysis of events and trends. I therefore apologise unreservedly, because what I am about to write offers no positive or constructive discourse at all. In effect it exposes me as a confused and disordered soul still seeking answers to some very important questions. You see when it comes to the issue of ‘re-wilding’ I am as undecided as anyone. So please be patient with me as I attempt to separate ambition from dreams, optimism from reality and pragmatism from desire. Several…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature