Friday sees the release of The Eagle, a new feature film, partly filmed on location in the Highlands and featuring many locals as extras. The Eagle will be released on 25 March although locals in Achiltibuie are to be treated to a special screening in a mobile cinema. The film stars up and coming Hollywood beefcake Channing Tatum as well as acting legend Donald Sutherland and Jamie Bell. As well as Achiltibuie, filming took place in Argyll, Stirling and Loch Lomond. The film, directed by Glasgow-born Kevin MacDonald, is based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s historical adventure novel The Eagle of the…

Rescuers searching for a climber in the Angus Glens recovered a body early Saturday morning (19 March). The joint search between Mountain Rescue and an RAF helicopter was called out on Friday night when the 69 year old Dundee man failed to return from a climbing trip. The body was recovered from Corrie Fee in Glen Doll at the head of Glen Clova and rescuers believe the man may have been caught up in an avalanche. Tayside Police said the man was a very experienced mountaineer and fully equipped for the conditions. UPDATE: The dead man has now been formally…

Following hard on his success at Sron Ulladale, skydiver and BASE jumper, Simon Brentford recently undertook the first ever BASE jump from the Kilt Rock on the Isle of Skye. The Kilt Rock is a famous tourist attraction near Staffin on the Trotternish penisula on Skye. The 180 foot high cliff is composed of massive basalt columns which give the whole cliff a pleated look resulting in its name. The shore below is rocky and as the film by Adam Bibby shows, there is little time for Simon to manoeuvere himself before reaching the ground. Only the day before Simon…

Following on from the recently submitted plans for a windfarm at Dunmaglass in the Monadhliath, energy company RWE npower has submitted an application to construct a new windfarm at Allt Duine, 5 miles from Aviemore and Kincraig and on the very edge of the Cairngorms National Park. The windfarm would consist of 31 turbines, each over 400 feet tall, in an area whose economy is completely dominated by tourism. Andrew Brien, chair of Kincraig Community Council, was reported by the Press and Journal as saying ‘The community council does not yet have a view on this, which is why we…

A scheme to collect information on squirrels by texting sightings in Aberdeen is back for another fornight. Text-A-Squirrel was first launched in the city last year as a two-week pilot. The project hopes to collect data on where red and grey squirrels are by getting locals to send a text message every time they spot a squirrel. Sightings should be reported by texting RED or GREY, followed by the area, street or postcode where it was seen, and the person’s name, to 88802. The scheme is being run by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, a partnership project including the Scottish Wildlife…

Fire crews battled through the night to control a blaze at Blair Castle near Blair Atholl in Perthshire. The fire started in the middle of the evening on Thursday 10 March and quickly spread through the 13th century clock tower at the castle. At one point, seven fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze and stop it spreading to the rest of the building. Tayside Police said there was a significant amount of damage to the clock tower including the collapse of the roof and that the second floor had also collapsed down onto the first floor. No one was…

Earlier this month, skydiver and BASE jumper, Simon Brentford completed the first ever BASE jump from Sron Ulladale on Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The massive overhanging crag was climbed on live TV by Dave Macleod and Tim Emmett for the BBC’s “The Great Climb” and the programme provided the inspiration for Simon, who had previously never ventured north of Stirling, to tackle the BASE jump. The jump was filmed by Adam Bibby and can be seen here.

The UK Government has dropped plans to move UK clocks forward an extra hour. The proposal was widely reported last week as likely to be included in plans presented today (4 March) alongside a consultation about scrapping May Day in England and Wales and replacing it with a bank holiday in the early spring or autumn. Although tourism chiefs were largely in favour of moving the clocks it would have resulted in darker mornings for much of Scotland and there were fears that this would increase the road accident rate. However the plan would have brought UK clocks in line…

Campaigners look to have scored a great victory as Donald Trump has declared that he will not use compulsory purchase powers to clear residents of Menie from their homes. The Press and Journal has reported that after almost two years of uncertainty, Trump has said he will not use attempt to use compulsory powers to purchase four homes as part of his plans for his golf resort on the Aberdeenshire coastline. Trump had been given planning to include the sites in his resort although the owners had not agreed to sell the properties. Trump told the Press and Journal: “We…

A new promotional film featuring Sir Jimmy Savile undertaking a range of hair raising extreme sports is proving to be an internet sensation. Closer inspection of the film, produced for Outdoor Capital, to promote the Fort William and Lochaber area, shows that top sportsmen have taken the role of Sir Jimmy for the more taxing activities. Each activity is introduced by Sir Jimmy, who owns a property in Glen Coe and is a regular visitor to the area, wearing a fetching tartan ensemble and puffing on his trademark cigar. The short film features stuntrider Danny MacAskill and well known mountaineer…