As reported on Walkhighlands in March, a new bridge is now in place on the main path to Sgurr nan Gillean from Sligachan on Skye. The new bridge has just had its official handover and provides a vital replacement for the old bridge which crumbled and was washed away in 2008. Skye Mountain Rescue Team and others had expressed concern that walkers and climbers would be put in danger as wading the burn can be very hazardous in certain conditions. A long period of negotiation then ensued as the landowners, MacLeod Estates were worried about their ongoing liability if they…

The John Muir BirthplaceTrust is holding a series of events to mark the anniversary of John Muir’s birth, 171 years ago today. Born in Dunbar in 1838, Muir found fame as a passionate defender of wild land in the United States, but remains relatively unknown in Scotland. Muir moved to America as a child and following an extremely strict upbringing, he permanently lost his sight in one eye in an industrial accident and was totally blind for a period of time. After this traumatic event Muir became passionately interested in the outdoors and began to campaign quietly for its preservation.…

The John Muir Trust today announced the winners of the 2009 Wild Writing Competition as part of this week’s Fort William Mountain Festival. Tom Bryan from Kelso won the first prize for his piece Seven Ways of Looking at Suilven. Alan Gay from North Berwick was awarded the second overall prize for his poem Deer Path and Neil McRae from Skye won the Gaelic category for his story Doilleireachd an T-Sleibhe. Now running its third year the Wild Writing Competition, sponsored by John Muir Trust, encourages both aspiring and professional writers to pen stories about Scotland’s landscapes and wild places.…

The first episode of the BBC2 series Monty Halls’ Great Escape has caused a frenzy of interest in the Applecross peninsula, prompting hopes of a bumper year for tourism in the remote community. The programme, filmed during the perfect weather of spring 2008, followed Monty’s attempts to live as a crofter for six months and featured stunning shots of the scenery of Wester Ross and the adjacent Isle of Skye. The jaw-dropping visuals had viewers rushing to their computers to find out more about the idyllic spot. “Since the programme aired on Sunday night we’ve experienced a 1300% increase in…

Following an intensive search for missing hillwalker, Robin Davies, in the Cairngorms, a body, believed to be the missing man, was found on Tuesday night. On Monday over 70 rescue team, police and RAF search team members scoured the Glenfeshie area looking for Mr Davies, who was reported missing on Sunday after failing to return from his day walk the day before. Mr Davies was an experienced hillwalker but was not equipped for a night out in the hills. He was accompanied by his Yorkshire terrier. The RAF helicopter located the body at the bottom of a gully known as…

Adventurer Karen Darke will talk about her incredible life in her first UK lecture-tour. Karen Darke is a truly remarkable woman. Just four years after being paralysed from the chest down in a rock climbing accident, Karen set out on a hand bike to cross the Tien Shan and Karakoram mountains of Central Asia. This was to be the first of many adventures which would see Karen hand cycle the length of the Japanese archipelago and the Indian Himalaya, sea kayak a 1200 mile length of the Canada – Alaska coastline and make a record-breaking 600 kilometre crossing of the…

BBC Scotland are making a documentary about the Munros which will be shown on BBC Four this summer. If you are expecting to complete the Munros between now and the end of May (within the next three months), they would like to hear from you! Please contact the Director, Matt Barrett, at matt.barrett@bbc.co.uk or 0141-422-6110 and let him know when/where you expect to complete, how you plan to celebrate, plus a line or two about yourself. Please don’t forget to include your contact information.

The RBS Caledonian Challenge offers you ‘The Walk of Your Life’. The challenge is for teams of four people to complete 54 miles within 24 hours, whilst raising funds to help strengthen local communities.The epic journey will take participants through some of the UK’s most remote, rugged and stunningly beautiful landscapes. In just one day, participants will experience majestic views of Ben Nevis – the UK’s highest mountain, the splendour of Glen Coe, the wilds of Rannoch Moor and the scenic Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park. The RBS Caledonian Challenge was founded in 1996. Since then, more than 12,000…

Residents of Rum, one of the small isles off the west coast, will vote on whether to takeover ownership of the island and set up crofts. Rum, which is popular with hillwalkers, has been owned by Government conservation agencies since 1957. The present owner is SNH which has undertaken extensive studies of the deer on the island as well as other research and ranger activities. 17 adult residents will vote to decide whether to transfer the community hall, village shop, tea-room, campsite and land in Kinloch Village and Glen on the west coast island into local ownership. This would allow…

A climber in trouble on Cairn Gorm was rescued by a group of Scouts from Wiltshire on a New Year trip. The 29 year-old woman had fallen and broken her leg high on the mountain. Neil Wills, the leader of the Scout group, summoned help whilst sheltering the stricken climber, who was later taken to hopsital for treatment to her broken leg. There of the Scouts, aged 17 to 20,  helped the mountain rescue team to bring the woman to safety, carrying her on a stretcher down to an ambulance. “It was my first rescue and my good turn for the day. I felt proud to…