A new series of Paul Murton’s Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs starts on BBC1 Scotland at 7.30pm tonight (available on iplayer in the rest of the UK following broadcast). Paul Murton’s Grand Tours series have been running for many years now, exploring Scotland’s lochs, islands, landscapes and history. In this new series of Grand Tours, Paul explores a choice selection of lochs from the 31, 000 that adorn Scotland. Travelling from the wilds of the west coast to the Grampian Mountains, Paul discovers the secrets of these iconic features of the Scottish landscape, which are deep enough in places to…

Patients, families and staff from Glasgow Children’s Hospital in high spirits on the Fairy Hill despite the dreich conditions. For the fourth year in a row, patients, family and staff from the Schiehallion Unit of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow visited the mountain which inspired its name. The annual family day – a collaboration between the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity and the John Muir Trust – took place this year under dreich, grey skies and relentless rain. Despite the conditions, over 60 attended, with half the group climbing the mountain while the rest participated in other activities at the…

Cowal’s walking festival is back for 2018. Based in Dunoon on the Firth of Clyde, this year’s festival will run from Friday 5th to Friday 12th October inclusive with a varied range of carefully graded guided walks to suit all ages, interests and ability. There is also a charity walk this year in aid of Ollie’s Wee Bothy, a charity providing holidays for families who’ve suffered the death of a child. CowalFest organisers say that fourteen new walks are included alongside old favourites and transport is provided if necessary. The walk leaders and organisers are all volunteers who are keen…

With the forecast remaining warm and dry for the coming week, hillwalkers in Scotland are facing an unusual challenge – not enough water! As well as meaning people should carry more water than usual to avoid dehydration, the dry conditions make it essential that extreme care is taken to avoid the risk of wildfires. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Adviser with Mountaineering Scotland, said: “It has been great to see so many people inspired to walk and climb in our hills and mountains in this hot and dry spell. But sunshine brings its own problems. “In fact if you were out…