Booking is now open for the wide variety of events being put on as part of this year’s Moray Walking Festival. Enjoy long Midsummer days exploring Moray’s world renowned golden coasts, hills and forests full of hidden fauna and flora, whisky colored rivers and towns with stories to tell and culture to experience. Alongside the more usual guided walks there will be sessions on navigation, animal tracking, white water rafting, evening talks, walking challenges, an endurance races and even a couple of chances to have a go at the growing sport of disc golf. The festival kicks off on Thursday…

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is urging caution to the thousands of hillwalkers planning to climb Ben Nevis this Bank Holiday weekend and in coming weeks. Winter conditions and snows in excess of two metres deep are making navigation in poor visibility particularly challenging above the 900 metre contour line on Scotland’s highest peak. Some of the navigation cairns, relied on by many walkers traversing the summit plateau, are completely buried under snow, heightening the risk of accidents on The Ben’s renowned cliffs. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Adviser for the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, said: “For most of Britain, spring…

The Ordnance Survey is set to shake-up the mapping world by giving away digital map downloads and software with its paper maps. Over the next 12 months Ordnance Survey is to replace all 607 of its current paper map titles (OS Explorer, OS Landranger and OS Tour series) with a new design and an additional mobile download of the map that can be accessed for no extra cost. Starting from 10 June when the OS Explorer Outdoor Leisure (OL) paper maps begin hitting retailers’ shelves. The move to give away the Ordnance Survey’s own digital mapping solution with paper maps…

The MCofS has places available on its navigation courses at Contin near Inverness over the weekend of 13 and 14 June. These one-day courses are available to MCofS members for £35 and non-members for £45 which includes a year’s membership and subscription to the Scottish Mountaineer magazine. The courses are designed for hillwalkers who want to brush up on navigation, increase confidence on the hill, and pick up handy hints and techniques to locate yourself on the hill in poor visibility. Each course starts with a gentle introduction to the theory followed by a practical session on the hill. Ratios…