Police Scotland have reported that teams searching for missing hillwalker Daniel Bennett have recovered a body. Mr Bennet, 43, a software developer at the Centre of Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University, was last seen on Saturday, March 21, just before midday in Tyndrum and was thought to have been planning to go hillwalking. On Tuesday evening, a spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Police and their partners in Forth Valley Division searching for Daniel Bennett have recovered a man’s body. “A large-scale search operation involving Police Scotland, Killin Mountain Rescue Team, Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, Tayside Mountain Rescue Team, Arrochar…

Police are appealing for information to help trace a 43-year-old man reported missing. Daniel Bennett was last seen in the Green Welly Stop, Tyndrum, just before midday on Saturday 21 March and was believed to be walking in the hills in and around this area. He has not made contact with family or friends since then and Police are increasingly concerned. Daniel has short brown hair, blue eyes and is 5ft 8inches tall. It is likely that he is carrying a grey and green rucksack with him. Chief Inspector Lynn Ratcliff said: “Daniel is an experienced hill walker and is…

The Scottish Government says it plans to add a further 500 miles to the existing network of footpaths and cycle routes by joining up and improving current routes and adding 30 new long distance routes to be completed by 2019. New routes to be developed include a Hebridean Way spanning Harris and Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, a cross-Scotland Pilgrims Way, a North Solway coastal path, and an extension to the Clyde walkway. The plan also contains some very long term aspirations including coastal routes for Angus and Aberdeenshire currently scheduled for completion in 2034. The National Walking and Cycling…

An appeal has been launched to rebuild the Derry bridge in the Cairngorms in memory of mountaineer, Donald Bennet. The footbridge over the Derry Burn at the foot of Glen Derry was washed away during the flood in August last year, affecting access to a number of prominent Munros and to the popular Lairig Ghru pass across the Cairngorms. Now ScotWays – the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society – is looking to raise funds to rebuild the bridge, which lies within the National Trust for Scotland-owned Mar Lodge Estate. Donald Bennet OBE was a mountaineer and one of…

With spring flowers showing through the ground and warmer temperatures becoming more common, hill walkers have been reminded that it’s still winter in the mountains. “With the days getting longer and warmer, people start to get more enthusiastic about the idea of getting out there in the mountains,” said mountain safety expert Heather Morning. “But they should remember that it’s just March – and conditions in the mountains can be as fierce as they are at any time in the winter.” Heather, who is Mountain Safety Adviser with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, reminded those intending heading for the hills…

The bridge over the River Affric at Dog Falls has been so badly damaged by recent flooding and spate conditions that it has been closed. The bridge was completely overtopped by water which has also damaged the paths near the river bank and part of the car park at Dog Falls. Civil engineers from Forestry Commission Scotland are currently assessing the new damage with a view to announcing a repair schedule. In the meantime the bridge closure means a long diversion for the new Affric Kintail Way. Stage two of the route crosses the bridge here and continues along tracks…

Flooding has closed part of the the Great Glen Way between Aberchalder and Fort Augustus. Rain and snow melt have combined to produce very high river levels and flooding which means that this section on the second half of Stage 3 of the route between Laggan and Fort Augustus is impassable and closed until further notice. A landslip has also caused the closure of the section between Clunes and Kilfinnan on the latter part of Stage 2 of the route between Gairlochy and Laggan. The Great Glen Way rangers are telling people not to to attempt to use these sections…