Highland Council have advised that they are carrying out emergency drainage works around Dalness House, Glen Etive. The works are programmed from today, Monday 14 November 2022 until Friday 2 December 2022. Due to available road widths and to protect the operators on the site, the road will be closed for the duration of these works. Emergency services will have access at all times. Residential access will be permitted. This means that the usual routes to Munros – including Ben Starav and its neighbours – and the Corbetts in lower Glen Etive are all inaccessible for the next 3 weeks.
News
Climb every mountain
Northwest Highlands athlete pushes himself to the limit to raise funds for the Martin Moran Foundation… To climb a Munro (a Scottish mountain over 3,000 feet high) is a major achievement for most of us. But Lochcarron’s Robin Downie did ten times more than that in less than a day – he recently completed the inaugural Martin Moran Round by climbing almost 30,000 feet in 20 hours, 51 minutes, covering a distance of 86km. To put what he did in perspective, that’s the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest and running two marathons, over some of the most rugged and remote mountains…
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Northern part of Rum Cuillin closed due to Avian flu
UPDATE: The main Rum Cuillin ridge route will re-open on Friday 16th September. Walkers are being asked to stay on paths, away from the shearwater burrows and not to linger for prolonged periods around the colony, this includes wild camping, and to follow any biosecurity measures on the island. NatureScot is requesting that walkers avoid part of the Rum Cuillin until mid-October, until after the Manx shearwater chicks have fledged. This temporary measure is in response to growing concerns over the spread and impact of the current H5N1 strain of avian flu on seabirds in Scotland. By limiting disturbance and the…
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John o’ Groats trail recruits full-time manager
Friends of the John O’Groats Trail (JOGT), a long-distance walking route which stretches from Inverness to John O’Groats, have announced the appointment of their first ever manager, after receiving funding from the Caithness and North Sutherland Fund, the Beatrice Partnership Fund, and the Caithness Beatrice Fund. Kenneth McElroy, will join the John O’Groats Trail from mid-September, and will oversee the development of the trail. McElroy, a community development specialist, brings several years’ experience in the North Highland tourism sector, with former roles with the Wild North Festival, North Coast 500, in addition to his voluntary service as director with Caithness…
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Walkers urged to check for deer stalking before Heading for the Scottish Hills
Scotland’s Nature Agency, NatureScot, is urging hillwalkers to check online for deer stalking information before setting out during the busiest part of the season. NatureScot manages the Heading for the Scottish Hills website, which provides details on deer management on estates up to late October to help walkers avoid disturbing stalking. Scotland offers fantastic hillwalking, but summer and autumn are also important for deer stalking on the open hill, with most activity taking place from August onwards. This management controls the grazing pressure on natural habitats, not only contributing to the rural economy, but helping protect woodlands and restore them…
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Avian Flu: NatureScot advises against visits to 23 islands
NatureScot is advising public landings to stop on 23 Scottish islands, limiting the spread of avian flu and giving seabirds the best possible chance to survive and recover from the current severe outbreak. As of this week, the following islands have been advised to stop public landings until chicks have fledged. Until the end of August for breeding puffins, Arctic skuas and Arctic terns: Orkney – Calf of Eday, Swona & Muckle Skerry Firth of Forth – Craigleith, Inchmickery, Isle of May Until mid-September for breeding great skuas, common terns, cormorants and fulmars: Shetland – Noss Argyll – Glas Eileanan…
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ScotWays calls on public for help with Dalwhinnie crossing evidence
ScotWays (The Scottish Rights of Way & Access Society) is appealing for information from people who have used the Ben Alder level crossing to access long-distance routes west of Dalwhinnie in the Highlands. This is part of continuing efforts to resolve the problems created by Network Rail’s closure of the level crossing. Previous actions have included a public petition signed by over 9000 people, meetings with Network Rail and an open letter from multiple organisations to the Transport Minister. The Ben Alder level crossing is immediately south of Dalwhinnie station in the Cairngorms National Park and is recorded as part…
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Hebridean Way guide launched on Walkhighlands
We’re delighted to launch our new guide to the Hebridean Way, the unique 253km walking route which begins on the island of Vatersay, and visits Barra, Eriskay, South Uist, Benbecula, Grimsay, North Uist, Berneray and Harris and Lewis, finishing in the capital of the Western Isles, Stornoway. Our full guide: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/outer-hebrides/hebridean-way.shtml We’ve fully detailed descriptions of the route in 12 stages in our usual style, all illustrated with photography and full Ordnance Survey mapping. If doing the route in stages, you can record your progress stage-by-stage. You can also record your own experiences of walking the route and read those…
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Exclusive endurance race accused of vandalism on Goatfell
The exclusive Highland Kings race – which charges entry fees of £15,000 per person – has been accused of vandalism after daubing yellow arrows on rocks where the route heads over Goatfell on Arran. Local mountain guide Lucy Wallace – a contributor as Walkhighlands and a member of the local mountain rescue team – raised the issue on her Facebook page: “Last night while I was having a brilliant time on Goatfell with my friends, (yet somehow leaving no trace of our presence), we saw that the mountain had been daubed in hundreds of these sprayed on yellow waymarks. I…
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First eagle nest camera feed in the UK opens at Loch Garten
In what has been hailed as a first for the UK, a new live camera feed at RSPB Scotland’s Loch Garten Nature Centre is giving visitors an up-close look at Scotland’s largest bird of prey. A pair of white-tailed eagles, Shona and Finn, have established a nest in the vast landscape of the Cairngorms Connect partnership, of which RSPB Scotland is part, with their activities beamed live to the Loch Garten Nature Centre at the charity’s Abernethy nature reserve. Using methods successfully trialled in other countries including Estonia and Latvia and under special license from NatureScot, experts from Wildlife Windows…
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