Mountaineer and broadcaster Cameron McNeish will be appearing at the Skye Book Festival on Friday July 29th. Cameron will be presenting an illustrated talk, along with fellow film maker Richard Else, about the BBC 2 documentary The Skye Trail, a 70-mile backpacking route from the tip of the Trotternish Peninsula to Broadford. The event takes place in the Aros Centre in Portree on the Isle of Skye at 7.30pm and admission is free. The event will also be the launch of the book which accompanied the BBC programme and signed copies will be available. The Skye Book Festival is a…

The Jura Direct Passenger Ferry funded by Argyll and Bute Council is running once again between Tayvallich and Craighouse until the end of September. This is the only direct access from the mainland to Jura and can deliver you to the heart of the island in less than an hour. Tayvallich is in Argyll off the Oban to Lochgilphead road. The first view of Jura from the ferry is the distinctive outline of the Paps of Jura. The jagged scree clad skyline, with gentler slopes below, all changing tone and hue as the light varies, is a paradise for artists…

A man's romantic plan to climb to the top of Ben Lomond and propose to his girlfriend at sunset came to an abrupt end when exhaustion caused the group to call out the Mountain Rescue Team. The Lomond Mountain Rescue Team reported that four people were making the evening ascent of the popular Munro peak when one of them started feeling unwell and was too exhausted to continue. The volunteer Mountain Rescue Team was mobilised shortly after midnight and the group of three men and one woman were found on a ridge about 500m from the summit. Having been given…

A new festival has been added to the bulging line-up of Scottish walking festivals. The Torridon Walking Festival will run for the first time this year between 1st and 3rd October and offers a varied programme of walks aimed at beginners all the way through to experienced walkers. If you’ve always put off tackling some of the harder routes such as Liathach perhaps now is the chance to do it in the company of an experienced guide. There will also be a selection of lower level walks, the option of an overnight trip to a bothy, a photography walk and…

Top international climber Dave MacLeod and the John Muir Trust will lead a guided walk into the corries of the North Face of Ben Nevis on Sunday 24 July as part of the countdown to the London 2012 Olympics. The chance to explore the climbing history of Britain’s highest mountain in the company of one of Britain’s leading climbers is part of a series of sporting and cultural events taking place across the UK to celebrate the ‘One Year to Go’ countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. During the walk the exciting climbing secrets of the mountain will be…

This year’s Drovers’ Tryst walking festival offers a packed programme including many walks, a ceilidh, music, mountain film, pub quiz and of course the famous Hairy Coo and St Fillans mountain bike challenges. The friendly festival has now opened its doors for bookings and will take place this year from the 8th to 15th October. Crieff & Strathearn Drovers’ Tryst annually celebrates the life, work and play of the people who made Crieff the cattle-droving crossroads of Scotland in the 1700s. The modern day Tryst is run by volunteers and built around a programme of guided walks in the stunning…