A new online information service for hill walkers about deer stalking activities has been launched today by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The pilot service will complement the current Hillphones service which provides a recorded message for the estates taking part and also builds on the out of print publication “Heading for the Scottish Hills”.
The website covers estates within the Hillphones and Blackmount areas, but SNH says that it hopes to include more estates before the end of August. It is map based, and you can also search for stalking information by typing in the relevant hill name and then choosing the result from a drop down list. Clicking on each estate should bring up information on current stalking activities, contact details, and dates when stalking never takes place, eg. at the weekend or just Sundays on many estates. At the moment there is no detailed stalking information for many of the estates apart from the general stalking season dates but the site says that specific information will be posted as soon as it is available. SNH says that it will welcome feedback from walkers and other recreational users and there is a short questionnaire which can be filled in on the site.
Check out stalking dates and locations affecting your next hillwalk at the new website here. This new site is currently a pilot which SNH will evaluate. In time, Walkhighlands will seek to incorporate the deer stalking information on the relevant route descriptions so that you can get the information very easily.