John Muir Trust backs reintroduction of beaver – and lynx

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Helen Webster

With the Scottish Environment Minister set to announce later this year the government’s response to the five-year beaver trial at Knapdale, the John Muir Trust has given its backing to the reintroduction of the keystone species. The Trust is urging the Scottish Government to welcome the return of the Eurasian beaver as a native species and allow further reintroductions across Scotland. At the same time, the Trust has launched a new policy statement declaring its support for the principle of rewilding. “We would like to see large parts of Britain set aside for what has become known as ‘rewilding’ –…

Posted in Magazine, Nature

Backpacking Kit Test

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Peter Macfarlane

Most of my reviews on Walkhighlands have been a grouptest – a selection of similar or related items that I use and compare over time. This month is a little different with reviews of either a pair of test samples or just single items. I wanted to do backpacking test, but half a dozen tents, half a dozen sleeping bags and so on would take me months to cover so I looked at the press releases as they came in last year, looked at what was new and thought about what I would chose for myself if I was going…

Posted in Camping, Gear reviews, Magazine

Strathfarrar summer access

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Helen Webster

The summer access arrangements for Strathfarrar have now begun. Strathfarrar has a locked gate and only a certain number of cars are allowed into the Glen each day. There are no restrictions on pedestrian access or taking a pushbike beyond the locked gate and wild camping is allowed within the terms of the Scottish Access Code but you cannot park overnight in the Glen. There will be no vehicular access all day on Tuesdays and on Wednesday mornings. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) negotiates access along the private road with the landowner on behalf of walkers and climbers and…

Posted in Access issues, News

Munros not worth dying for say mountain safety experts

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Helen Webster

As Easter weekend approaches, mountain safety experts are appealing to people to stay away from the high mountains unless they are properly equipped and experienced. The Easter weekend is traditionally a busy time in Scotland’s mountains, with thousands of enthusiastic hill walkers making their first visit to the mountains since the end of winter. However an early date for Easter and continued wintry conditions in the mountains – fresh snow has still been building up this week – has left some mountain rescuers with serious safety concerns for the weekend ahead. Heather Morning, Mountain Safety Adviser for the Mountaineering Council…

Posted in News

Make 2015 the Outdoors Election say mountaineers

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Helen Webster

As the general election draws closer, Britain’s mountaineering councils are issuing a unified call to protect and support the countryside and people’s access to it. Ahead of 7 May, the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) are challenging politicians to recognise the huge value of outdoor recreation in their manifestos and policies, while also understanding the need to protect the special qualities of the outdoors for the benefit of all. The two councils together cover England, Wales and Scotland and represent 90,000 members. Both organisations are campaigning for greater protection for our natural landscapes and…

Posted in Access issues, News

Book review: The Grahams & The Donalds

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Paul Webster

Climbing the Munros has long been a mainstream activity for hillwalkers, and many also aim to climb the Corbetts (Scottish peaks from 2500 to 3000 feet high), either after completing the Munros, or at the same time. Whilst a too-keen obsession with bagging hills can blind us to the other joys that going to the mountains can bring, there seems little doubt that for many people having a list of hills to complete is a way of linking many brief days out into a single, bigger, satisfying adventure. The Grahams (peaks from 2000 to 2500 feet), though, have been the…

Posted in Books, Gear reviews, Magazine

Wild land – where are the supporters?

Posted on March 29, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

ALLOW me to spout some numbers if you will. Between March 2013 and February 2014, according to Scottish Natural Heritage, 82% of adults in Scotland visited the outdoors for leisure or recreation, taking an estimated 396 million outdoor visits. That’s a massive figure but many of those people may have been taking their dog for a wee walk or enjoying a countryside picnic so let’s tighten up the numbers a bit. About 7% of those people visited hills and mountains, so that works out at about 27.7 million visits. It’s notoriously difficult to get up to date and accurate information…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

More National Parks would boost Scotland’s rural economy

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Helen Webster

Creating more National Parks could be a cost-effective way to provide a major economic boost to a number of fragile rural areas in Scotland, according to the latest joint research report published by two charities, the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS). They claim that designating more National Parks in areas such as southern Scotland (eg the Cheviots or Galloway) or north-west Scotland (eg Harris or Wester Ross) could generate millions of pounds in extra revenue annually from tourism and other rural industries. They point to the success of rural…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Community Buyout planned for Great Bernera

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Helen Webster

Residents of Great and Little Bernera, islands off the shores of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, have voted in favour of a community buyout of the island. Last week 142 people voted in favour of the plan and 37 against with a turnout of 85%. The island had been owned by Count Robin Mirrlees who owned died last June. He had lived on Great Bernera for 40 years and following his death his family gave residents and crofters first refusal on buying it. Connected to Lewis via a road bridge, the buyout would cover 5,000 acres across both islands, including…

Posted in Uncategorized

Body found in search for missing Daniel Bennett

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Helen Webster

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…

Posted in News