Winter’s icy beauties

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Ben Dolphin

In the last few weeks we’ve enjoyed (or suffered, depending on your point of view) some colder interludes where the temperature has fallen below freezing. As a result, ice in its various forms has been a conspicuous companion on many of my bike rides and walks this past month. It mightn’t have the hypnotic beauty of falling snow, but there’s something equally beguiling and enchanting about the secretive way ice appears on the ground from out of nowhere. There are too many varieties of ice to do justice to here, so I’m taking a look at a select few of…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Ramblers and MCofS call on government to intervene in Loch Lomond dispute

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Paul Webster

Scotland’s rambling and mountaineering organisations today joined forces to express serious concerns over the recent consultation by Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park Authority on proposed byelaws to ban camping from large areas of low ground within the park. Ramblers Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland together called for the intervention of the Scottish Government to help resolve the dispute with the Park Authority. The call comes after Cameron McNeish’s Walkhighlands column on Friday and a report in the Sunday Herald in which Kevin Findlater MBE, a former Chief Inspector of Police in the Loch Lomond area, heavily criticised…

Posted in Access issues

Proposed Loch Lomond bylaws are shameful and unnecessary

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

THREE years ago the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park authority introduced bylaws to combat the loutish behaviour that was turning the east shore of Loch Lomond between Balmaha and Rowardennan into a midden. At certain times of the year, notably Bank Holidays, hordes of visitors descended on this area, set up camp on the lochside, lit bonfires, consumed lots of alcohol and occasionally fought with each other. Then they would go home, leaving much of their rubbish and mayhem behind them. That, at least, was the story I was sold when the last East Loch Lomond bylaws were proposed.…

Posted in Features, Magazine

BBC’s The Mountain to showcase Cairngorm

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Helen Webster

A new six-part TV documentary following a winter at the Cairngorm ski centre will start on Monday 12 January. The observational documentary series, The Mountain, to be shown on BBC1 Scotland at 7.30pm, will focus on the lives of those that struggle to keep the ski centre open through gales and snowstorms, and the people of Aviemore, whose livelihoods partly depend on a great winter season. As the first storms of the winter blow in, the Ski Patrol are shown in the first episode of the series working hard to get the resort open as early as possible. Working out of…

Posted in News

Last chance to have your say on camping ban proposals

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Helen Webster

The consultation on proposals to ban wild camping in parts of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will end on 12 January. If passed the new byelaws will make wild camping illegal between March and October on most lochshores in the Park. The Park wants to extend the current seasonal ban from East Loch Lomondside to include most of the lochs in the Trossachs, the majority of the the west side of Loch Lomond, the area around Balloch, as well as the north-east area of Loch Long. The Park would like to hear from walkers and wild campers…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Our Pick: 11 shots of curious Scotland

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Paul Webster

Beyond the obvious attractions, Scotland has some more curious treasures to discover… Achmelvich Castle, Assynt Scotland has hundreds of castles – we’ve already offered in a previous gallery a pick of 10 of the best. But those wandering the magnificent Assynt coastline have this strange structure to discover. This tiny ‘castle’ was constructed in concrete in the 1960s by a newly qualified architect… After completing the castle and making local friends, it is thought he spent only one night in it before leaving never to return. You can find it on our Achmelvich Beach walk. MacCulloch’s Fossil Tree, Isle of…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Our picks

Hillwalkers warned of extreme winds

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Helen Webster

Mountain Rescuers have issued a warning to Scottish hillwalkers as weather forecasts predict wind speeds in excess of 100mph for Friday 9 January with stormy weather likely to continue into the weekend. Willie Anderson, commenting after a successful rescue of two walkers from the Cairngorm plateau near Ben Macdui yesterday (Wednesday 7 January) said walkers should not attempt to climb Scotland’s mountains during the forecasted adverse weather. The Mountain Weather Information Service is predicting storm force winds developing widely overnight into Friday with wind speeds expected to reach 80-100mph in some areas with severe wind chill and “appalling” visibility at…

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5 escape Ben Nevis avalanche

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Paul Webster

Five people were caught in an avalanche today on Ben Nevis, but all escaped. Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team reported that the avalanche resulted from a cornice collapse in No. 4 gully. All the people involved managed to walk out, and there was only one minor injury. The rescue team was assisted by helicopters from Prestwick and Lossiemouth, whilst an emergency medical team from Paisley was mobilised along with Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team and the ski patrol from Aonach Mor.

Posted in News

Winter insulated jackets – Group Test

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Peter Macfarlane

There’s snow on the hills, lots of us will have vouchers to spend and the sales have started, so now’s probably the best time to look at one of the most expensive bits of kit you can buy: a warm winter jacket for the mountains. I asked for winter weight insulation for this review expecting a handful of similar jackets and what came in for test had a good bit of variety which actually works out well. If you consider a winter jacket for rest stops, camp or belaying the image of a nice puffy hooded down jacket probably comes…

Posted in Gear reviews, Jackets, Magazine

Eas Daimh flumes provide safer access to Ben Lui

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Paul Webster

Flumes installed at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA) river gauging station at Eas Daimh will give walkers a safer way to access Ben Lui from the nearby Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) car park. The project, which was conducted in collaboration with both FCS and Network Rail, and with input from British Transport Police, means that there is now an alternative to trespassing on the mainline railway. A weir was originally installed at this location by the River Purification Board in the 1980s as a control for the gauging station at Eas Daimh. The weir raised the water levels under…

Posted in Access issues, News