The Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) has issued a reminder to commercial organisations that they must not use bothies that are maintained by the Association without first securing the consent of the owner. The MBA maintain a number of buildings in remote areas for use as shelters open to all. These buildings do not belong to the MBA, they remain in private ownership. From time to time, there is evidence, either in the form of actual use or in advertising, that some of these bothies are being used by commercial organisations as overnight accommodation for their clients. Such use is not…

Despite 18,000 objections, the controversial proposed power line between Beauly and Denny – running through some of the most beautiful parts of the Highlands, is expected to get the go ahead from the Scottish Government in the next few weeks, according to the BBC and other sources. The new line, which will involve the building of 600 pylons of up to 200 feet in height, is to stretch from Beauly near Inverness to Denny near Falkirk. The former MSP Dennis Canavan, president of the troubled Ramblers Association Scotland, said on the BBC Politics show, “If it does get the go-ahead…

Walkhighlands today launched its new intelligent search feature, Find-a-walk. Want to search for walks which visit lighthouses? Looking for easier (Grade 3) walks up Munros and want to know which of these are rated as the best? Interested in coastal walks with a link to the Highland Clearances? Perhaps you want to find forest routes between 5 and 7 kilometres long with a maximum of 300 metres of ascent and no bad bogs? How about island walks which visit sandy beaches? Find-a-walk lets you search our database of over 900 routes in all these ways and many more. You can…

Following on from the success of the last three writing competitions at the Fort William Mountain Festival, the John Muir Trust is running another competition for aspiring writers. With the broad theme of ‘experiences in wild places’, entries could incorporate a journey, a place, an expedition, a mountain or river, a walk, climb, sail or kayak. The John Muir Trust aims to celebrate the landscape and wild places by encouraging new and upcoming writers to write about their experiences and share their stories. Entries can be submitted in English or Gaelic with one entry only per person. The deadline for…