Indebted to a damselfly

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Ben Dolphin

The insect world is a bit marmite really. I’ve met a good number of people who adore insects more than they adore the furriest, softest koala bear. But then I’ve met plenty of people who loathe insects with every fibre of their being, who would purge the entire planet of every last creepy crawly if they could. Of course, the entire planetary ecosystem would collapse if they got their way so let’s just be thankful that none of them have found a genie in a lamp and wished all those bugs away. But my general impression is that the majority…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Keep it Wild campaign launched as Scotland’s Wild Land Areas come under threat

Posted on June 13, 2017 by Helen Webster

One of the UK’s leading conservation bodies has today launched a new national campaign for greater protection of Scotland’s Wild Land Areas, amid concern that a significant legal case will threaten the future of Scotland’s unique landscapes. A recent YouGov poll found 4 in 5 Scots back greater protection for Wild Land Areas. The John Muir Trust’s “Keep It Wild” campaign calls on the Scottish Government to use the forthcoming Planning Bill to give Wild Land Areas protection from industrial-scale development, similar to the protection already in place for windfarms in National Parks and NSAs. The campaign comes as the…

Posted in Nature

Warning issued over Goat Track in Coire an t-Sneachda

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Helen Webster

Events last weekend in Coire an t-Sneachda in the Northern Corries of the Cairngorms have highlighted the need for all hill-walkers and climbers to be vigilant when climbing on or passing below mountain crags. Two separate teams over the weekend were injured by rock fall. On Saturday a team on a route known as Fingers Ridge had a very lucky escape when a large slab of rock gave way. Ironically they were clearing loose rock from the route when the accident happened. And on Sunday a team were injured on Pygmy Ridge, in the same Corrie. Walkers and climbers are…

Posted in Access issues, News

Campcraft and hill skills – open fires

Posted on June 12, 2017 by David Lintern

As we move into peak walking and camping season, I wanted to spend some time on what seems to be a controversial subject; camp fires. There’s a huge range of attitudes towards when, where and why it’s acceptable to make a fire outdoors, even among experienced outdoors people and professionals, but there’s also a lack of public discussion which seems to me to be much more harmful than useful. I’ve also seen a fair amount of ‘social shaming’ dished out to folk posting pictures of campfires online, regardless of their age or experience… and of course the more you tell…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Just a Bang on the Head…

Posted on June 10, 2017 by Cameron McNeish

Cameron McNeish discovers that a head knock had much more serious consequences than he first thought. IT all seemed fairly innocuous. The gutters on our house needed clearing and I figured it would be an easy job to stand on a ladder with a hosepipe and get the job done. I cleared the gutters and was about to descend the ladder when whatever happened next happened. I had fallen off the ladder (the ladder had actually slipped and I came down with it) and on the way down I banged my head off the harled wall, which tore the skin…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Call for Tall Tales from the Hills

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Helen Webster

Writers with a feeling for mountains and mountaineers are being sought by Mountaineering Scotland for its annual literary competition. The Mountaineering Scotland Writing Competition 2017 is looking for the best in new mountain writing, whether fact or fiction, prose or poetry. And, with more and more people taking art in outdoor activities, there should be no shortage of climbers and walkers ready to put their experiences into words and share what makes mountains, or the act of walking or climbing so special to them. Entries should have some connection with mountains and mountaineering, rock or ice climbing, walking or ski-mountaineering,…

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Review: Leki Micro Vario Carbon poles

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Paul Webster

The Micro Vario Carbon poles from Leki have a premium price tag – but are they worth it? RRP: £144.95 (pair) Weight: 229g (per pole) The first thing that strikes you about these poles is their incredibly short length when packed – just 38cm. This is possible because what initially looks like a 3 section pole is actually 5 sections – there is a single speedlock adjustable section in the handle, and another hidden section that slides inside this. To assemble them you pull out the hidden section and then – as you straighten the pole sections held together by…

Posted in Accessories, Gear reviews, Magazine

Scottish Government enquiry into gamebird shoot licensing welcomed by RSPB

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Helen Webster

RSPB Scotland has welcomed the announcement of the setting up of an independent enquiry into gamebird shoot licensing made today by the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, Roseanna Cunningham MSP. It follows the publication, this afternoon, of a Scottish Government-commissioned review of satellite-tagged eagles. The review was commissioned after the suspicious disappearance of eight birds in the Monadhliath mountains south-east of Inverness, between 2011 and 2016. The report, carried out by independent scientists and subsequently peer-reviewed, showed that approximately one third of tagged golden eagles fledging from Scottish nests are being illegally killed, with a…

Posted in Nature

Discovering Torridon

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Fiona Russell

In my opinion, there are few glens in Scotland as dramatic as Torridon and a drive along the road that winds through the base of the glacier-eroded valley is always breath-taking. No matter the season or the weather – and in this wilderness area of Scotland it can be fast-changing and fickle – the steep-sided, rugged mountainscape of ancient Lewisian gneiss, white quartzite and red Torridonian sandstone offers magnificent views. It is a place, too, where the pace is more old-fashioned and relaxed. Both locals and visitors willingly pull into passing places on the smoothly tarmacked singletrack A896, which winds…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Volunteers give Highland beaches a makeover

Posted on May 30, 2017 by Helen Webster

Two scenic and remote beaches north of Ullapool in the North West Highlands have been treated to a makeover by almost 50 volunteers through the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Living Seas project. More than 300 bags of rubbish were gathered and taken out of the beaches at Dun Canna, which lies at the foot of Ben More Coigach – enough to fill a 25 cubic metre skip. Most of this rubbish was made up of fishing nets and ropes, plastic bottles and caps, as well as old toys and food packaging. Living Seas Communities Officer Noel Hawkins said: “Marine waste is…

Posted in Nature