First non-biting midge discovered in Scotland

Posted on February 23, 2017 by Helen Webster

Surveys at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness have revealed a range of rare species, including a midge never recorded in the United Kingdom before – underlining the site’s growing reputation as a ‘lost world’ for biodiversity. The discovery of the non-biting midge (Chironomus vallenduuki) by entomologist Peter Chandler brings the total of UK biodiversity firsts found at the estate in Glenmoriston to 11. Other key findings during the charity’s 2016 survey season included two rare gnats whose larvae feed on fungi. One of these (Sciophila varia) is only known from four other UK sites. The other…

Posted in Nature

A look to the future?

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Cameron McNeish

BACK at the turn of the century my wife and I hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California with a bunch of friends During our traverse of the trail one of our companions, Terry Leyland, decided to shortcut a series of zig-zags on the trail by jogging directly downhill. Waiting for him at the foot of the zigzags was a National Park ranger, uniformed and impatiently tap-tap-tapping the holster on her hip, as though gently reminding Terry that there was something inside it. It was apparently a felony to short-cut the zig-zags. Probably because he…

Posted in Access issues, Features, Magazine

Skye man scoops Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Helen Webster

Dumfries-born photographer Nick Hanson, has been announced as this year’s winner of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award. Skye-based Nick beat off strong competition from thousands of entries submitted from across the globe to win the prestigious accolade with his magnificently evocative images shot in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. His evocative winning images were shot in the Cairngorms, Skye and Glen Affric with his Canon digital camera. They included ‘Autumn colours”, a shot of mist dancing around some golden grasses on a cold night by the side of Loch Pityoulish in the Cairngorms National Park; ‘Glamaig Reflection’,…

Posted in Magazine, Photography

What have the mountains ever done for us?

Posted on February 16, 2017 by David Lintern

David Lintern wrestles with the outdoors, inside. I’ll confess that writing anything about ‘the outdoors’ at the moment is a struggle. I’m driven to distraction by world events. Five minutes chat at the school gate or surfing the stormy seas of social media and it’s clear that regardless of political persuasion, we’re mostly confused, worried and angry. As the Chinese curse has it, we live ‘in interesting times’. The call of the wild is strong when our human world is fraught, but I’m resistant to the idea of the mountains as pure escapism, because I think by getting out we’re…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Edinburgh: a half green city

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Ben Dolphin

A friend of mine once told me of the time she was showing a Parisian client around Edinburgh and how, as a proud Reekie resident, she made a point of taking her visitor to all the best vantage points and sights. At the end of the day, eager for his opinion on the city, she asked him what he thought. To her surprise the man remarked that he had never seen such a tree-less, park-less, stone clad city. As someone who knew Edinburgh’s parks and greenspaces very well I was as taken aback by the story as my friend was…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Nature

Gamekeeping and mountaineering bodies voice landscape fears

Posted on February 15, 2017 by Helen Webster

Two unlikely allies have joined together to press Scottish Government to develop a land use policy which protects Scotland’s world-renowned landscapes, and ensures access for recreation. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association and Mountaineering Scotland have written a joint letter to Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham MSP, concerned at the potential impacts fragmented policy may have on Scotland’s rare open landscapes. Both organisations fear a lack of joined up thinking could see the loss of internationally rare landscapes as Scottish Government pursues a policy of large scale afforestation without a blueprint to preserve its celebrated vistas. In the letter to Ms Cunningham the…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Our pick: Scotland’s east coast beaches

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Helen Webster

We’ve previously posted our picks of the most beautiful beaches in the West Highlands – and our pick of the finest Scottish island beaches. For our latest gallery we undertake a journey down the opposite side of the country to discover Scotland’s stunning east coast beaches. Sinclair’s Bay / Reiss beach, Caithness The vast sweep of Sinclair’s Bay takes in a wide stretch of the Caithness coast between Wick to the south and Duncansby Head to the north. There are two magnificent castles – ancient and baronial at each end, and between them is a vast stretch of the finest…

Posted in Magazine, Our picks

A visit to Colonsay and Oronsay

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Fiona Russell

You might imagine a tiny, low-lying Scottish island in the middle of the Atlantic, 20 miles from any other community and with only a lighthouse between it and the coast of Canada to the west, to be an inhospitable place. Indeed, the Hebridean Isle of Colonsay, measuring only 10 miles by two miles if you include its even smaller “semi-detached” neighbour Oronsay, is inhabited by fewer than 150 people and requires a two-hour boat trip from the Scottish ferry town of Oban, available once a day in summer and three times in winter. Yet the island has a surprisingly sunny…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Sustrans Scottish survey of walkers and cyclists

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Helen Webster

Sustrans is asking walkers to provide information to help plan the development of walking and cycling paths in Scotland. A large national survey is now open and all walkers and cyclists are being encouraged to take part. The National Walking and Cycling Network (NWCN) is a network of walking and cycling paths and routes in Scotland. The network includes all of Scotland’s Great Trails, Scottish Canal towpaths and the National Cycle Network (NCN). The Sustrans survey aims to assess: The benefits that access to walking and cycling paths and routes bring to the people that use them and; how walking…

Posted in News

Skills for the Hills Day – 25 March 2017

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Helen Webster

Mountain Aid have announced they will be holding a “Skills for the Hills” day on 25 March in Glasgow. The event is set to inspire, educate and entertain the many who head onto our hills, be they summer hill walkers, all-weather climbers or mountain bikers. It also seeks to encourage the many more who don’t know what they are missing, and signpost some of the ways they can get started. The event will take place in the Strathclyde Suite of Glasgow’s Concert Halls from 10am to 4pm. The event will be officially opened by outdoor broadcaster and journalist Cameron McNeish,…

Posted in News