Following discussions between sportscotland and the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) both organisations have provided reassurances that the current forecasting service will be maintained. sportscotland has been working in partnership with MWIS since 2007 to provide critical mountain weather forecasting, which has been a valued service for people who use Scotland’s hills and mountains. An agreement has been reached whereby sportscotland will continue the same levels of investment into MWIS to enable them to sustain current forecast provision throughout a development period which will result in a sustainable, long-term and enhanced service. Commenting on the agreement, Stewart Harris, Chief Executive…

The Salomon Glen Coe Skyline race will be held this weekend on Sunday 18th September, with other races scheduled from Kinlochleven on the Friday and Saturday. The course is widely regarded as the most challenging mountain running race in the world, which features long sections of exposed scrambling including the famous Aonach Eagach and Curved Ridge. The event is the third and final race in the Skyrunner World Series Extreme title with top racers from 26 different countries taking part and likely podium positions in the series for local Fort William runner Finlay Wild, Glasgow based Tom Owens and Edinburgh…

CowalFest, the walking and outdoor festival based on the Cowal Peninsula between Loch Fyne and the Firth of Clyde s returning for a fourteenth year this October. The hub for activities is Dunoon which is easily reached by road via the Rest and Be Thankful or by car/public transport and ferry from Gourock. This year’s festival organisers say, “Although only thirty miles from Glasgow, Cowal is a tranquil area with a rich heritage and abundance of wildlife. The settings for the extensive range of walks could not be better for Cowal is Scotland in miniature and quite simply a hidden…

A giant mural of a badger has been created on the side of the substation at Bonnington power station at the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Falls of Clyde reserve. The mural of Clyde the Badger was painted over two days by artist ATMstreetart and can be seen on the Clyde Walkway, which leads visitors past several stunning waterfalls including the Corra Linn. Lyndsay Mark, Visitor Experience Manager, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “Falls of Clyde reserve is a great place to see badgers and our summer badger watching events are incredibly popular every year. Thanks to ATMstreetart’s fantastic mural we can remind…

Mountaineering Scotland – the body which represents Scotland’s hillwalkers and mountaineers – has issued the following statement on its website regarding the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS): “Mountaineering Scotland was influential in securing the original Scottish Government funding, provided through sportscotland, which secured regular provision of Scottish mountain forecasts produced by Geoff Monk since 2007. The agreement was for Scottish forecasts and has never applied to English and Welsh forecasts. “Prior to provision of funding, the forecasts had been produced daily by Geoff Monk free of charge for a number of years but together with many other organisations, we felt…

In a notice posted on its website, the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS), has said it is set to close at the end of 2016 after SportScotland, the Scottish Government sporting body, “withdraws funding and walks away from a key mountain forecast collaboration project”. Geoff Monk, lead forecaster at MWIS said: “The funding withdrawal by SportScotland, following their previous decision to collaborate with MWIS (together with the Met Office), was a real shock and jeopardises the safety of those who use the mountains every day. All we want is for MWIS to continue to provide a consistent, quality service so…