Hen Harriers return to Mar Lodge

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Helen Webster

A male hen harrier chick was satellite tagged today at the National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate, following the first successful breeding attempt on the estate by this iconic raptor species in several decades. Four chicks were produced in total and one of these has been tagged as part of the RSPB’s Hen Harrier LIFE project, which is part-funded by the European LIFE scheme and cosmetics company, LUSH. David Frew, Property Manager at Mar Lodge Estate said “It is fantastic news and really exciting to see these birds returning to the estate for the first time in living memory.…

Posted in Nature

Shooting the Breeze – Alex Boyd

Posted on July 18, 2016 by David Lintern

We continue our series of interviews with the leading lights of Scottish outdoor photography. David Lintern quizzes a master of Victorian photographic techniques and finds a very 21st century artist just under the surface. Let’s start with your exhibition of new work, currently running at the John Muir Visitor centre in Pitlochry. What can people expect to see? It’s a selection of new work made over the last two years, mostly using old Victorian processes in the Scottish landscape. For this exhibition I’ve largely concentrated on work from the Hebrides, but in particular Skye and the Uists. Expect stark, monochrome…

Posted in Features, Magazine, Photography

Environment groups call for walkers to send info on new hilltracks

Posted on July 16, 2016 by Paul Webster

The Scottish Hill Tracks Campaign, being run by Scottish Environment LINK, is urging walkers to continue to send in photos and information about new tracks being constructed in the hills. Details of what is need and how to submit material is at- http://www.scotlink.org/work-areas/link-hill-tracks-campaign/ Legislation has now been in force for over a year which requires developers considering constructing tracks for agriculture or forestry purposes to notify the relevant planning authorities (Prior Notification procedures). Before the legislation, developers could construct such tracks without notifying anyone. LINK volunteers have been monitoring all new planning applications for such tracks over the past year…

Posted in Nature, News

Butterfly wings are beautiful things

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Ben Dolphin

One of my earliest memories of interacting with the natural world involves those gaudy cheap fishing nets you used to be able to buy at seaside resorts. They were essentially just a length of bamboo cane with a brightly coloured bag-like net on the end – perfect for scooping up fish and whatever else took our fancy in those Cornish rockpools. But I didn’t use them for fish. I didn’t even use them on the coast. My brother and I would use them in our garden, 70 miles from the sea, to catch butterflies. I never actually wanted to keep…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Our pick – Scotland’s mountain corries

Posted on July 10, 2016 by Helen Webster

Corries are ice-gouged bowls carved into the side of mountains by glaciers during the last ice age. Often ringed by crags and sometimes cradling a lochan, corries are often known as cirques in the Alps and Pyrenees, combs in the English Lake District, and cyms in Wales; the Scots version comes from the original Gaelic word coire. There are hundreds of them all over Scotland; here’s our pick of some of the finest, including both some of the most celebrated and also some lesser known surprises. Coire Ardair, Creag Meagaidh This magnificent corrie is the great showplace of Creag Meagaidh,…

Posted in Our picks

New waterbus opens up Loch Lomond islands

Posted on July 9, 2016 by Helen Webster

A new Waterbus route on Loch Lomond will open up new possibilities for visitors wanting to join up island visits and walking and cycling trips. The new route runs between Loch Lomond Shores in Balloch to Inchmurrin and then on to Inchcailloch, giving people the opportunity to explore two of Loch Lomond’s most popular islands. The Inchmurrin service includes a morning tea/coffee and scone, or soup and a sandwich at lunchtime, depending on what time you sail. This service, which began on 6 July, is run by Clyde Cruises, who join Cruise Loch Lomond, Sweeney’s Cruises and SS Sir Walter…

Posted in Access issues

Cnoc Coinnich in Argyll becomes a new Corbett

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Helen Webster

Cnoc Coinnich – a hill on the Ardgoil Estate between Loch Goil and Loch Long in Argyll – has been promoted to Corbett status. The hill, whose previous height of 761m meant that it was one of the highest Grahams, has been resurveyed by Graham Jackson and John Barnard, with the support of the Scottish Mountaineering Club (SMC). They found the height to be 762.5m which means that the hill now joins the list of Corbetts – reportedly confirmed by the SMC. The new height has also been accepted by the Ordnance Survey. The hill lies across a bealach from…

Posted in News

40 years on…

Posted on June 27, 2016 by Cameron McNeish

THIS summer I’m celebrating 40 years as an outdoor writer. I’m going to mark the occasion by taking a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon with my two sons, followed by a five week campervan and mountain walking trip with my long suffering wife to the hills of France and Spain. Then, all going well, it’ll be back on the training bike as I prepare for an autumn ride around the North of Scotland 500. In between I have to spend a few weeks working – I’ll be filming my second series of Roads Less Travelled for BBC Scotland –…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Navigation: A day to learn, a lifetime to master

Posted on June 20, 2016 by David Lintern

Ever been lost on a hill? Last week, David Lintern found himself with Mountaineering Scotland. “I’d have thought you Walkhighlands guys would have your navigation all sorted, no?” said Steve, with a bit of a twinkle in his eye. We were walking in on the approach to Ben Donich, a popular Corbett above the Rest and Be Thankful, and our training ground for a one-day navigation course provided by the Mountaineering Scotland. Steve was only teasing, but he probably had a point. I do OK I suppose, but I can’t pretend for a minute I’ve got it licked. To be…

Posted in Features, Magazine

New Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Centre launched on Isle of Mull

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Paul Webster

A new marine wildlife visitor centre has been launched in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull by conservation charity Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust – to strengthen conservation action for whales, dolphins, and porpoises, and to develop the Hebrides’ appeal as a wildlife tourism hotspot. The Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Centre on Tobermory’s picturesque harbour front was formally opened this month, and will be a learning, training and volunteering hub, as well as providing a major attraction for visitors, including families and children. The building’s transformation has been funded as part of a grant of almost £220,000 from the UK…

Posted in Nature