Gear review: Child carriers

Posted on July 27, 2015 by David Lintern

If you want to get off the flat and up the hills with your wee one, a child carrier is called for. But which one? David Lintern and family take a look… The adage ‘try before you buy’ is never more true than with child carriers – they are relatively expensive, have differing features, and a relatively small window of use before your little one isn’t so little anymore – so you want to get it right. And a bit like rucksacks – even if you find a retailer that stocks a variety of these to compare them properly in…

Posted in Gear reviews, Magazine, Rucksacks

Chris Packham joins Rewilding Britain campaign

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Helen Webster

Chris Packham, the wildlife writer and TV presenter, has thrown his weight behind Rewilding Britain, a new independent charity that aims to restore nature and reintroduce missing species such as wild boar, bison, lynx, pelicans and eventually wolves and sperm whales. On a straight-talking blog published on the charity’s website he describes the current state-of-play as: “a noxious blend of ignorance, ludicrous antipathy and insidious vested interests”. Mr Packham, a zoology graduate, states the case for rewilding: “How much more of our natural heritage needs to be destroyed before we accept that in plain terms that conservation as we currently…

Posted in Nature

Dreaming of Assynt

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Cameron McNeish

SEVERAL nights ago when the temperature dropped to unusually low levels even for this poor summer I put some logs on the wood burning stove, poured myself a large dram and settled down to read. But it wasn’t a book I was reading – it was the brand new Harveys map of Assynt. This new 1:40,000 scale map had dropped through my letterbox a few days earlier and it covers what many would regard as one of the finest areas of wild land in Scotland. The poet Norman MacCaig was passionate in his love for this area – he claimed…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Loch Arkaig night time road closures in August

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Helen Webster

This August will see some disruption for walkers planning routes or bothy trips from Loch Arkaig as the road will be closed during the evening and night for the duration of the month. The 6pm to 6am closure is to allow contractors to carry out essential works relating to connecting the new hydro electric scheme. The closure will commence at the junction of the C1153, the Loch Arkaig road, travelling in a westerly direction for 2km to Achnasaul. The closure will start from Monday 3rd August 2015 until Friday 28th August 2015. The road will close each night at 6pm…

Posted in Access issues, News

Baby steps outdoors

Posted on July 20, 2015 by David Lintern

an unofficial anti-guide to Irresponsible Parenting (part 1) If there’s one thing more tedious than a childfree friend extolling the virtues of their carbon neutral fun-and-money-filled lifestyle, it’s a self-satisfied parent extolling the worthiness of their child fulfilled life. There seems to be a whole lot of navel gazing surrounding the weird, wonderful world of sprogs, with both ‘sides’ convinced of how much better their life is with/without. Therefore, as a new-ish dad, and someone who considered himself least likely to ever spawn an ankle biter of his own, rest assured I’m going to avoid a ‘how to’ guide on…

Posted in Features, Magazine

On going search fails to find missing walkers

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Helen Webster

Searches over the last weekend by the Lochaber and RAF Mountain Rescue Teams failed to find any signs of missing hillwalkers Tom Brown and Eric Cyl. Whilst the MRT search is ongoing, walkers going to the areas these two men were last seen in, are being asked to help. Lochaber MRT say that all potential routes that either of the missing men could have taken have now been searched. Any walkers in Glen Nevis/Mamores/Grey Corries/Aonach Beag/Carn Dearg areas are being asked to keep their eyes open for items of gear/clothing. Eric Cyl, aged 62, is believed to have set off…

Posted in News

Rewilding Britain charity aims to reintroduce missing species

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Helen Webster

A new organisation, the first of its kind in Britain, was launched yesterday (Tuesday 14 July) and aims to reintroduce wolves, lynx, pelicans and other species. Rewilding Britain is looking to bring back these missing species as well as encouraging native forests and helping parts of the sea recover from industrial fishing. It will seek to restore species that used to live here but have since become extinct or very rare. These include beavers, wild boar, bison, cranes, pelicans, sturgeon, bluefin tuna, lynx and eventually wolves, grey whales, humpbacks and sperm whales. Rewilding Britain hopes to establish at least three…

Posted in Nature

Trust hails rejection of Flow Country wind farm due to wild land impact

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Paul Webster

The John Muir Trust today welcomed the decision by Scotland’s Energy Minister Fergus Ewing to reject an application for a major wind farm adjacent to the East Halladale Flows Wild Land Area in Caithness. The development would have led to the erection of 24 turbines up to 456 feet high, as well as foundations roads, tracks, transmission lines and other infrastructure in an area renowned for its unique landscape and ecosystem. But following a Public Local Inquiry, the scheme has been rejected because of its potential impact on the Wild Land Areas map, which was developed by Scottish Natural Heritage…

Posted in Nature

Connecting children to nature and the outdoors

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Ben Dolphin

Spending time outdoors in natural places is universally recognised as being good for both our physical health and our mental well-being. Getting children outdoors and exploring the natural world is in their best interest, but it is also in society’s best interest for a healthy, well-informed, environmentally-aware population. The onus is on parents and educators to try to ‘interpret’ the natural world for our kids, so that they can understand their place within it and recognise how vital its protection is. That can be as cheap and easy as making daisy chains, collecting conkers or blowing on dandelion clocks. Encourage…

Posted in Features, Magazine

Police Appeal: Missing Person

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Paul Webster

Police Scotland have asked us to help share an appeal for information on the whereabouts of Jackson Alexander Kennedy Reid. Jackson, 42, of Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, has been missing since 26 June 2015. He is described as 6ft, white, with short dark brown hair. He was last seen wearing a dark grey hooded fleece top and dark grey bottoms. He was also carrying a grey backpack with black panels and is believed to be in possession of camping equipment. Jackson was possibly last sighted up in the Aviemore area on 4 July. There is no guarantee that Jackson is still…

Posted in News