Skiddaw hoax journalist found guilty >>

Following a two-day hearing at West Cumbria magistrates’ court in Workington, freelance journalist Sarah Crickmer has been found guilty on two counts of sending a false message by the public electronic communication network to cause annoyance, inconvenience or anxiety. These charges, under the Communications Act, arose from an incident on 26 November... Read more

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Video: the tide turns against the Porty jetski parkers >>

They say there’s a downturn. They say there’s no spare money around. Well, on Portobello beach there’s cash to splash, as the suddenly popular video above shows. It’s not clear quite which “jetski dudes” had the bright idea of parking their nice shiny 4×4 on the wrong side of the high-water mark, but there must surely be cheaper car-valet... Read more

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The Great Climb: gripping viewing in every sense >>

Given the extent to which live TV coverage of athletic endeavour is often overhyped and disappointing – the recent football World Cup being a case in point – Saturday’s Western Isles cragfest proved a pleasant surprise. The Great Climb saw Dave MacLeod and Tim Emmett attempt a phenomenally difficult multi-pitch route on Sron Uladail  on Harris,... Read more

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Emergency bore holes and a weird kind of Big Brother >>

The remarkable story of the trapped Chilean miners has featured in many mainstream news reports this past week, but in case anyone has been – er – trapped underground and missed it, the basics are as follows. The 33 workers were cut off 700 metres below the outside world on 5 August following the collapse of the main access tunnel at the San Jose... Read more

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Three hills with a Holl in the middle >>

Last Saturday, with the west looking decidedly mucky – cloud, gales, big clumpy downpours – it made sense to head east, to some lower hills. A day for the Fife Lomonds. Despite their being only 30-odd miles from base camp, I’d only occasionally been on the three hills – Bishop Hill, West Lomond, East Lomond – and on none of them since 2002.... Read more

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The climbing accident that would have changed British political history >>

The date is 23 December, 1989. The shadow chancellor John Smith sets off for a walk up Ben Lawers, highest peak in the southern Highlands. Smith had been advised to improve his fitness after his October 1988 heart attack, and went about this with gusto, embarking on a round of the Munros that would eventually net him 108 of the then 277 summits before... Read more

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Questions of taste posed by climbing Minge, The Fuhrer and a hard, very severe Gang Bang >>

Thanks are due to Kilmarnock reader Gordon Smith for sending in the digital version of a cutting from last Friday’s Daily Telegraph, where the paper’s Berlin correspondent, Allan Hall, reported some startling names given to rock-climbing routes in the Järfälla area north-west of Stockholm. “Between 1987 and 2001,” Mr Hall writes, “climbers... Read more

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Ticking the boxes for a glorious Glorious Twelfth >>

Quite a few days in the year have specific and well-known names, but if the religious ones are discounted – Shrove Tuesday, Good Friday, Christmas Day etc – then the list is fairly short. May Day, Hogmanay, a handful of others – and the Glorious Twelfth. To the hunting-and-shooting community 12 August – the start of the grouse-shooting season... Read more

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In-your-face windfarm that will dominate the Ochils >>

The accompanying photograph is possibly the first to be published of Scotland’s latest upland landmark. It was taken today and shows the first four – of an eventual 13 – turbines at the Burnfoot windfarm site in the heart of the Ochils. The complete cluster will become familiar skyline objects from many points on the southern-Highland fringe. Needless... Read more

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Interesting places – the Whangie >>

By Elizabeth McQuillan I have been taken up The Whangie by a friend on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It sounds questionable, but there you have it. It was actually a very interesting experience overall, if a little sweaty getting there. I advise sturdy footwear, some water, a camera and a fit friend for greatest enjoyment. Situated in the Kilpatrick Hills,... Read more

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Steady uptake and satisfied customers: 20 days of Walk @ The Top >>

In an article last week the Caledonian Mercury discussed Walk @ The Top, the new arrangement at CairnGorm Mountain (CML) where guided groups of up to ten funicular passengers are able, for a fee, to visit the summit of the 1244-metre peak. In previous summers this wasn’t possible: there was no exit option at the funicular top station, so aspiring... Read more

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Joining the mounting numbers taking up riding >>

By Elizabeth McQuillan Olympia this is not. Puissance this is not. But it does involve a horse and rider hurtling towards jumps, with the outcome never guaranteed. Conducted over a course of ten natural obstacles – if you consider tyres, hay bales and flower planters such – the simple aim is to get a safe clear round and jump with a little style. For... Read more

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High-flying approach to dropping in for lunch >>

By Elizabeth McQuillan Flying has never been a problem to me, but on approaching the seaplane and considering its conservative proportions, I’ll confess to a twinge of anxiety. Not wanting to appear unaccustomed to boarding privately chartered planes, it seemed politic to act nonchalant and unconcerned as the pilot secured what looked to be a Pac-a-Mac... Read more

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Little traffic and lots of history on a Glen Affric cycle >>

The area around Glen Affric is stunning. There’s wildlife galore in the ancient Caledonian forest, everything from red deer to pine marten and otters. There are miles of quiet roads and forest track that are perfect for cycling. There are two rides which are especially attractive. From Cannich, either cycle or drive the six miles to Struy, a small... Read more

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From Kon-Tiki to Plas-tiki >>

by John Knox A curious vessel, made from 12,500 used plastic bottles, has just completed an 8,000-mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean. The aim was to highlight the pollution of the seas caused by plastic bottles and the clouds of climate change gases being pumped into the atmosphere to produce them. The 60ft catamaran, Plastiki, left San Francisco... Read more

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Guides and paywalls – the latest complications on Cairn Gorm >>

We’re now just over a week into the latest tweaking of rules concerning what is and isn’t permitted on Cairn Gorm, surely the most controversial piece of high ground in the country. For eight-and-a-half years, from the opening of much-debated funicular railway at Christmas 2001, up to and including Friday 16 July 2010, any summer visitor who bought... Read more

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Diary: An encounter with the Air Ambulance Service >>

The most interesting days are often unplanned, and so it was last Saturday, when a few hours were earmarked for a legstretch on Benvane above Brig o’ Turk. I’d last climbed this in 2002, and had been up neighbouring Ben Ledi 21 times since then, so a slight restoring of balance was in order. But only a few miles west of Stirling, the messy weather... Read more

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Get on your bike and look after your knees >>

by Lesley Riddoch Marathons here, MoonWalks there. 10Ks, hill runs, and the man who is going to push a car to the top of Ben Nevis for charity. One thing all these participants have in common – knees. So this is a plea on behalf of the small army of slightly crocked people out there (c’mon, make some noise) – why can’t charities organise more... Read more

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A muddy mess at Maddy Moss >>

In contrast to the Dumyat hill race – which enjoyed the most balmy May-evening weather imaginable – its near-neighbour the Maddy Moss race was held on Wednesday in conditions that were somewhat less than clement. It wasn’t cold, but there was a hefty east wind, the rain lashed sideways, cloud was clamped down and the ground was skiddy on the various... Read more

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Supermum’s osprey chick takes to the sky >>

by John Knox The first osprey chick of the season at Loch of Lowes has made its first flight. It was watched over by its proud mother, the 24 year old “Lady of the Loch”, the oldest breeding osprey ever recorded in the UK. Last month there were fears she would not live to see her latest brood take to the skies. But, as thousands of bird-lovers... Read more

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