I was up in Shetland last week guiding for About Argyll Walking Holidays and taking inspiration from all the beautiful shells, pebbles, driftwood and other natural materials you find whilst out hiking I decided to make a stone and wool pendant necklace. I am a bit of a magpie when it comes to pebbles and …
What’s a bothy and how do you spell it?
This blog has been written by Al McGowan. Al works for Aspen Outdoors Ltd as an outdoor instructor. He's a blogger, hill runner, geologist, Duke of Edinburgh's Award supervisor and Assessor and holder of the Hill and Moorland Award. Check out is website and blog on http://www.hillsofhame.com. A team of instructors from Aspen Outdoors Ltd …
Olight H1R and H2R Nova Headtorch Review
There are some really cool new headtorches on the market, chief among them are flashlights made by a company called Olight. Back in Spring 2018 I was fortunate to be sent two of their headtorches to try out: the Olight H1R and H2R Nova. With rechargable batteries, high levels of brightness and a delightful build …
OUTXE Powerbank Review
Having a powerbank handy to charge up electonic stuff whilst in the outdoors has, for me, become an essential bit of kit. When guiding clients in the mountains I use my iPhone6 for photographs, navigation apps and as an emergency telephone. Some of the apps I like to use are: Mapping software like Memory Map ; …
Sgurr na Banachdich
Sgurr na Banachdaich is a 965m mountain on the Cuillin Ridge, the most dramatic, precipitous, technically difficult range of mountains in Scotland. Along its 12km length there are 11 prominent mountains (munros) and a further 26 separate peaks. Almost all involve scrambling on steep and exposed terrain to reach their summits. Sgurr na Banachdaich, peak of …
The Mullardoch Round
3 day Guided Round with Murray Wilson - 28 May 2021 The Mullardoch Round is one of the biggest Munro-bagging challenges in Scotland: 55km, just under 5000m ascent and 12 munros altogether, four on the north side of Loch Mullardoch and 8 on the south. The round takes in the four highest hills north of …
Springtime flowers
Over April and May more and more plants, trees and shrubs come into the flower. Up in the mountains purple saxifrage is among the first to come into bloom and in the woods, primroses, snow drops and wood sorrel flower early. In this blog I have listed some of the flowering plants, trees and shrubs …
Making a Woven Coiled Basket
Last week I did a 4 day trek from Dunkeld to Blair Atholl, supervising a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition group. On the way I set myself the challenge of making a woven coiled basket. This type of basket involves threading coils of plant material together in a spiral. It leads to a basket that …
Ben Macdui
Ben Macdui is Scotland’s second highest mountain (1,309m) and is a big hill day at any time of year, but particularly in winter. Last Sunday (1 April) I met up with four clients with the aim of reaching the summit and practicing some winter Skills on the way. The forecast was great: cold air temperatures …
Murray’s Leader Rucksack
With the onset of Spring and the start of the Duke of Edinburgh's Award expedition season, instructors at Aspen Outdoors Ltd are sorting out their summer gear, thinking through and refining what bits of kit to take when leading groups in the hills. In this blog Murray Wilson talks about the kit and equipment that …