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 …
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The Mullardoch Round
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 the Great Glen: Carn Eige (1183m), Mam Sodhail (1181m), Sgurr nan …
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 …
Tree Bud Photo Guide
In March, trees in Scotland start to come back into leaf. Now's a good time to study tree buds as they get bigger and begin to open up. Hawthorn and elder are amongst the first and oak and ash among the last to come into leaf. All of these photos were taken in Mugdock Country …
