This blog is about animal tracks and signs in the snow. I have been building up my photographs over time and I think I've enough now share them. Most of them I am pretty confident about but others less so... I can't distinguish between the tracks of a Crested Tit and Coal Tit for example …
Category: Winter
Pyrenees Snowshoe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
Right now I'm in Barcelona, resting up and taking time to write a blog about a fantastic week snowshoeing in the French Pyrenees with Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award participants from Shrewsbury School. This week's qualifying expedition was the culmination of 18 months of planning and preparation. The expedition team began their training exactly a …
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Making Ice Cream on Meall a’Bhuiridh
Saturday was looking to be a pretty special day weatherwise with sunshine, cold temperatures, little wind and complete snow cover. Fantastic winter hillwalking conditions like that don't fall on a weekend all that often in Scotland so I was keen to get out and enjoy the hills. Me, Hua and Ainslie decided upon Glencoe and …
Kangoo Vanlife
So I got a van. I wasn't gonna. It wasn't for me. Who'd want to stay in a van when you could be in a hammock or tent close to nature? Well.. with winter approaching, my second winter season guiding full time, I reflected on the prospect of 'the choice'. The choice arises from having …
Winter Hillwalking on the Grey Corries
November and December are a quieter time of year for me, time for catching up with friends and some personal hillwalking adventures. I'd arranged to meet my friend Jon Foden (Nettle) on December the 4th for a day on the hill. He's a man of many talents: a paramedic, marine, ski-mountaineer, climber, mountain biker, fell …
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 …
Snowshoe Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Expedition
This February six 17 year olds from Shrewsbury School became Duke of Edinburgh's Award pioneers, undertaking the first ever snowshoe expedition. Normally expeditions happen between March and October, avoiding the winter. Our expedition however, after a great deal of planning and preperation, took place high in the snowy Cairngorm mountains in February. Here is an account …
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What to take for a winter hillwalk?
Here's an overview of my winter kit for hillwalking in Scotland. In working out what works for me I learnt alot from others, particularly instructors at Glenmore Lodge, Scotland's National Outdoor Training Centre. This blog article is intended to give you ideas so you can decide what winter kit and equipment works for you. There are …
The Coldest Bothy in Scotland
Bothies vary a great deal in terms of cozieness. I like to apply the following criteria in determining whether a bothy has that 'hygge' feel: First, does it have a fire place? If it doesn't - Carnmore in Fisherfield or Callater Stables in the Eastern Cairngorms are examples - then it doesn't get of the …
Sunrise on Snowy Ben Venue
The forecast for Sunday was to be still, cold and sunny. With snow covering the mountains there was a prospect of fantastic wintery views. So I left the house at 6am with a plan to catch sunrise on Ben Venue, at around 8:38am. Ben Venue is a popular hill in the Trossachs. Most people either …
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