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A rubbish bothy weekend
Haven’t moaned about rubbish in bothies for a wee while, so indulge me… Went in to Corrour this weekend to change over the toilet bag, walking in on Saturday morning from Bob Scott’s and arriving just...
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Plans approved for Feshie Bothy renovation
Ruighe-aiteachain bothy from the south. Due for renovation Long anticipated plans to improve and extend Ruighe Aiteachain Bothy in Glen Feshie have been approved by the Cairngorm National Park...
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Bothy Life – countdown
Just a very brief post from a far flung outpost of the Cairngorms where the internet is frustratingly slow. For anyone who hasn’t already heard via Facebook, BBC Scotland will shortly be showing an...
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The legendary Aitken’s Morning Roll bothy ballad
The cause of it all: 70 per cent fat, 30 per cent salt, 100 per cent pure gastronomic bliss. The rowie, buttery or morning roll. Aitkens do them best. The more alert of you will have noticed that a...
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Farewell to the Sea Kings – a Lochnagar memory
A Sea King in action (not on the rescue described below) Just been reading a blogpost by Heavy Whalley, a retired legend from the RAF Mountain Rescue, writing a fond farewell to the Sea King...
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Cairngorms flood report for Luibeg and Derry area
Looking up Glen Dee across the flood plain towards Mar Lodge (not visible). 2015 ended badly in Deeside, with major flooding affecting Braemar and Ballater and causing damage to roads and bridges....
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Loch Lomond: a national park doing the dirty work for enemies of access
Looking across to the east shore of Loch Lomond, where camping bans are already in place. Photo by Nick Kempe This blog doesn’t often venture outside the Cairngorms, but recent developments in the west...
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A good clean-out. Corrour Bothy toilet
A box on tracks. Not very elegant, but a real mover on rough ground I want one of these! It really is a delight getting out to Corrour Bothy – most of the time – but one of these would be just so much...
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The pictureless post: monolith and a halo
There are no pictures in this post. There are, however, some of the best pictures I’ve never taken. It didn’t seem to matter on Friday evening when, struggling to make headway – or even to stay on my...
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Lochnagar… almost
Massive and still winter-choked – the cliffs of Lochnagar The great thing about heading for the hills is that even your failures can turn in great days. Last weekend I was bound for Lochnagar, to the...
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Winter is gone… Long live winter!
Looking past Cairn Toul and Angel’s Peak to the innermost recesses of the Garbh Choire Glorious! Absolutely glorious. Just when you reach that stage when the bite’s gone from winter but it won’t quite...
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Reviewed: Old Deeside Ways, by Ian Murray
It’s been out a few months now, but I only recently came across Old Deeside Ways, the latest book by Ian Murray in his fascinating series of books on the oral history of the Cairngorms and Deeside....
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Plans announced for Derry Lodge development
Derry Lodge – is a new lease of life on the cards? One of the most asked questions in Glen Lui has got to be “Aren’t they doing anything with Derry Lodge?” It hasn’t been occupied since the Cairngorm...
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Jean’s Hut – a lost Cairngorm bothy
Jean’s Hut in Coire an Lochain, date unknown. Of all the ‘lost’ bothies of the Cairngorms, Jean’s Hut seems one of the one most brought up in folk’s recollections. Not one I was ever at myself,...
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Faindouran Bothy back in business, complete with stove
Faindouran Bothy in Glen Avon. The stove gives it a heart once more After writing about a lost bothy in the last post, it’s good to be able to write of a bothy regained. To be exact, Faindouran was...
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Summer snow and rough waters on Macdui
A tenuous arch of snow is all that remains of a tunnel through the Feith Buidhe snow patch Macdui was busy on Saturday. When I reached the summit cairn there must have been at least twenty folk there...
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Under the summer snows
The Shelter Stone Crag and Stacan Dubha from inside one of the Feith Buidhe ice tunnels At last – the fabled ice tunnels of the Feith Buidhe slabs. It was a long journey. About a month ago I’d been...
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Crystals on show at Braemar Castle
If you’ve ever wondered what a Cairngorm crystal looks like in the flesh – so to speak – there’s a display of the raw and finished stones at Braemar Castle this season. Roy Starkey, author of Crystal...
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‘Finniscoor’: an endless feast
Sgor Mor from Carn Crom. From some elevations the long ridge looks quite dramatic, but mostly it’s the most unprepossessing of hills. When I was a bairn my father and uncle referred to it as...
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Derry bridge here to stay – and a new bridge for the Quoich
Erected as a stopgap, the Derry Burn footbridge will now be a permanent feature Last year’s ‘temporary’ bridge over the Derry Burn, near Derry Lodge, has now become permanent. And a new footpath is to...
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