
Finding the right way, for fun
A VERSION OF THIS APPEARED IN THE OCTOBER 2020 SCOTS MAGAZINE I have always thought of orienteering as something of a nerdy pursuit – all about peering at a compass and map. Surely yomping up a mountain, camping in the wilds or paddling a kayak is more fun? Actually,...

St Kilda, 90 years since evacuation
Robbie Weir 2006. St Kilda. National Trust for Scotland. A version of this article appears in the latest edition of The Scots Magazine. Pics courtesy of National Trust for Scotland. When Alice MacLachlan arrived on St Kilda in 1906 with her husband, Peter, the newly...

Goat gardening
This appeared in the national papers earlier in lockdown. Pic courtesy of Ed Daynes. By Nick Drainey One of the most famous pubs in the Highlands is having the lawn in its beer garden cut by a herd of feral goats during the coronavirus lockdown. The horned animals are...

Tapping into birch
By Nick Drainey The health giving properties of the sap from birch trees were recognised in Caithness 5,000 years ago, being drunk by humans and even cattle as the long, cold months of winter came to an end. Now, in the forests of Perthshire, the practice of taking...

CALLANDER CRAIG AND BRACKLINN FALLS
Falls higher up the Keltie Water near Scout Pool A version of this article is in the September 2019 edition of The Scots Magazine CALLANDER CRAIG AND BRACKLINN FALLS, TROSSACHS By Nick Drainey Length: 6.5km (4 miles) Height gained: 320m (1,050ft) Time: 2 to 3 hours OS...