Ben Wyvis in Winter
Sunday, August 31st, 2008Cameron climbs the Easter Ross Munro of Ben Wyvis
Archive for August, 2008
Glen Etive and Beinn Mhic Chasgaig
Sunday, August 31st, 2008Cameron visits Glen Etive and climbs the Corbett of Beinn Mhic Chasgaig
Time to tell Paul Lister to go…
Saturday, August 30th, 2008Now that the BBC’s six-part elegy of Paul Lister and his controversial species re-introduction scheme at Allade in Sutherland has ran its course in Scotland I’m amazed to see it is being networked on BBC2. There was recently a Natural History programme on BBC2 on Alladale, material that was obviously taken from the 6-part series - it looks like the production company involved is getting its moneys worth. However, despite all the free publicity I can’t help feel that the series, The Real Monarch of the Glen, has raised more questions than answers.
The real issue at Alladale of course,and one that the television series didn’t tackle properly, is Lister’s determination to build a 3metre tall, 35 mile long electrified fence around his estate, ostensibly to keep wolves and bears inside. The reality, and one that was clearly articulated in the television series, is that Lister wants to keep the public out so that he can charge for access.
Even a multi-millionaire like Lister has to make his project pay and the BBC’s portrayal of him was of a very frustrated businessman who wasn’t too sure what the priorities at Alladale were. Was he a philanthropic naturalist, driven by a desire to hear the howl of wolves in the Scottish highlands again, or a failed businessman, desperate to turn an ailing, degraded estate into a profitable leisure facility for the nouveau riche?
One thing became amusingly clear – don’t book at week at AlladaleLodge if you don’t like venison!
During one rather embarrassing encounter with his chef he first of all claimed the portions that were being served were too big. “Cut them down in size, to save money,” he ordered. He followed up that command by pointing out that venison came free on Alladale. He told his poor chef to forget about lamb and beef and serve only venison – venison curry, venison mince, venison lasagne, venison bolognese. The chef looked as though he was about to burst into tears.
Man management is clearly not Lister’s strong point and again, the television series showed a steady evacuation of staff. In an earlier episode some local girls worked night and day to open a huntin’ fishing’ shooting’ type shop in Ardgay. The day before the opening Lister turned up and moved all the furniture and fittings around. The girls, like the chef, looked ready to cry…
Worryingly, Lister portrayed a very clear contempt for what he labels red tape. In effect, what he was talking about was anything that ran counter to his plans. He is obviously a highly impulsive individual, makes decisions without thinking them through, and doesn’t like anything to stand in his way. Time after time he voiced his frustration at “bureaucracy” and “officialdom” and was less than complimentary, on several occasions, about Highland Council. I found this interesting.
If I was going to have to apply for planning permission to build a 35 mile long electrified fence than I think I might try and keep Highland Council sweet. Such reasoning, however, doesn’t appear to be in Lister’s makeup.
Ultimately I don’t think this series has done Lister any favours, other than give his plans massive exposure and publicity. Unfortunately, there are many who will grasp Lister’s ideas as a way of curbing public access and I’ve no doubt that many naturalists will support him on the basis that they believe there should be areas in the highlands set aside solely for wildlife conservation. That’s another argument entirely, but my concern is that Lister displays nothing but contempt for the access provisions of the Land Reform Act , the law of the land.
Another concern is more wide ranging and I can’t help but wonder how the television company that made this series managed to get away with riding roughshod over the BBC’s own producer guidelines, a set of rules that demand there should be equal exposure to all sides of the argument. This series, like the Natural World programme that went out earlier in the year, was nothing less than a hymn for Paul Lister, with very few opposing voices. One or two landowners voiced slight concern, I had a cameo protest role despite being interviewed for over 45 minutes and I know that the film crew interviewed an eminent naturalist who clearly articulated why Lister’s re-introduction programme was not a good idea. He never appeared at all.
However, as I mentioned earlier, it could be that this television series will work against Lister’s aims. I’m fairly ambivalent about his plans to reintroduce once indiginous species but I am very opposed to his fencing plans. And such plans, I believe, will be his downfall.
Lister’s manager at Alladale, Hugh Fullerton Smith, is making an appearance at the Mountaineering Council of Scotland AGM next weekend. I can’t manage myself, I’ll be working, but I hope the assorted mountaineers and hillwalkers tell him in short short measure that an electrified fence around a 35,000 acre estate is simply not acceptable in Scotland. Indeed, I hope they go further and ask him to pass on the message that individuals like Lister, who has no respect for the Land Refortm Act and its access provisions, and obviously no respect for other hill users, are not wanted in Scotland.
The next Adventure Show
Monday, August 25th, 2008Just recieved confirmation from the BBC that the next Adventure Show is scheduled for Sunday August 31 at 6pm. This show includes the Highland Cross event, paragliding, gear review on walking boots, a C2 kayaking sequence and my own Wild Walks slot. This month we’ll be climbing Ben Venue in the Trossachs.
Wild Camping in Scotland
Monday, August 25th, 2008
The recent petition on legalising wild camping in England and Wales has helped focus attention on the definition of wild camping, even in Scotland where its legal status was formulated under the provisions of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.
While Scotland’s access legislation means everyone can go camping, pretty much anywhere (with a few reasonable exceptions) as long as it is done responsibly, the issue has caused considerable concern for many land owners and local communities in rural areas and urban fringes throughout the country. Scottish Natural Heritage, the organisation charged with looking after Scotland’s countryside, is keen to focus attention on what constitutes “responsible” wild camping.
Backpackers and hillwalkers know that wild camping is all about being in a special place, getting away from it all to enjoy a refreshing and invigorating experience, but according to SNH the natural beauty of many of these special places is being seriously compromised. An increasing number of antisocial and careless behaviour cases are being reported at wild camp sites across Scotland. These incidents include vandalism, out-of-control fires, rubbish, abandoned equipment and pollution from unburied human waste.
Scottish Natural Heritage is now particularly keen to target casual and occasional campers who pitch beside accessible roads or lochs and help them understand their responsibilities.
While the majority of campers observe the “leave no trace” principles of wild camping some inexperienced or less thoughtful campers can be less considerate. Access rights depend on responsible behaviour, and it’s vital that people think about the effects of their actions on others and on the environment.
It’s worth remembering that Scottish access rights do not cover certain areas. Places exempt from the access code include: buildings, curtilage around buildings, and compounds; reasonable privacy and disturbance zone around houses; sports and recreation fields while in use; schools and the land they use; where you have paid for entry previously; building sites, demolition and engineering works; quarries and surface mineral workings; sown or growing crops including hay/silage fields at late stage of growth; golf courses, except to cross over them.
Everyone who goes backpacking should do so in a responsible manner anyway. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code suggests you should use a camping stove if possible. If you must have an open fire keep it small and under control and remove all traces before leaving. When disposing human waste, carry a trowel and bury it. When urinating outdoors, do so well away from open water, rivers and burns. Never leave litter lying around. Take it away with you and dispose of it responsibly. Glass bottles, cans and plastic bags don’t just look unsightly; they also cause seriously hazards to wildlife. When driving to a site, use a designated car park where possible and never block a road or lane, an entrance to a field or a building.
I think if I had my way roadside camping would be banned and I do have serious concerns that the irresponsible attitude of the few could affect those who go backpacking in a responsible manner.
www.outdooraccess-scotland.com
Try the Trossachs
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008We were filming a walk for my slot on the BBC’s The Adventure Show and, as in all these walks, it’s important to set the scene, to show the viewer where we are and say where we’re going. To do this I had chosen a lovely spot near the foot of the Ledard Burn, which tumbles down from Ben Venue in the Trossachs. The burn passes the very old Ledard Farm and I was aware that Sir Walter Scott had once stayed there to while working on the notes for his books, The Lady of the Lake, Rob Roy and Waverley. It was said that he worked by a pool on the Ledard Burn near the farm, nowadays known as Scott’s Pool.
Above Scott’s Pool and a tumbling waterfall lies another pool, overhung with oak and birch and framed by steep slopes of bracken. This is Helen’s Pool, where Rob Roy Macgregor courted his wife, Helen Campbell. It is a rather romantic spot in a romantic corner of Scotland.
Less than 20 miles from Glasgow it’s easy to discount the Trossachs as daytripper country, and I guess Sir Walter Scott overly romanticised it but up until the Jacobite uprisings this tumbled land of rocky bluffs and lochs, mountain and wild glens were virtually sequestered from the laws of the land. The clansmen who lived here were beyond the law and lived to an older system of self regulation and family loyalty.
A few lines in an old Statistical Account of the times suggests they were prone to regular “predatory excursions” on their neighbours in the south, usually on cattle raiding ploys. It wasn’t until after Culloden that the area began to open up, with artists and writers and poets leading the invasion.
It’s worth reading Scott’s Rob Roy and Lady of the Lake and it was good, later in the day, to sit near the summit of Ben Venue and gaze down on Loch Katrine beyond the Bealach nam Bo, where, it is claimed, the Macgregors once drove their stolen cattle back to their homelands at the head of Loch Katrine. Beyond the pass lies the Corrie of the Urisks, or Goblins and beyond that, in the loch, lies Ellen’s Isle, or Eilean Molach, the setting for Roderick Dhu’s stronghold. In the Lady of the Lake, Helen Douglas, the heroine, and her father escape from the island and hide in the Goblin’s corrie.
And beyond the literary and historic connections lie the hills - silent and enduring. Ben More and Stobinion, An Caisteal and Cruach Ardrain and Stob a’ Choin above Inverlochlarig, once the home of Rob Roy himself.
It’s easy to overlook the Trossachs and head for the bigger hills of the north, but there is definitely an intimacy about these hills and glens as though all the great features of the highlands have been compressed into one small area. And curiously, I would suggest that the pen portraits that Scott painted of the Trossachs soon become generic of the highlands as a whole. Well worth a visit!
The image is of the islands of Loch Katrine from Ben Venue.
Sutherland Trail images on Gallery
Sunday, August 10th, 2008
Found some time this morning to put up 25 images of The Sutherland Trail that Gina and I hiked a couple of weeks ago. I’ll be writing a descriptive route account for the November issue of TGO magazine and the route itself will be the feature of an hour long television documentary I’m working on for the BBC. That will be broadcast at Christmas this year. There will also be a DVD available.
In short the route runs from Lochinver to Tongue in the north-west highlands of Scotland. It’s about 70-odd miles in length but you can lengthen that by climbing some of the marvellous hills en route, like Suilven, Canisp, Ben More Assynt and Conival, Glas Bheinn, Arkle, Meall Horn and Foinaven, Ben Hope and Ben Loyal. My own hope is that it will become a popular trail and bring some much-needed economic boost to the communities of Sutherland, one of the truly great wild areas of Scotland.
The Sutherland Trail
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
If anyone tells me the north-west of Scotland has a poor climate then I simply won’t believe them. Last year my wife and I walked the Cape Wrath Trail in glorious weather and I’ve just returned from two more fantastic weeks in Sutherland.
During the past week I’ve been filming for a television programme I’m working on for the BBC but the first week was spent walking a route that might become known as the Sutherland Trail.
The route runs for 70-odd miles between Lochinver and Tongue and is mostly on trails and tracks with a little bit of off-trail walking and a few miles on minor tarmac roads. It potentially takes in hills like Suilven, Canisp, Ben More Assynt, Arkle and Foinaven, Ben Hope and Ben Loyal but the route can be walked as a long distance trail without the summits.
We left Lochinver a couple of weeks ago in beautiful sunshine, camped below Suilven, continued through the hills towards Elphin but cut across the east shoulder of Canisp and followed the river to Inchnadamph. On our second day the temperature hit 30 degrees!!!
We then climbed over the high shoulder of the Corbett Glas Bheinn and followed wonderful stalkers’ paths to the virtually dry Eas a Coul Aliunn, supposedly the longest waterfall in the UK. We then dropped down to Kylescu and stayed at the wonderful Kylescu Hotel.
Next day we wandered over the high route of the Reay Estate to Achfary, made our way to the bothy at Lone and climbed over another high bealach to Gleann Mhor below Ben Hope. Our last day followed an old peat road, the Moine Path, over the north shoulder of Ben Hope to the road just south of Tongue, close to Ben Loyal.
The route took us just over 5 days and was magnificent. I’ll get some images of it onto the Gallery in the next few days.
The images on this post are (above); crossing the high ground between Kylestrome and Achfary and (bottom) Arkle.
March 5th, 2010
