TWO weeks ago I walked from the Scottish Border up to Edinburgh and the undoubted highlight of the route was the marvellous traverse of the high ridge between the Three Brethren and the Minchmoor, just north of Galashiels. Now some money-grabbing developers want to build wind turbines on the ridge, on the line of the Southern Uplands Way.

Campaigners recently climbed onto the ridge to mount a protest over the plans to build a wind farm next to the country’s only coast to coast footpath.

Hill walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers from Selkirk, Yarrowford, Clovenfords and Walkerburn met at the Three Brethren on the Southern Upland Way, above Yair Forest, last Sunday.

They fear the construction of 12 wind turbines at the historic Minchmoor and eight wind turbines at Broadmeadows, close to Scotland’s very first Youth Hostel, will scar the typical Borders landscape, which has inspired some of the world’s best-known writers, such as Sir Walter Scott, and deter generations of outdoor enthusiasts from visiting the area.

Community councillor Stuart Bell, from Clovenfords, who organised the hill-top meeting, said: “Not only will turbines be visible from our towns and villages, but the Southern Upland Way, with turbines along this section, will no longer be a tranquil upland route and the spectacular open view west from the Three Brethren will be gone, at least for our lifetime.”

The protest was organised following the announcement that the Scottish Government Reporter appointed to consider plans by Swedish energy giant Vattenfall to build a wind farm on Minchmoor, which were originally rejected by Scottish Borders Council, has decided not to hold a Public Inquiry and instead base his decision on written submissions. And objectors are concerned that their voice will not now be heard.

Meanwhile, it is understood GreenPower, the Alloa-based company seeking permission for the Broadmeadows project, is expected to be heard by the local authority’s planning committee within weeks.

Mr Bell said: “We expect decisions to be made in the next few months on both these proposals.”

But he added: “Unlike many of the other appeal decisions on wind farms over the past few years, local communities feel they will have no opportunity to present their concerns in a face-to-face meeting with the Reporter at a Public Inquiry on Minchmoor.”

The campaigners claimed up to 100 turbines could already be seen from the Three Brethren and they argued the area should be protected from further development.

Mr Bell said: “The Southern Upland Way is identified by Scottish Borders Council as one of only seven strategic pathways meriting particular protection from the cumulative impact of wind-farm developments.

“An iconic high point on this remote route is the viewpoint of the three Brethren, around which SBC has proposed there should be a buffer area to protect the beauty and tranquility of this section of the Southern Upland Way from the intrusion of wind turbines.”

When this cash-for-wind scam started at least developers tried to be fairly circumspect where they built their turbines. Today It appears anything goes and my guess is that it won’t be long before we see them in our National Parks.

SET in the heart of the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Harris is a landscape rich in culture, history and the Gaelic language. Home to some of Britain’s most important wildlife, it is a naturalist’s paradise.

In this special DVD, first shown on BBC Scotland earlier this year, we celebrate the people who live and work on the edge of western Europe – from traditional crofters and craftspeople to those developing new skills for the future.

We learn of plans to protect the UK’s most impressive raptor – the golden eagle, and hear why the people of North Harris believe it’s important to own the land on which they live and work. We also look at some of the age old skills, from boat building to fishing to tweed production, and listen to the music of the Hebrides, from traditional psalm-singing to the heart moving songs of the Gael.

Above all we learn that Harris is an island of immense natural beauty with a strong and ambitious community, determined to protect the old traditions while embracing the benefits of twenty-first century life.

The 60 min DVD is available now from the SHOP on this website

I’M delighted to say that our DVD of The Hebridean Trail, first shown on BBC Scotland last December, is now on sale.

This is an account of a bike and hike trip through the length of the Outer Isles, from Vatersay in the south to the Butt of Lewis in the north, a journey in which I climbed a number of great hills, followed some new long distance trails, and met a number of local folk who painted a fascinating picture of life on the Outer Isles.

I visited a number of ancient sites too, from castles to the Callanish standing stones, archives of a land that positively reeks of history. Check it out in the SHOP section of the website.

I popped along to a meeting organised by Kincraig Community Council the other night. The gathering was to try and gauge local feeling about the proposed Allt Duinne windfarm which, if it goes ahead, will see thirty one 125m wind turbines erected on land within 3 miles of Kincraig and within a mile of the boundary of the Cairngorms National Park.

Representatives of the developers, RWE npower, were present and a PR type girl gave a fairly slick presentation about the proposed development. She very much concentrated on the fact the turbines wouldn’t be seen from Kingussie, Kincraig or Aviemore, but did admit they would be visible from some far flung high points of the National Park. She showed some fuzzy photographs to show how small the turbines looked from say, Cairn Gorm, but didn’t offer any images taken from closer at hand, for example from the popular Corbetts of Carn an Fhreiceadain or Geal Charn Mor, or from the Glen Feshie Munros.

One of the technical team, who looks after the nearby Farr windfarm, when questioned about capacity, mentioned that his windfarm was producing an output of some 37-40% capacity. This was picked up by a colleague of mine, Iain Ramage, who queried the figure. The technician was, at first, adamant it was the correct figure, but when it became obvious that Iain knew something about windfarm generating capacity he stuttered and muttered a bit, said something about not being able to pull the correct figures out of the air, and promised to send the most up to date figures on to Iain later.

I find it extraordinary that someone running a windfarm can’t quote the current output capacity correctly, and I suspect he did pull the figures out of the air. It’s extremely unlikely that the Farr development is producing that kind of capacity. Research published this week by Stuart Young Consulting, with support from the John Muir Trust, concludes that the average power output of wind turbines across Scotland is well below the rates often claimed by industry and government.

For numerous extended periods of time all the wind turbines in Scotland linked to the National Grid muster less than 20MW of energy - that’s enough power for a mere 6,667 households to boil their kettles for a cup of tea.

Helen McDade, head of policy at the John Muir Trust, the U.K. ’s leading wild land conservation charity, said: “This report is a real eye opener for anyone who’s been wondering just how much power Scotland is getting from the fleet of wind turbines that have taken over many of our most beautiful mountains and hillsides. The answer appears to be not enough, and much less than is routinely claimed.”

In actual fact, the average output from wind was 27.18% of metered capacity in 2009, 21.14% in 2010, and 24.08% between November 2008 and December 2010 inclusive. It’s highly unlikely than the Farr windfarm is producing between 37and 40% capacity and the figures suggested of what the output from the Allt Duinne scheme could be should be taken with a very small pinch of salt.

Sadly, many of those at the Kincraig meeting were taken in by the developers’ hype, and although some good questions were raised by members of the public the chairman, from the community council presumably, didn’t allow enough time for proper debate. When asked why 80% of Norways’ wind turbines now stand idle, because that country has virtually given up on wind, the representative of the developer said, “But it’s windier in Scotland than it is in Norway.” According to the Stuart Young report, it obviously isn’t.

Another very relevant question, from local worthy Cameron Ormiston, asked who was paying for all the hand-outs to the community and the local landowners, went completely unanswered, thanks to a rather one-sided chairing of the meeting. At the end of the night support, by a very slim majority, went to the developer, with a large number of folk indicating that they hadn’t made their mind up yet. Sadly, that slim majority will be used by the developer to suggest they have won public opinion and if that is the case, then misinformation, or lies if you’d rather call it that, fooled those supporting the scheme. It was a rather depressing evening.

IT turned out to be a much more enjoyable walk than I’d expected. As someone who regularly backpacks in the wilds of the highlands I was a little worried about tramping round agricultural fields and trying to find somewhere to camp close to towns and villages. It not only turned out well but I discovered lots of places I want to return to, and I’ve realised the full value of Core Path Networks.

After a train and a couple of buses I spent the first night in the very comfortable Border Hotel in Kirk Yetholm. The staff assumed I was heading off on the Pennine Way, for this is the traditional finish to the PW, but I told them I was heading north, not south. A good first day took me over the delightful Wideopen Hill, past Morebattle (too much road walking) and on past Harestanes where I camped on the old Roman Road of Dere Street.

The first couple of days were spent on the very well signposted St Cuthbert’s Way as far as Melrose. Then it was the Southern Upland Way for a day or so into Galashiels, over the hill to Yair Bridge, then up and over the delightful Minchmoor, always a favourite walk. Camped in the forest to get a bit of shelter from gale force winds then

I’m delighted to learn that Highland Council Rangers will set out on a 96 mile (155 km) guided journey through Skye and Lochalsh, following the route we published in our  The Skye Trail book, television programme and DVD.

Indeed, the rangers have added a section to our published route - they will cross from Skye via the community owned Glenelg Ferry and continuing for 11 miles (18km) between Glenelg and Corran on the mainland.

The route  has been refined and extended and takes in stunning cliff-top scenery between Duntulm and Flodigarry, the iconic landslip areas of the Quiraing and Storr on the Trotternish Ridge. The trail passes through Braes, in 1882 the scene of a battle between local crofters, protesting at the loss of their traditional grazing rights and 50 policemen drafted in from Glasgow, and on to Sligachan.

From Sligachan the trail runs through John Muir Trust lands, beneath the Cuillin mountains to Kilmarie and from Elgol to Torrin. Then via the cleared townships of Suisnish and Boreraig to Kilchrist, and out to Broadford, by the Marble Line path, a converted industrial railway track.

Two new sections of the route add another two days to the journey: first from Broadford to Kylerhea via the former cattle drovers’ road and then from the ferry slip at Glenelg over the hills to Corran, taking in well preserved Iron Age forts and the Glenelg barracks, reputedly built with stone robbed from Dun Telve, one of the two brochs in Gleann Beag.

Senior Countryside Ranger, John Phillips, said: “Building on experience gained over the last year with the Skye Trail, we have extended this world class journey to encompass more of the area we cover as Highland Council Rangers. The Skye and Lochalsh Trail offers people a chance to explore the area with experienced guides. The scenery is unforgettable. The geology, history and biodiversity of the area make this a journey well worth undertaking.”

I believe places on these walks are limited.  To book and for further information on these and other guided walks and events offered by the Highland Council Rangers in Skye and Lochalsh, contact John Phillips on 01471 820 526 (emailjohn.phillips@highland.gov.uk) or Sandy MacPhee on 01471 820 527 (emailsandy.macphee@highland.gov.uk).

And of course the guidebook and the DVD of the Skye Trail are available from this website.