Active Outdoors

With the BBC’s Winterwatch set in the Cairngorms earlier this year, it was hard not to get enthused about snowy mountains and their attendant wildlife.…

The hills around Tarland roll rather than rise from the landscape, a feature accentuated by the sharp outlines of the eastern edge of the Cairngorms on…

With heavy snow and gales forecast, I wanted to get up a hill before the bad weather struck. My appetite for Torridon Grahams had been whetted after an…

Keith is in the heart of whisky country, so a brisk walk could be just the thing to clear the head the morning after a dram or two!

Weather can cause all sorts of problems for people in the mountains, not least during the winter.

Considering its nickname of Pudding Hill, the Loch Ness-side Graham of Meall Fuar-mhonaidh, seemed an appropriately festive ascent considering my mild…

They follow one after the other on the drive down Glen Torridon, a magnificent triptych. First is Beinn Eighe, then Liathach, their soaring rocky ramparts…

Despite years of traipsing to Aviemore to explore the area’s vast opportunities for outdoor fun, I’d never ventured up one of its most popular…

The Active Outdoors team have had another busy year exploring and experiencing the north of Scotland at its best (and occasionally at its worst).

Trips down the A9 aren't something I look forward to especially as the couple of hundred miles south to the Central belt seem to take up most of the brief…

I've made no secret of my love of this low-level walk that gives a glimpse into the awe-inspiring landscapes of Glen Affric, so it was a pleasure to lead…

Transporting my road bike out of Inverness opens up wider opportunities for cycling, but I always like to just jump in the saddle and start from home.

Let's hear a cheer for the lunchtime run! Sometimes I find it hard to drag myself away from the warm office and go through the hassle of getting organised…

Experience is key in the unforgiving environment of the Scottish mountains but it takes time to gain this invaluable commodity.

Twisting its way up through a series of tight hairpin bends, the locally-named corkscrew road at Inverfarigaig climbs from the shore of Loch Ness high…

The hailstones outside the kitchen window had finally started to melt in the bright sunshine, only to refreeze as the sky clouded over. The sight wasn't…

Inverlael is the usual starting point for a foray into the rugged Beinn Dearg group of Munros, with potentially four to be picked up in a strenuous day.

What better time of year to visit Glen Affric, with the autumn colours in full flow and the roar of stags echoing in the mountains? We had a long day…

Funny how things work out sometimes. You set off to climb a Munro, meet other walkers and end up doing three in a much longer day.

Beinn a’ Bhuird has been on my to-do list for a while now. Along with its neighbour Ben Avon these two behemoths dominate the eastern skyline of…