Ardnamurchan Area Blogs
Blogs (web logs) provide an ideal opportunity to explore the traditions, culture and wildlife of Wild Lochaber. We have put together a collection of local blogs and provide the titles and text snippets to give a taste of each entry with direct links to the main blog entry on the host website. We hope you will find time to explore the full articles and further information on the host blog sites.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions for blogs you would like to see here.
Craigard Croft
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Owlets 3 - 4 weeks old Adult delivering foodTonight it will be dusk at around 8.30 pm. if you wait quietly outside my barn you will see two adult owls swooping in with food for their young that hatched about six weks ago. Three owlets hatched from a clutch of five eggs.We have had a nestbox up...
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Over the years the Barrisdale bothy had a bad press....." The worst bothy I've experienced....infested with mice....garbage..... unclean.... blocked up fireplace".http://forums.outdoorsmagic.com/showthread.php/10593-knoydart-barrisdale-bothy-infohttps://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/hilltalk/...
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A little safer nowToday, Friday 27th April 2018 the European Union banned the outdoor use of three neonicotinoid insecticicides. But this still leaves some of them in widespread use including acetamiprid the active ingredient in Gazelle which is used widely in our forests to contol large bark...
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Forest industries in Scotland make a huge annual contribution to our economy through; timber growing, timber processing, employment in forestry, recreation and tourism. The forest industries support 26,000 FTE (Full-time equivalent) jobs and create an estimated Gross Value Added (GVA) in our...
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Back in the depths of winter ( 13th January) I perhaps rashly, posted a blog proposing that I walk from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through the Pyrenees along the route of the GR 10, Le Sentier de Pyrenees. From Hendaye-Plage to Banyuls-sur-Mer it's a journey of 995 km in 55 daily stages...
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If you have been paying attention to some of the recent posts on this site you will be well informed about squirrels and might now want to see someIt's the school Easter holidays soon and if you are in Scotland you can visit a number of Forestry Commission sites where you can see them close up....
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I first read Rachel Carson's classic, "Silent Spring" nearly 60 years ago in 1963. It's an account of the indiscriminate use of pesticides in the USA and their devastating effect on wildlife, pets and people. Today is the first day of Spring 2018 and according to French researchers, Spring in...
Simon Willis
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It is the end of an era for Scottish sea kayaking with the departure from these shores of the country's best known coach.Morag, Eilidh, Gordon and Iain Brown have emigrated to Canada. They're setting up home on Vancouver Island, another superb sea kayak destination. So as you might imagine,...
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That's Functional Threshold Power if you're wondering. One of the many metrics cyclists like, but one I'd previously ignored.While training for my Ironman and half-Ironman races, my coach steered me away from FTP tests. He felt they just tested how good you were becoming at doing an FTP...
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I've kayaked it. I've shot a TV piece about kayaking around it. So ever since a friend commented on this blog and suggested we swim it, Bowfiddle Rock was scheduled for August.Except we swam it on the last day of July.Still, I'm counting it as an August challenge completed. Access is...
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Photo: Ellen TaylorEveryone who messes about in boats or kayaks on Scotland's west coast knows this infamous stretch of water. The tide pours through the narrow gap between the islands of Jura and Scarba, and the seabed topography produces what's said to be the world's third largest whirlpool. The...
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This little camera rig allowed me to get shots I'd previously been unable to achieve.July is frequently a busy working month for me. Many events that are covered by The Adventure Show take place in this month, so I knew there wouldn't be much time for my own personal challenges.There is a big...
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While working for the BBC, I filmed in the dissection room at Dundee University. The boss, Professor Dame Sue Black, wanted to go on television to appeal for more people to leave their bodies to anatomy departments. The doctors, anatomists, surgeons (and more) of tomorrow learn most from human...
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Day one, and if I look apprehensive, it's because I am.Firstly, I'm the only one swimming in a wetsuit.Secondly, my injured shoulder hasn't fully healed and swims over 1km hurt.But mainly because I'm read the bios of the other swimmers on this SwimTrek. Oh boy.Most had been swimming...
The Mingarry Blodge
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Many of our guests at Mingarry Lodges arrive by The Corran Ferry crossing Loch Linnhe to the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Just one of the many wee journeys across the sea awaiting you on your holiday in The West Highlands. The Treshnish Isles, Mull, Skye, Eigg, Rum, Canna and Muck and all within easy...
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To say that Polar Bear cubs are cute would be an understatement. They are very cute indeed. So when we heard that The Highland Wildlife Park's new arrival was venturing out of the den we set off on a day trip to the park at Kincraig near Kingussie to see for ourselves. The cub was born in...
Sunart Community Company
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Call for New Directors! Are you interested in helping towards projects for the long term benefit of the community? Do you have skills you think would help? The company has vacancies on its Board of Directors! Meetings are about every 6 weeks, and there are lots of projects to get involved in if you...
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The Latest News in May from the Community Company Call for New Directors! At a recent Board meeting it was agreed to look for some more volunteers to help the community company as we have vacancies! Meetings are about every 6 weeks, and as you can see there are lots of projects to get involved in...
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Sunart’s News in April Sunart Paths Network have now set three dates for working group days come for as long as you like. Spades at the ready! If you’re interested in coming along, get in touch with Izzy for more details. Sunart Men’s Shed are getting up and running. They would be very...
Otter Adventures
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For almost 40 years I have been involved in outdoor adventure in some form and have been teaching canoeing and kayaking to a wide range of people for over 33 of these! I have also worked in a wide range of outdoor centres across the country, led advanced trips into Europe and further afield with...
