Wild Lochaber Blogs
The latest bleats from the sheep on the street...
Blogs (web logs) and blogspots provide a unique insight into Highland life and nature in Lochaber and The West Highlands.
We have put together a collection of Lochaber blogs to highlight the traditions, culture and wildlife in the various regions, including the West Coast Islands.
We show entries from the last 100 days, organised by region, topic and blog. The titles and text snippets 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.
Scottish Islands Explorer
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The Windhouse, Yell, is allegedly Britain's most haunted house, and tales about it are set to continue. Two skeletons, perhaps some 750 years old, have been unearthed close to the property and just six inches below the surface. Read the item in Shetland News and, if still gripped, the essay by Lynn...
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The Shiant Isles, in The Minch, look formidable enough in the winter light. However, this group wintered over as part of the RSPB's Shiant Isles Recovery Project with the intention of clearing the islands of non-native black rats.According to a BBC Report, their work is showing signs of...
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Orkney has been and is in the forefront of lifestyles. The ways of life and death of the Neolithic people there is examined in a BBC item; the increase in the amount of disposable income among islanders during recent years is featured in The Scotsman. The constructions above were state of the art...
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Seascapes, comparable to this one captured by Emma Smith on her way to Elgol, Skye, feature strongly in the current gallery of the BBC's Your Pictures of Scotland. View as soon as you fancy an escapade.Scottish Islands Explorer - water is a strong factorDigital Edition: arrives through the ether
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The weekend saw the opening of the R & B (Raasay & Borders) Distillery on the Isle of Raasay; yesterday afternoon the closure of the last bank branch on the Black Isle. The BBC covers the red-letter-day for spirits in the west as well as a black day for banking to the east....
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Here are reminders of the changing style of schools. The old schoolhouse on Isle Martin, near Ullapool, was closed in 1925 and the 'new' one (above) was built. It continued to be used (below) until 1949.Recently a group of local children were joined by school-pupils from Glasgow to help clean the...
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There is something about Glenelg - the place with the longest palindromic name in Britain - that has the feel of 'an island on the mainland' together with views of Skye. There are two properties currently on sale there with prices that are somewhat different. Knight Frank has Scallasaig Lodge...
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Yesterday's item on Cruib, Jura, brought out well over a thousand visitors, albeit to the blog not to the bothy. Take a closer look at several more comparable Mountain Bothies Association places to stay by going to a BBC Alba programme (broadcast on Wednesday 13 September...
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The Ruantallain Estate on Jura has 20,000 acres that stretch from coast to coast. One small part of it - the former stalkers' lodge built with stable and deer larder - was loaned to the Mountain Bothies Association in 2012 and is maintained by them. Cruib is south-facing on Loch Tarbert on the...
wondering wanderers
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Updated again for 2014. I’m leaving the previous ‘about us’ below which makes for a really long page but a nice reverse chronology account. The update below is from 2012, right at the start of our life here on Rum. We are all a couple of years older and very different people to...
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In many many ways life just now is feeling very similar to when this blog first started and we were putting together the plans for our WWOOFing adventure. Loads of emotions: uncertainty, excitement, nerves, anticipation. Lots of logistical details – back then we had the packing up of one life...
Alan Halewood
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3 day's mountaineering for Steve Fallon with MIA Trainee Kieran to assist me whilst working towards his Assessment.First up was a lovely day on the Aonach Eagach with Jay, Peter and Shona. The team made good time over the ridge on a relatively quiet day after the crowds of the Skyrun at the weekend...
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Just over 7 weeks since a blog post! A great month in Greenland... icebergs in light that seemed to glow with so much body you could cut it with a knife. A nice first ascent and time spent with wonderful folk. Since then? Up Tower Ridge and down Ledge Route 3 times, Curved Ridge 3 times (down Great...
Craigard Croft
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On Friday my Charolais cross bred ewes will be sold at Torlundy mart near Fort William. They are going for two reasons one economic and one personal.This year it cost approximately £50 to breed and rear a lamb for sale. It then cost £2 to take each animal to the mart and the auctioneer charged...
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This is our first attempt at a full length ( 1 minute) wildlife film with a musical backing.A condensed version of a day in the life of Peanut the one eyed pine marten in the Campbell's roof space. She comes home at about 6.30 am, squeezes between the roof tiles and the rain gutter to get in...
Marc Calhoun
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In the Nov 11, 2014 post I wrote that I'd yet to visit an Airidh na h-aon Oidche; a shieling of the one night. So when I was on Lewis in July I decided that the time had come to visit one. The 'one night' typically refers to some scary incident, or how someone died, on the first...
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In July I paid a visit to the site in Uig (Lewis) where they are going to build the St Kilda Visitors Centre. It lies on the clifftop a mile north of Islibhig. In WWII the site was home to an aircraft detection radar base, one of a whole system of stations built across the country with the...
Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles
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Following the discovery of Juncus ranarius (Frog Rush) as a roadside plant as well as a coastal plant on Skye by Ian Green and the Wildflower Society. I found it in two roadside places myself during my Roadside Mud expedition. Andy Amphlett and Ian have been finding it elsewhere in the Highlands e....
3 Wise Monkeys Climbing
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Comp Round 1 – Results Yesturday at 3 Wise Monkeys saw the start of our annual climbing competition series. We couldn’t have asked for a better start! We had 55 climbers enter the competition across 6 categories, including the new Super Vets category. Our new waffles made a surprising...
Glenloy Wildlife
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Along with the rest of the country we had an unseasonably wet and windy week last week – not the ideal conditions for our cetaceans and sharks holiday! However, we made the most of a poor hand and in the end had a great week with some fabulous sightings. First and foremost, we went across […]