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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Yesterday was viewing day for The Shed, at Tokavaig, Isle of Skye, a property designed for her own use by the architect, Mary Arnold-Foster. It is featured here by The Modern House.Take a look at her work and locations of properties by accessing her website here. What a stimulating way to...
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Two of our most regular readers, David and Margaret Gartside, researched the internet following yesterday's blog. They discovered this Google image of The Windhouse. It, let alone the house, is haunting.Scottish Islands Explorer - has a low fear-factorDigital Edition: impresses with its speed of...
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One of our readers, Mark Stockdale, has sent in this 'atmospheric' image of The Windhouse, on Yell, Shetland. It is apparently among the most haunted houses in Britain. It was originally built as a laird's house and is still featured as being 'on the market' with Harper Macleod, a local estate...
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Digital subscribers received their copies last weekend; print-versions to subscribers started arriving from Monday; all retail outlets had been stocked by yesterday. So the May / June 2018 edition of Scottish Islands Explorer is out and there to be enjoyed. Do join in.Scottish Islands Explorer -...
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The atmospheric conditions at Uig Beach, Isle of Lewis, are captured here by Diane Scott and published in the BBC's Your Pictures of Scotland series. There is, as ever, an interesting range of photographs in the gallery.Scottish Islands Explorer - the BBC series always incorporates island...
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Yesterday saw the re-introduction of a service, last seen in 2013, for the residents of Benbecula and the Uists - daily newspapers on sale in the morning. Loganair's 07.15 flight from Glasgow to Benbecula brought newspaper supplies ahead of the times linked to ferry services. See the Stornoway...
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The Norwegian wartime vessel, the recently-restored Hitra arrived at Scalloway on Friday morning as part of the anniversary of going into service, 75 years ago, with the Shetland Bus operations. Full details are in Shetland News.Scottish Islands Explorer - in service for a quarter of that...
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The MBA bothy at Dibidil, Isle of Rum, was the destination of a backpacker whose blog is particularly well-illustrated. It also features on the cover and in the contents of the new Scottish Islands Explorer magazine. Copies will be in the shops on Wednesday 18 April, but digital subscribers have...
wondering wanderers
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Yesterday was our six year Rum-iversary. Six whole years since we drove off the ferry and started our new lives here. Over a third of both Davies and Scarlett’s lives. So many highs, a fair few lows, so many memories and experiences, adventures and lessons. A friend who no longer lives here...
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We had a three night trip off Rum back to the mainland over the weekend. The purpose was an orthodontist visit for Scarlett – usually about a ten minute exercise which unfortunately necessitates a three night trip off the island with all the expense and upheaval that entails. We are into...
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I have always been scared of dogs for as long as I can remember. My Dad tells me I was nipped at by a terrier as a toddler and I can certainly recall being snapped at by a German Shepherd as I ran past it in a park aged about ten although I was already scared of dogs by then. It has definitely been...
Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles
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The above is at https://www.tickettailor.com/checkout/view-event/id/157143/chk/4d16/
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The moth trap a few days ago attracted 28 moths including this micro that I have not had before: Agonopterix ocellana which has been given the name Red-letter Flat-body. Names for micro-moths do not seem to have caught on – I think I can see why…. This spider is, I think, Tegenaria...
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Geary Ravine is a plant-rich SSSI that I have not visited since 2008. This time I was hoping to find Saxifraga oppositifolia (Purple Saxifrage), recorded there in 1972 and 1982. I failed on this but did find Carlina vulgaris (Carline Thistle), also 1972 and 1982, and Hymenophyllum wilsonii (Wilson...
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Skye Nature Group walked the Two Churches Walk at Dunvegan on Wednesday. We recorded various invertebrates – molluscs, insects, arachnids, myriapods – plus some birds, a frog plus many tadpoles and of course I made plant lists. The pondskater Gerris costae Image S. Gibson The...
West Coast Mountain Guides
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Ken: For Sebastian’s final day, we braved the rain and made our way up to the East Ridge of the North Top of Stob Ban. Fortunately, the rains eased during the morning, and our ascent of the East Ridge was a pleasant affair, with clear views to the summits of the surrounding Munros. The ridge...
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Ken: I was back out with Sebastian, and working for Peak Mountaineering, today, and we decided to go for Castle Ridge on Ben Nevis. The day started off dry, but the drizzle soon set in, giving us a rather damp ascent of Castle Ridge. In these conditions, careful footwork becomes all the more...
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Ken: The weather turned out to be much better than the forecasts suggested; the winds decreased through the day and the rain held off. I was out with Sebastian, working for Peak Mountaineering. Sebastian was up in December, during a particularly cold snap, so today’s conditions were quite a...
Treshnish Farm
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The Ensay Burn from above.Traigh na cille beach with Ben More in the background.The Magnolia in full flower, before a storm blew all her flowers away. The Ensay Burn beach.Looking beyond the Point towards Calgary and Rum.Sunset.Over the headland towards Calgary.Sheltering from the wind.Putting...
The Rum Ranger Diaries
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Rum’s Red Deer, Walks & Talks, 2018 A summer walk to look for deer calves, and the usual October rut walks are running again this year on the Isle of Rum: Saturday 23rd June: Meet the Locals: A guided walk to Kilmory to learn about the Rum Deer Project and see the deer Meet outside the...