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.
Plants of Skye, Raasay & The Small Isles
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The weather has been so good recently that I have been tempted out to wander on Raasay. Two days ago I spotted two plants of Glebionis segetum (Corn Marigold) in flower on a road verge near Inverarish. Glebionis segetum (Corn Marigold) To quite my own words (lightly edited) “Reported in oat...
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Following my last post I went looking for Knopper galls on the oaks near the Old Manse here on Raasay but as usual there were no acorns – so no galls (and yes, I know these are caused by a gall wasp not a moth) However, in the beech hedge there was a green-island leaf mine: Phyllonorycter...
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Recently, this Nettle-tap was on the outside of the house: Common Nettle-tap A few days later I went toward Oskaig to look for Ectoedemia argyropeza (Virgin Pigmy) on fallen aspen leaves which Seth had found on Skye. It makes a green island on the leaf: Ectoedemia argyropeza...
Scottish Islands Explorer
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Luing, one of the Argyll islands, is home to 163 residents who were in danger of losing their only post office and shop. New owners have been found and The Press and Journal has the story. The photo with reflections in sea and sky is from Mike Fenney Photography.Scottish Islands Explorer - should...
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Samples, possibly containing remarkable evidence, have been taken from a 60-million-year-old meteorite site on Skye. The incident shows how casual interest can harm vital research. See the BBC website account.Scottish Islands Explorer - complete sets are in demandDigital Edition: make impacts...
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Old rectories and manses have often been selected for modernisation as they were originally built in substantial styles. Why not consider the Orkney island of Sanday for acquiring a freehold property constructed in the late 1800s, with five bedrooms and plenty of space? The island has much to offer...
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The residents of Canna are not on the national grid for electricity supplies and have had to rely on diesel generators. Now their power comes indirectly from the Atlantic winds via turbines, similar to those on Eigg (above). The Press and Journal has an account of this harnessing of what is now an...
Made in Lochaber
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We're very excited to relaunch the Made in Lochaber! Made in Lochaber is a self-supporting group of small and micro businesses producing art, food and crafts in Lochaber. We've updated our website and added an e-commerce section to it, meaning that makers, crafters and artists can now sell through...
Marc Calhoun
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I am looking forward to setting foot on Rona again this coming July (see this link). So I was delighted to be told of a new website dedicated to the history of Rona. Here is what its author, Jonathan Machin, told me about his vision for the website:Rona represents one of the few true wildernesses...
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My last visit to Kerrera was in June of 2018. I discovered then that the ferry I'd taken many times in the past, Gylen Lady, had been replaced by MV Carvoria (an old Norse name for Kerrera). The ferry, now managed by Calmac, is still run by Duncan McEachan (see this link).Gylen Lady in 2017MV...
Nevis Range Blog
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Winter is Coming!! We had the first snow fall of Winter 2018/19 on the mountain a couple of weeks ago. Now we can’t wait for the snow to come!! Since then the snow has gone. However the frost is beginning to take hold cooling the mountain down in preperation for our first big dump of Winter...
Simon Willis
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Last year I became one of the Trustees of a newly created charity, Highland Openwater Swim. It's aim is to run small, friendly and challenging wild swimming events that are affordable to everyone while raising money for a nominated charity.I had been taking photos or swimming at most of the 2016...
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It's the time of year when most sporty-folk in the northern hemisphere start to take things a little easier. The 'off season' has rolled around. With it came the stark realisation that I haven't even had an 'on-season', and that hurts. It would be easy to give up.I haven't moaned in...
Minch Adventures
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Back in 2016 we created this off-piste, specialized and individual biking locations on the Knoydart peninsula that is accessible only by boat, providing a strategic drop-off point and pick-up on the remotest location. Mountain Biking trips involve a remote drop-off at Camusrory on the north shore...
Ardtornish Estate and Gardens, Self catering holidays Scotland
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The coming of winter means different things to different people. For some it’s Brussels sprouts, garish Christmas jumpers and office party misbehavior, but for me it is the opportunity to sample my favorite festive indulgence – a hot toddy by the fire. Time and place are essential...
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Ardtornish Estate – Woodland Creation Programme – Phase 2IntroductionIn accordance with the best practice guidelines relating to stakeholder engagement, Ardtornish hereby invites you to comment on its plans to further increase native woodland cover on the estate, building...
Highland Titles
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While Santa is smoothly making a list and checking it twice, many of us are struggling to tick off some of our loved ones from our Christmas list in the first place. We are convinced that a Highland Titles plot is the perfect Christmas gift (and we even showed you 6 fantastic reasons why) and the...
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Tis’ the season for giving! Christmas gifts can be true expressions of love and gratitude, making anyone feel special and appreciated. However, coming up with thoughtful gift ideas can be a real hassle, and you can easily feel stuck for interesting or exciting presents to give to your loved ones....
Kirkhope Mountaineering
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We are looking forward to the winter climbing season of 2019 and we hope you are too, we are also looking forward to seeing some of our regular customers coming back and having a laugh with them once again. We have seen the first few routes of the season done already and people are starting to get...
Craigard Croft
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On Monday, feeling the need for an adventure, exercise and a night out " Kilchoan Old Guys Expedition Group", (average age 67.5 years) walked in to Peanmeanach bothy on the Ardnish Peninsula for a curry and whisky tasting (lat / long 56.9/5.8). It's not far, about 4 miles on a rugged,...
