Outdoors
Jonathan Trew: Different acts of union
FROM same-sex marriage to the future of the United Kingdom, the various definitions of union have been in the news lately. Acts of union are also at the heart of many events taking place under the umbrella of this year’s Glasgay!
Roger Cox: The secret to sea kayaking is knowing when to stay at home, according to this well-seasoned expert
SIMON Willis’s book, The Scottish Sea Kayak Trail, gives me what I call the risk versus reward shivers. It’s the feeling I get when I see a picture of a surfer riding a giant, perfect wave, or of a skier about to leap off a cornice into a steep, deep, powder run.
Outdoors: Otter spotter
IF YOU want to see river otters, you will need to get up early and know where to look
Shooting and fishing: Of all the tagged woodcock from the UK, Rocket has ventured the furthest north
IT IS more than likely that Rocket, my adopted woodcock, is a daddy by now, according to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Walk of the Week: Glen Dochart
THE Kirkton Glen, Balquhidder to Glen Dochart public footpath, generously signposted as 7 miles, is 6 miles at most. With the 580m mid-point offset by a starting height at either end of circa 140m, that makes for an easy 3-hour outing – ideal during the stalking season and/or when it’s too blustery for the high tops.
Shooting and fishing: Custom dictates Sunday is the day you give killing a rest
WE HAD two friends passing through after fishing the Helmsdale for a week and, like most people who fish the Helmsdale, they were thoroughly pleased with themselves, because they had 17 fish in the week. That’s the Helmsdale for you.
Roger Cox: It’s ridden the crest of a wave for a while, but it’s the end of an era for the Thurso Coldwater Classic
Unhappy news reached Four Seasons this week from Daan Meijer, European marketing manager for US-based surf clobber brand O’Neill: the Thurso Coldwater Classic, the surfing competition that has drawn some of the best aquatic athletes on the planet to the north coast of Scotland in recent years, has been mothballed for the foreseeable.
Fishing and shooting: ‘Partridge chicks have to be transferred to barren wild birds’
To Hampshire in my smartest lightweight tweeds for partridge shooting, only to discover the day has been cancelled.
Outdoors: Wood pigeons can be a pest, but tasty as well
The ubiquitous wood pigeon is without doubt one of our most successful and adaptable birds to be seen in our fields, woodland edges, parks and gardens.
1 comment
Target paintball can be fun for the kids as well as grown-ups
It’s definitely not down this way,” declared my eldest daughter Eve. “I’m pretty sure it is,” I replied, through gritted teeth.
Roger Cox: Wild waves welcome Tiree Wave Classic
BOOM-judder-judder-judder... BOOM-judder-judder-judder... If you take the ferry from Oban to Tiree at this time of year, you can usually tell what the waves are going to be like on the island long before you actually get there.
Jonathan Trew: Fresh faces for a new season at RSNO and Scottish Ballet
AS KEATS and countless others have pointed out, autumn is perhaps a time for reflection.
Roger Cox: Just because there are sharks in Scottish waters, doesn’t mean they are out to get you. Honest
A few weeks ago on this page I mentioned the story of Andrew Rollo, who was “bumped” by a shark – probably a porbeagle – while surfing at Spey Bay last autumn.
Outdoors: Keep an eye out for sanderlings
It’s early autumn and I’m standing on a sandy beach near Ardivachar Point in South Uist. There’s still a hint of warmth in the air despite the summer’s end, but what really catches my attention are the numerous piping calls of waders, many newly arrived from their breeding grounds in the high Arctic.
Walk of the Week: Bein Eighe
Towering above the Kinlochewe/Torridon road, the four-mile-long west/east ridge of Beinn Eighe has as its central point 993m/3258ft Spidean Coire nan Clach.
Fishing and Shooting: Keepers would start walking before dawn to cover the 12 miles for the day’s shoot
Until recently, if someone had said “Langwell” I would have thought of either the estate in Caithness or the one by Ullapool owned by Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail.
- Celtic shareholders urge club to drop joint commercial deals with Rangers
- Earthquake that killed nine people in southern Spain was ‘man-made’
- Charles Green apologises to fans for revealing death threats
- Scottish independence: Row over SNP bid to ‘rig’ cash limits for referendum
- Fleet grounded after helicopter ditches in North Sea
- SNP party conference: ‘We’re ruled by a bunch of Snootys,’ says Alex Salmond
- ‘Who dares wins’: Cheers and boos as SNP votes to end opposition to Nato
- Scottish independence: SNP reveal no legal advice sought over EU entry
- Ministers bid to head off rebellion after MSPs quit SNP over Nato decision
- Scottish independence: Row over SNP bid to ‘rig’ cash limits for referendum
- Scottish Government urged to review smoking ban
- Abercrombie & Fitch: The brand might soon open a store in Glasgow, but does its 'heritage' fit the city?
- Edinburgh trams: £100m left in budget as council pushes for faster progress
- Fleet grounded after helicopter ditches in North Sea
- Earthquake that killed nine people in southern Spain was ‘man-made’
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Edinburgh
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 5 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: -0 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: North east
