Outdoors

THE latest trend to hit our shores is a Danish import that focuses on cosiness and contentment, here are five of the best places to achieve a sense of hygge over the festive season.

A SMALL loch near Aviemore has been named as one of the best winter walks in the UK by a British travel website.

THE nights are drawing in and the days are getting colder but do not despair! There are plenty of fun events around Scotland for you and your family to enjoy before the festive season kicks off.

AN exhilarating new video posted on social media shows the Aonach Eagach ridge in Glencoe in all of its breathtaking glory.

More than 70,000 people attended Perthshire’s award-winning light and sound show the Enchanted Forest this year.

FROM a single-arched, hump-backed masonry bridge built in the 18th century to the modern marvel currently under construction in the Firth of Forth, bridges have often served important roles across Scotland.

MORE than £30,000 of investment has been used to improve footpaths in Balloch Country Park, allowing families and other walkers to safely explore the Whinney Hill Woods where they can enjoy stunning views of Loch Lomond.

OVER 1,100 runners switched on their head torches this weekend to take on the Scottish Illuminator Run at Glen Tanar Estate in Royal Deeside.

A Danish billionaire is on the verge of becoming the largest landowner in Scotland.

If you’ve ever doubted how much chaos rip currents cause along the British coast each year, try doing a Google video search for “RNLI and rip currents”. Then take your pick from “Family of five rescued from rip current by RNLI lifeguards in Devon”; “Boy heard screaming for help rescued from rip current by lifeguard”; “RNLI lifeguards rescue 24 people from rip currents in Croyde Bay”; and “Six people caught in a rip current at Widemouth beach rescued by lifeguard”. And that’s just a small sample from the first page of the search results. Thanks to the fact that lifeguards now seem to have GoPro cameras fixed to the decks of their rescue boards as standard, the internet must have almost as many films of exhausted, bedraggled-looking people being hauled from the water and paddled back to safety as it does funny clips of cats falling off kitchen surfaces.

Want to enjoy the great outdoors? Don’t miss out on the autumn discovery pack available from the Woodland Trust.

SCOTLAND has a wealth of great visitor attractions and thankfully many of them are free, here are 25 of the best.

The history of Scotland’s woods are soaked in mystery, bloodshed and strange goings on. Where better to have a genuine fright night on All Hallow’s Eve? Forestry Commission Scotland has published an essential guide to the dark happenings of our woodland, should you need any convincing.

Scotland is a breathtaking country which is why tourists, film-makers, authors and locals are constantly inspired and amazed by its landscape and scenery. We’ve selected 18 photos that showcase Scotland’s beauty.

A MEMBER of the Arran Mountain Rescue Team has captured a spectacular photograph of a Brocken Spectre while on patrol on Mullach Buidhe.

A campaign to restore a century-old boathouse where Olympic gold medalist Katherine Grainger first tried out rowing has won a £1.2 million lottery boost.

IT’S not just the kids who can have fun this Halloween, instead of the usual trick or treating or costume parties, why not try out some of these thrilling events.

TEAMING up with iconic band Skipinnish, Calmac have launched an innovative new film exploring its enduring role at the heart of Scotland’s west coast, as part of the launch of their new Your West Coast campaign

DANNY MacAskill’s latest film – entitled Wee Day Out – took him to farms, estates, forests, riverbanks and railways around Scotland and is the latest in a string of hit videos for the stunt cycling star.