Gaping Gill winch operates this weekend

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Sheriff visits Snowie estate at centre of access row

A sheriff has taken a walk through a Stirlingshire estate to see at first hand land at the centre of a right-to-roam controversy.Sheriff Andrew Cubie took a hike along with members of the Ramblers’ Association and estate owner Euan Snowie, who wants to exclude the public from 40 acres of his Boquhan land.

Henry back in Speyside love nest

A quick update for grough readers addicted to the soap opera which continues in Speyside.Two-timing EJ has welcomed back her old flame Henry and the couple are now nurturing two issues, the fruit of their union, after Henry barbarously kicked VS’s clutch out of the family roost.Yes, the ospreys of Loch Garten continue their saga of love, betrayal, violence and loose morals, with the happier news that rock-steady fish-catcher Henry is installed back in the nest after dashing his love rival’s eggs on the ground.

Fellsman Hike: Hartell makes it ten

Ultra-long-distance expert Mark Hartell put his stamp on the Fellsman Hike this weekend with an emphatic tenth win to equal the record number of firsts.He topped the list of 154 hardy hikers who completed the gruelling 62-mile course over some of the toughest terrain in the Yorkshire Dales, in weather ranging from torrential rain to bright sunshine.Read our account of this annual bog-trotting, fell-conquering festival of endurance, with pictures from the event.Winner Mark Hartell approaches the final checkpoint at Yarnbury See our collection of Fellsman Hike photographs at our photosales website .

PM's home centre of criminal-trespass row

A campaign group has succeeded in forcing the Home Office into a U-turn on a law which would have banned the public from right-to-roam land near the Prime Minister’s country home.The land, at Beacon Hill, half a mile from Chequers in Buckinghamshire, had been included in controversial regulations which would have meant walkers risked being arrested for venturing on to access land.The Open Spaces Society (OSS) spotted that a parliamentary order made it a criminal offence to walk on Beacon Hill, which overlooks the Elizabethan mansion which has been the official residence of premiers since 1921.

Lakeland incidents cause rescuers concern

Rescuers say fellwalkers should make sure they can find their way before venturing on to the Lakeland mountains.They have raised concerns about the increase in incidents, including a death and a serious injury in the past week.

?2m campaign to take Lakes upmarket

Tourism bosses in the Lake District have hired an agency to take the region upmarket.Cumbria will now be marketed as a destination aimed at ‘chic seekers’ looking for a sophisticated weekend away.Quite what the ABC1s will make of the thousands of Gore-Tex-clad walkers and climbers traipsing through their upmarket playground remains to be seen.

Three Peaks: take three

Our third batch of photographs from the Three Peaks Race is now uploaded. You can see the collection by clicking here. You can also order pictures fro...

Brit climber's Everest burial trip

The skewed ethics of high-altitude mountaineering are back under the microscope as British climber Ian Woodall returns to Mount Everest to bury the bodies of three people who perished there.Woodall attracted flak for leaving American climber Francys Arsentiev dying on the Himalayan peak.