News
Climbers' access curbs help breeding falcons
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Blistered snout sparks foot-and-mouth fears
Lovers of the outdoors are breathing a sigh of relief after foot-and-mouth-disease tests on an Essex pig proved negative.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had closed an abattoir near Brentwood, run by Cheale Meats.
47,000 web items no threat to Stagecoach boss
The hearing into a Scottish millionairess’s bid to exclude her land from the country’s right-to-roam laws resumed yesterday.Ann Gloag, the Stagecoach bus company magnate, wants to exclude the public, including walkers, runners and bikers from part of the Kinfauns Castle estate in Perthshire.Yesterday, Perth Sheriff Court heard from security analyst Andrew Ashwood who said he found 47,000 articles (should be 47,001 after this – Ed) on the Internet relating to Mrs Gloag, but none contained threats against her.
Welsh police warning after wildlife shootings
Walkers in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park are being asked to be on the lookout for armed trespassers.Police and park officials say there have been instances of individuals going on to private farmland in the Newport and Moylegrove areas and shooting wildlife.An authority spokesman said: "The widespread killing of vulnerable wildlife is totally unacceptable.
BMC hillwalking talk to tour country
Beginners and experienced hillwalkers can benefit from a series of talks being run by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) early next year.Speakers will be Helen Barnard and Ian Brodie and topics covered will include navigation, route finding, scrambling, weather and the use of Global Positioning System devices.
Vicki leads quest for Tom Weir tribute
grough is old enough to remember when a petition was something thrust under your nose as you tried to fight your way through the crowds intent on spending their money in the High Street on a Saturday afternoon.Well, not anymore.
Walker's body found in Lake District
The body of a missing walker was found by Lake District search teams yesterday. His faithful dog was keeping vigil at his side when rescuers found him...
Free Yorkshire Dales guide for youngsters
A national park is trying to tempt young people to sample its attractions.The Yorkshire Dales authority has produced a booklet detailing the best way of getting around the area either under their own steam or with others.Left, Ribblehead viaduct and IngleboroughThe free publication, What Are You Doing This Weekend.
Kinfauns: life would be madness without fence
It would be ‘madness’ living in Kinfauns Castle without its controversial perimeter fence.That’s the view of Stagecoach millionairess Ann Gloag’s husband David McCleary, who said there had recently been a foiled attempt to steal treasures from the Perthshire mansion.Businessman Mr McCleary was giving evidence in the resumed hearing into Mrs Gloag’s attempt to exclude the public from her estate under Scotland’s right-to-roam legislation.
Got a wild story to tell? Get your name in print
The John Muir Trust (JMT), the campaigning body for wild places, is running a writers’ competition.Entries, up to 1,200 words long, will form part of the Fort William Mountain Festival 2007.
Scots canoe tragedy victim named
Police have named a paddler who died on the River Roy on Friday.Steven Pullinger, a 49-year-old from Tunbridge Wells in Kent, was trapped when his canoe capsized and became wedged in rocks.
Date set for second Scots access-row case
Sadly, grough and other lovers of the outdoors will be denied the chance to see another sheriff traipsing through a millionaire’s Scottish estate in his wellies.Stirling Sheriff Wyllie Robertson says he won’t be making a site visit in the same way his Perth counterpart Michael Fletcher did at Kinfauns.
Good news on the midge front?
And now, here is the midge forecast: there will be 30% fewer of the little pests to trouble walkers in Scotland next year.This year’s cold, prolonged spring stymied the breeding efforts of the scourge of the Highland walker, leading to nearly a third fewer being recorded in the region and numbers in Fort William dropping to half the previous year’s.Midge expert Dr Ali Blackwell of Edinburgh set traps for the annoying little biters at 32 places across Scotland.
Stay away from Wicken Stones, pleads BMC
The British Mountaineering Council (BMC) is asking climbers not to exacerbate problems at a Staffordshire crag.The owner of the ERF rocks, also known as the Wicken Stones, is denying access to the site, which is on private land.
Youngest fellwaker completes Wainwrights
A nine-year-old Cub is claiming the title of the youngest walker to bag all the Wainwright peaks.Jordan Ross took five years to conquer all 214 of the hills in Alfred Wainwright’s guides to the Lakeland Fells.
Sea eagle numbers soar to new record
A Scottish conservation group is celebrating a record year for sea eagles, with 29 young birds being raised in the Western Isles.Mull tops the table with ten flegling chicks, while Skye has seen three hatch, although unseasonally bad weather caused the death of one of them.One breeding pair on Skye had three chicks, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in Scotland – a very unusual feat.
Man dies in Snowdonia fall
A hillwalker died yesterday after falling from a ridge in Snowdonia.The 46-year-old man fell from Mynydd Tal-y-Mignedd, near Beddgelert forest.
Wanted: climber with sign language skills
Mountain guide Alan Kimber is looking for an unusually qualified winter mountaineer. Alan, who runs West Coast Mountain Guides from his Fort William b...