Where would you choose to wake up on your perfect day?
In the North, somewhere near Kielder Water or Allenheads in Northumberland. Meg, my dog, would be there, too. Although Blue Peter took me all over the world, the Durham Dales where I grew up is the place
I yearn for. Our family farm borders the most tranquil spot in England, according
to research at Newcastle University.

And who are your perfect companions?
My wife Nicola and our two children. We’d have a car full of bikes, kites, scooters, and of course a picnic.

What’s your ideal meal?
Actually, can I change my mind about the picnic and have roast beef with Yorkshire pudding at the pub? We can have the picnic later for tea.

And favourite piece of walking kit?
A map, so you don’t stray miles off public footpaths on farmland. The number of walkers we find in our yard and have to tell they’re three miles off the path!

The Ramblers is campaigning against cuts to councils’ footpath maintenance budgets – what do you think?
I’m pro paths when people stick to them and follow the countryside code. Paths are fantastic for giving people access to the countryside, but consideration needs to be shown – such as keeping dogs on a lead when walking through a field of lambing ewes.

As a father of a young family, do you have any tips on getting kids walking?
Make it fun, such as creating a treasure hunt. It’s about having an enjoyable experience, not the distance covered. Nothing’s worse than seeing adults grimly determined to clock up so many miles, while the kids trudge miserably behind.

Are townies too disconnected from how the meat on their plates gets there?
On Blue Peter I filmed a nomadic tribe who killed an animal and then bunged it in the pot. But you don’t have to butcher your own food to appreciate where it comes from. Countryfile is now BBC One’s most popular factual programme, so more people are aware of rural issues.

You’re involved with many charities, including Grace House Children’s Hospital, the Dartmoor Pony Heritage Trust and the Mark Davies Injured Riders Fund – so what do you think of your Countryfile co-presenter Julia Bradbury becoming Ramblers president?
It’s always good to offer support and help to a cause you’re interested in. Julia’s series of Wainwright Walks was very successful, so she’ll make a very capable Ramblers president.

You showed an entrepreneurial streak as a student, touring the North East as part of a dancing group Disco Inferno…
I saw people dancing on stage at a Seventies’ disco night, and thought I could do that to earn a bit of extra cash. I set it up in Edinburgh, where I was at drama school, and discoed away. I’ve inherited an entrepreneurial spirit from my parents – I love a challenge, and I always have a project on the back burner. It’s the Northern way.

Do you enjoy a bit of disco music while you walk?
I’ve very eclectic musical tastes, but when I’m walking I’d rather listen to the birds and the wind. When my BlackBerry says ‘No Signal’, I’m delighted. I love being battered by the weather. I make a point of going out in the rain; you don’t know you’re alive until you’ve been outside.

You’ve trained as a gymnast so any tips for walkers to keep fit?
My tip is to run a mile a day and don’t commit to anything else. Keep your trainers by your bed, and do five minutes out, five minutes back, first thing. You’ll be superfit in less time than it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Interview by Susan Gray

Countryfile’s Favourite Places DVD is out now, priced £16.99

Like them or loathe them, mobile phones are taking their place beside a map and compass as essential rucksack items. Until now it’s been about personal safety and making calls, but for a new generation of walkers, mobiles are becoming a source of information – even when out walking. And a groundbreaking project by Ramblers Cymru is showing how this new technology is set to change people’s approach to walking in the future.

“A mobile is no longer just a phone, ” says Rob Hanna, Ramblers Cymru’s senior development and promotion officer. “Think of it as a portable computer serving up data. ” Rob and his colleagues at Ramblers Cymru are behind a project called Activate, which is developing a software application that will make masses of information available via the phone in your hand. In simple terms, if you have the latest type of mobile phone – a so-called ‘smartphone’ with high-speed internet access, such as an iPhone – you will be able to bring up not just text and images but also video and audio information about a location. You can even use it to follow a specific walking route, or what’s being called an eTrail.

“An eTrail is like a virtual guidebook on your mobile phone, ” explains Rob. “It’s not meant to replace a printed map or guidebook, but it will be better than a simple leaflet. We’re aiming it at individuals and very small groups where the information can be easily used and shared. ”

Ramblers Cymru has identified around 130 different organisations across Wales that put on guided or led walks, including local authorities, national parks and charities such as the RSPB. The idea behind the Activate ‘app’ (short for application) is that for the first time all this information will be brought together in one place – specific to your location and downloadable to your phone – doing away with the arduous task of trawling through numerous websites or visiting libraries and information centres. So, if you’re walking in the Black Mountains or the Cardiff area, you will be able to find out who is leading what walk and where at the click of a button, in both English and Welsh.

The process of collating all this data is likely to reveal some interesting results in terms of the prevalence of walking information in Wales and where the gaps are. But it will also provide the opportunity to prise out information from many varied and interesting places, so much so Rob enthusiastically describes it as “the mass trespass of the virtual environment! ”

In the long run, Activate meets the need for sustainability, too. Not only will it be a paper-free resource, but it aims to be financially self-supporting. Maintenance costs will be light and mostly met by the price of the app, plus a small fee that other organisations will be invited to pay to upload their information and establish web links. The project has received the support of the Welsh Assembly, and was launched at the Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale in August. A wide range of partners is involved, including Visit Wales, Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, and the National Museum of Wales. But its success also reflects the young and innovative team at Ramblers Cymru, typified by 23-year-old Activate researcher Sammy Milston. “Lots of people are into this sort of technology, particularly from my own age group, ” she says. “It’s reckoned that there will be more than 40 million smartphones in use in the UK by 2012, and without doubt it’s one way for us to communicate with and incentivise a younger audience. It’s important for the future of the Ramblers. ”

New technology, new audiences
Smartphones will soon make up the lion’s share of mobile phones in Britain and they’re already popular with travellers and outdoor enthusiasts, not least because they have a built-in global positioning system (GPS) facility, allowing you to pinpoint your exact location. And since you can combine this with an app offering detailed Ordnance Survey mapping, it’s easy to see why a mobile is indispensable for a growing number of people. Even patchy mobile coverage in rural areas is not a barrier for an app like Activate – you simply download it before you set off or go out of range and then bring it up on screen when necessary.

Sammy and her colleagues are convinced that this new technology will be at the heart of walking in the future, where a podcast (a downloadable audio program) on a mobile phone will be as familiar as the page of a printed guidebook. But they also see it as an important part of the solution in tackling growing inactivity and obesity levels in Wales, since one of the project’s aims is to get 10% more people walking within four years.

An eTrail network
If all this talk of apps and smartphones is a little bewildering, it’s worth bearing in mind that it’s essentially just communicating the same message, but in a more modern way to reach new audiences. Getting people out walking is still the core aim, and community and heritage are at the heart of each walk developed as an eTrail. Llantwit Major in South Wales provided the pilot eTrail, after Ramblers Cymru teamed up with the town council, Local History Society, and Rights of Way and Heritage Coast officers to develop a series of short local routes. For the most part these have been modelled on existing trails for which leaflets are now out of date or unavailable. They include a Blue Plaque town trail looking at historic buildings, wildlife walks along the Heritage Coast, and a poetry trail in St Illtyd.

When complete, the Llantwit Major eTrails won’t just include maps and advice on where to go; there will be, for instance, audio sections where you can listen to local historians talking about a heritage attraction you’re standing in front of. In many ways it moves the walking guidebook into a whole new dimension. “By establishing a series of local eTrails, a process has been developed that directly involves the community, ” explains Rob Hanna. “Our facilitator works closely with local people so that they learn the necessary skills to explore themes such as nature, history and culture, through local walking routes. At the same time, the Ramblers raises its profile and perhaps gets some new members, while leaving a worthwhile legacy for the local community. ”

Eddie Williams, a Llantwit Major town councillor, says that overall it’s been a worthwhile experience. “The project has brought together many different local groups and organisations,” he says, “and hopefully we can continue to build on these links with future eTrails. ” Indeed, minds are already turning to how eTrails can be rolled out in other communities, and how the knowledge and expertise within local Ramblers groups can be used to further the project. With a process or ‘toolkit’ taking shape, local Ramblers can be trained to develop eTrails with new communities.

It seems ironic that despite being a ‘virtual’ project, eTrails is destined to make such a lasting contribution to enhancing local heritage – not least because it will form part of a national initiative called the People’s Collection Wales. Funded by the Welsh Assembly, the vast archive aims to preserve and promote Wales’s cultural heritage by gathering digital content from a wide range of places – not just museums and libraries, but local groups, individuals and community-led projects like eTrails, too. Eventually you’ll be able to search online for any aspect of Welsh life in the form of documents, photographs and films, with the chance to view virtual artefacts in 3D and even explore animated, reconstructions of historical sites. It’s cutting edge stuff, and pioneering projects such as the Ramblers’ eTrails are showing how new technology can deliver stunning interactive content at the click of a button. Forget the term ‘next generation phones’ – this is next generation walking.

Going Mobile: Walking apps and sites for your smartphone

Apps
RouteBuddy – www.routebuddy.com
Turns your iPhone into a handheld GPS unit with detailed Ordnance Survey mapping available, including all 15 national parks.
Peaks – http://peaks.augmented-outdoors.com
Point your phone’s camera at any one of more than 500,000 hills worldwide and this app will tell you its name, location and altitude.
Midge Forecast – http://2010.midgeforecast.co.uk
A Scottish-based national midge forecast that warns you where the beasties are biting.
www.GPSmyCity.com
One of many self-guided walking apps with maps and route description for cities worldwide.
Activate – due late-2010.

Podcasts
Peak District – www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/mftf/audiotrails.htm
The Peak District‘s award-winning audio guide, including maps, images and GPS co-ordinates.

Wainwright – www.golakes.co.uk/downloads/podcasts/wainwright.aspx
Listen to Alfred Wainwright guiding you around Helm Crag, Grasmere.

Ramblers

Twitter – follow the Ramblers (twitter.com/RamblersGB), its campaigns (twitter.com/HeartofWalking), or this magazine (twitter.com/walkmagazine) for brief updates on the world of walking.
Facebook – meet and discuss walking with others at the Ramblers’ (tinyurl.com/ramblersfb) and walk magazine’s (tinyurl.com/walkfb) Facebook pages.
E-newsletters – www.ramblers.org. uk/newsletter Subscribe, manage and receive e-newsletters from the Ramblers on walk magazine, volunteering and Get Walking Keep Walking.
Group walks finder – www.ramblers. co.uk/map Search thousands of Ramblers-led walks using the improved search facility, with OS mapping.

Castle Stalker

LOCATION: Appin, Argyll (NM920472)
AS SEEN IN: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). The iconic Castle Stalker appears in the final scene as Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh. Frenchman John Cleese taunts King Arthur (Graham Chapman) from its battlements – which comes to a bizarre end when police cars arrive to arrest everyone.
BEST FOOTAGE: Perched on a tiny island and viewed by appointment only, the 16th-century Castle Stalker is one of Scotland’s most photographed castles. Start the 4km/3-mile route at Appin and follow the old railway line that heads for Loch Laich. Crossing a pretty wooden bridge here will give you a great close-up view of Stalker. Once you’ve finished hurling insults (“I fart in your general direction!”), follow the coastal path west to beautiful Port Appin.
ESSENTIAL PROP: A pair of coconut shells to clip-clop during the walk. They’re not really coconuts – they’re your mighty steed, see.
FURTHER INFO: www.west-highland-way.co.uk

Sycamore Gap

LOCATION: Hadrian’s Wall, nr Bardon Mill, Tynedale (NY761678)
AS SEEN IN: The tree is the one under which Kevin Costner fought Norman soldiers in the film Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (1991).
BEST FOOTAGE: The best stretch of the Hadrian’s Wall National Trail to visit the spot starts at Cawfields Quarry. This 11km/7-mile walk will take you across rugged terrain climbing to 345m/1,132ft at Winshields Crag, before continuing to Steel Rigg.
Head past Crag Lough on your way to
the end of the walk at Housesteads.
ESSENTIAL PROP: Unless you have a Muslim friend who’s willing to let you call him Azeem for the day (after Morgan Freeman’s character), sling a longbow over your shoulder.
FURTHER INFO: www.nationaltrail.co.uk/hadrianswall

Alnwick Castle

LOCATION: Alnwick, Northumberland (NU187135)
AS SEEN IN: The Harry Potter saga (2001-). Alnwick’s stunning medieval castle is better known as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Well, the outside of it anyway. Blackadder (1983) and even The Fast Show (1995) have also used it as a (comic) backdrop.
BEST FOOTAGE: For a relaxing three-hour 6km/4-mile stroll sure to please Harry Potter fans of any age, start on the road in front of Alnwick Castle and take a good look at Hogwarts. Now follow the path all the way into the peaceful Hulne Park to end with a visit to the remains of 13th-century Hulne Priory. Well worth stopping off at Alnwick Garden, a multi-million-pound garden that boasts the UK’s largest cascading fountain: the Grand Cascade pipes out 7,260 gallons of water every minute. If the weather is just as wet,
duck into Alnwick Garden’s giant wooden treehouse, linked by suspended walkways, or go for a pint at the Hairy Lemon pub.
ESSENTIAL PROP: Make a magic wand from a fallen tree-branch.
FURTHER INFO: www.alnwickcastle.com

For more great walks at film locations, pick up the Autumn 2010 issue of Walk. Photos: Castle Stalker from Walk Autumn 2010 cover, by Adrian Myerrs. Sycamore gap by Mick Garratt. Alnwick Castle by Bob Whitehead

Films on Foot festival

For the third year running, the Ramblers’ London groups will be leading a series of walks around the capital’s most famous movie locations to coincide with the 54th annual London Film Festival from 13 to 28 October – and they’re expecting another huge turnout from the public…

Started in 2008 by Met Walker and Ramblers Trustee Eleanor Harris (left), last year’s Films on Foot festival was attended by more than 700 people.

“I wanted something that worked really well for our London members that would also attract a new audience to the Ramblers,” says Eleanor. “I spoke to the British Film Institute who endorsed it all and put us on their website. So we had [the film festival organisers’] backing and seal of approval, which was great, and the walks also featured in the Evening Standard, Metro and Time Out. We had a great turnout and more than half were new to the Ramblers.”

The 16 walks this year – all led by volunteers who are huge film enthusiasts – are between 3 and 8 miles in length and visit a range of areas, from Greenwich and Soho to the East End and Notting Hill. Among them are locations made famous by Hitchcock, James Bond, Guy Ritchie’s gangsters and British romcoms, plus one or two less known surprises, since London often doubles as Russia or New York on the silver screen.

Find out more at www.ramblers.org.uk/walkthemes/filmsonfoot or download our film-themed Routemaster routecard.

Where did you get your love of walking?
I’ve always loved walking. I was brought up in America and Zimbabwe [Jane’s parents were doctors], but we used to come to the UK once a year and stay in a family cottage in Wensleydale. We’d walk miles and I was regularly walking bits of the Pennine Way before it was designated. I hadn’t heard of the Ramblers then but I was a keen youth hosteller all through my childhood and walked the Pembrokeshire Coast Path when I was 16. I do most of my walking in Wales now but the Yorkshire Dales is still one of my absolutely favourite places to walk.

You’ve worked closely with Ramblers Cymru for years – how did that relationship begin?
Back in 1983, I started working for the Youth Hostel Association in Wales [as a development officer] and did an event with Ramblers Cymru, teaching people to make stiles and repair walls. Our organisations continued working together for years afterwards and later, in 1999, I was invited to become a vice president of Ramblers Cymru [Davidson stepped down in 2007 after being made Minister for the Environment, Sustainability and Housing].

What achievements were you most proud of during your vice presidency?
I was very conscious of influencing what my own party was doing about walking and was absolutely delighted that we put the idea of a round-Wales path into our Labour manifesto for 2007. I’ve also been able to strongly advocate walking in communities where it’s not a traditional pastime. Probably my proudest achievement was working with the Ramblers in our Communities First areas [identified as Wales’ most deprived] and taking a walk in Tonyrefail in my constituency. It was pouring with rain and more than 20 local people turned up in completely unsuitable clothes and shoes. But we had a great evening, and there were at least three or four who told me they’d never been up the hill which had been behind them all their lives. To get so many walking on a horribly wet day in an area where people do not traditionally walk was fantastic.

The all-Wales coast path is much more advanced than England’s counterpart – what lessons can England learn from Wales’ experiences so far?
We learnt a lot from the Pembrokeshire Coast Path when it was set up in 1970: that it’s possible to mix walkers and livestock; and that villages in Pembrokeshire, which otherwise only saw money coming in during the height of the summer, now see income throughout the year as a result of the coast path. Since then, the Ramblers’ own research has demonstrated that walking brings something like £68 million annually into the Welsh economy. So when we opened the latest big stretch of path along the Ceredigion Coast two years ago, many of the landowners we negotiated with already understood that it would produce a really positive outcome. There’s always some resistance but we haven’t needed to take any statutory intervention yet using the powers outlined in the Marine and Coastal Access Act.
Will the path be ready in time for the 2012 Olympics as planned? We’re pretty well on track at the moment. A number of new sections have opened over the summer – including a 47km/27-mile stretch from Gronant dunes, near Prestatyn, to Llandudno – and we’ve developed a ‘dragon shell’ brand to waymark the route.

How seriously are budget cuts likely to impact on footpaths in Wales?
I’m very, very worried about it. The Welsh government has actively prioritised footpaths, putting £5 million into ROWIPs [local authorities’ rights of way improvement plans] and another £2 million dedicated to coastal improvement over the last three years. In all, over 7,644km/4,750 miles of public rights of way have been improved with assembly government funding in the last two years, so a lot of this is at risk. I’ll still be lobbying very hard for funding to ensure that we can keep paths open, but we’re also very keen to create or improve multi-user routes. I’m confident the funding will remain for the coastal path since it’s a major manifesto commitment and requires another year of funding to take it forward. But I can’t be confident about the level of funds [for other routes] because the cuts from the UK government are happening faster and deeper than we would be advocating.

Is walking taken seriously by the Welsh Assembly as a means of tackling obesity and health-related problems in Wales?
Oh, tremendously. Wales’ government is the only one in the UK – and one of three in the world – which actually has a legal duty to consider sustainable development in everything it does. I have the responsibilities for sustainability and climate change for the whole Assembly, so I have conversations with the health minister about walking for health and the economic minister (who is also the transport minister) about making sure we have the appropriate community footpaths allied to road schemes. He and I jointly chair a walking and cycling steering group, too, and set up a cycling and walking action plan because I was concerned that we weren’t meeting a couple of our big sustainable development indicators. The latest figures from 2009 show the number of trips made by private motor vehicles increased by 7% and those by walking and cycling decreased by 7% over the same period. We have people coming to Wales from all over the UK because it’s such a fantastic location to walk and cycle, yet our own population is doing it less. You worked as a teacher, then as a youth and community worker. Is it important for the Ramblers to engage with youth? It’s absolutely critical and I don’t think the Ramblers has cracked it yet. There’s a Sustrans project called Bike It which places an officer in schools to encourage young people to cycle. It’s immensely successful. The Ramblers should look to do something similar for walking to reach the next generation.

What do you think of Ramblers Cymru’s new eTrails project?
It’s very exciting. We’ve got to use all the mechanisms at our disposal to encourage people to take up walking, and eTrails is a great way of engaging people through new technology. But I still think people need to know how to read a map and should understand you don’t need any special gear to go walking.

The Ramblers is 75 this year – any advice for its continued success?
As well as its traditional work, I think the Ramblers has a major role in advising and helping people understand the benefits of walking. And if it could make the next 25 years about building a youth walking movement, that would be a fantastic legacy.

What’s your favourite…

…city walk?
The Taff Trail from the valleys into the heart of Cardiff. It’s the city’s green lung, where you can see kingfishers and fish. It’s the model walk: flat, disabled-friendly and connected to rail links.

…countryside walk?
It’s a tie between the Pembrokeshire Coast Path – my first major walk – or Great Shunner Fell on the Pennine Way.

…piece of walking kit?
It would have to be my boots – I alternate between my light leather Brasher ones and modern Berghaus.

…view?
From the top of the Garth Mountain, where I live, looking north to Pen y Fan in the Brecon Beacons and south over Cardiff to Somerset across the River Severn.

…post-walk tipple?
Has to be a good pint of locally brewed beer, like Otley’s ale from Pontypridd.

Photography: Martin Cavaney

On a fine day in 1930, a mild-mannered accounts clerk from Blackburn took a bus to Kendal and walked out to Orrest Head above Windermere. It was a walk that would initiate a life-long affair with the Lake District, spawn a publishing phenomenon and – albeit rather unwittingly – inspire new generations of fell walkers to explore the Lakeland landscape. Meticulous and taciturn, Alfred Wainwright appreciated his own company and took joy from the raw, visceral beauty of the Cumbrian landscape. But, by the time he died in 1991, his seven Pictorial Guides to the Lakes had become the de facto walkers’ guide and his name was whispered in hushed, reverential tones from Brampton to Ulverston. If he were alive today, he would, doubtless, be horrified at all the fuss.

I’ve come to Wasdale, tucked into the remote southwestern fringe of the Lake District National Park, to mark 80 years since that first fateful walk by tackling Haystacks – one of Wainwright’s favourite peaks. Many walkers try the easy ascent from Honister, or creep up the back from Butterdale. But in reverence to the crowd- eschewing man himself, I’m walking a 14km/ 9-mile circular route from Wasdale Head.

When Wainwright first pulled on his boots to explore the Lakes, he wrote: ‘God was in his heaven and I was just a humble worshipper.’ I expect to be equally humbled by my Haystacks odyssey, guided by mountain leader Cathy Colam with her passion and respect for the Lakeland fells. “Haystacks is one of my favourite smaller peaks,” she says. “By walking Haystacks we start to appreciate how Wainwright loved the structure of the fells – he appreciated every lake, every tarn, every individual detail.”

Wild ascent
On a bright, dry morning we set off from the Wasdale Head Inn, leaving behind us the inspirational triumvirate of England’s highest mountain (Scafell Pike), its deepest lake (Wastwater) and Cumbria’s smallest church (St Olaf’s), for the 500m/1,640ft ascent towards Black Sail Pass. We make easy work of the grassy bridle path, local Herdwick sheep grazing the nearby pasture, and whinchats twittering around the trail with flashes of spectral white. By the time we reach the Gatherstone Beck, where a frothing waterfall tumbles playfully past and a series of water-drenched stepping stones form a makeshift bridge, the path takes us on a more rocky ascent, accompanied by tufts of honey-hued bracken.

We crest the top of the ridge and catch our first glimpse of Haystacks. Wainwright described it thus: ‘Haystacks stands unabashed and unashamed in the midst of a circle of much loftier fells, like a shaggy terrier in the company of foxhounds.’ In the high cloud and sunlight shards of the day, we can see why its knobbly summit held such appeal for him. Shrouded by views of Great Gable and Pillar, it is less uniform – a series of small summits positively inviting exploration, and with a variety of paths calling out to the fell walker with a taste for breaking new ground.

Small yellow-flowered tormentil and delicate white heath bedstraw poke through the stony path towards Ennerdale, one of the wildest sections of the trail, as we walk down to the Black Sail YHA. The severed heads of the conifer forest, cut down by the Forestry Commission as part of the Wild Ennerdale Project, litter the landscape like fallen civilisations. The area is being given over to natural regeneration with the planting of native species and Galloway cattle introduced to help regrowth. The deliciously remote YHA hut, however, is very much alive with its cosy dorms and well-stocked wine cellar. Assistant manager Steve Jones even keeps a highly quaffable Italian Poeta Merlot to reward the weary walker with the three-course supper.

“Wasdale to Ennerdale has a very special feel about it. You’re in the big mountains,” says Steve, showing us round the hut. “This part of the Lakes feels very remote, but people are increasingly discovering the area and exploring Haystacks as a peak that offers something new every time.”

Scrambling and serenity
The clear, stone path to Scarth Gap brings us to the top of the pass between the Buttermere and Ennerdale valleys, and our first human contact of the day. Groups of walkers, young and old, stop to contemplate the rocky scramble up the western ridge of Haystacks and absorb the resolve-inspiring views across to the Solway Firth. We sit and contemplate from rocky seats for a moment, too, while Cathy shares her years of fell-walking advice for the next leg.

“There’s no secret to scrambling. It’s just what feels right,” she says. “Try to keep vertical and, if you grab onto something, make sure it’s worth hanging onto.”

We make it within half an hour and find the summit surprisingly animated. So, in the spirit of Wainwright, we simply duck down behind a straggle of crinkle-cut rocks by the summit tarn to enjoy our sandwiches and flasks of coffee. It’s a perfectly tranquil spot with gentle air-blown ripples on the water, tufts of the flossy-white cottongrass and a single, stoic rock coming up for air from the water. Only the ruminating munch of butties disturbs the perfect still. Wainwright famously wrote: ‘For a man trying to get a persistent worry out of his mind, the top of Haystacks is a wonderful cure.’ Taking him at his word, I sit, watch the ripples and ponder my own place in the world.

Just below the summit, Innominate Tarn (left) is the spot that Wainwright himself chose for his ashes to be scattered. Dark, brooding clouds are brewing like a mug of builders’ tea as we weave down the loose-stone trail, but the tarn is perfectly tranquil with shimmering reeds and views of soaring Scafell Pike. Wainwright was cremated in January 1991 but his final Haystacks climb came two months later, when his second wife, Betty, his work colleague Percy Duff, and Percy’s two sons carried the casket up the mountain. It was a typically private affair.

It’s a steep, two-hour descent down to Beck Head and then, via loose scree and steep grassy folds, to Wasdale Head, where there’s a pint of Ritson’s Strike with my name on it at the Wasdale Head Inn. But, as Cathy and I sit by the reeds, the clouds part to reveal a shard of blue sky reflecting sunlight onto the water. The heather is in bloom and Pillar and Gable keep an unfailing watch. “Judging by all the rose petals in the water, this is not just Wainwright’s final resting place,” smiles Cathy.

For a man who spent his life avoiding other people, it’s a supreme irony that Wainwright may be followed into the afterlife by legions of fans in Gore-Tex jackets, all rambling towards the great white light. “Whether he liked it or not, that’s his legacy,” says Cathy. “He made the fells more accessible to everyone.”

TIME/DISTANCE: The 14km/9-mile circular walk takes around six hours. An alternative to the classic ascent of Haystacks from Gatesgarth Farm in Buttermere, the route from Wasdale Head is a more challenging mountain route. Paths vary from grassy fell to boulder scree with a bit of scrambling. Navigation can be challenging in low cloud.
MAPS: OS Explorer OL4 and 6; Landranger 89
TRAVEL TO: The closest train stations to Wasdale Head are Seascale and Ravenglass on the Cumbrian Coast Line (Northern Rail). The closest bus service is the X6, alighting at Gosforth, then it’s five miles by taxi (Gosforth Taxis ✆ 019467 25308). Or, from Dalegarth station on the steam-powered Ravenglass and  Eskdale Railway line, it’s a five-mile trek.
FURTHER INFO: www.golakes.co.uk/adventure-capital/walking-lake-district.aspx; www.pacethepeaks.co.uk
GUIDEBOOKS: Wainwright’s The Western Fells revised by Chris Jesty (£13.99, Frances Lincoln, ISBN 9780711221994)

walk competition
walk has two copies of Footprint’s Lake District with Kids by David Atkinson
(£13.99, Footprint, ISBN 9 781906 098988) to give away – enter now at www.walkmag.co.uk/competitions.

Last year I sold my car and didn’t replace it. And despite much weeping and gnashing of teeth among friends, loved ones and earnest strangers, I have stuck with it and become a public transport evangelist.  Inevitably, doubts have lingered and I’ve wondered where the limits to my new car-free existence lay. Could I, for instance, continue to climb my favourite hills around my Glasgow home with the spontaneity  and frequency I was used to? So, in a rush of blood to the head I challenged David Series, friend and guitar teacher to my daughters, to climb Ben Lomond and the Cobbler in a single day – David in his car and me relying entirely  on public transport.

Two-peak challenge
Climbing Ben Lomond – a Munro lying to the east of Loch Lomond – and the Cobbler – a Corbett lying to the west at the head of Loch Long – in a single day may seem contrived. But like any challenge it had to push the boundaries, and in choosing these mountains I hoped to test the role of the national park authority in promoting sustainable access.  For the driver, the most difficult part of the challenge would be the long drive around Loch Lomond, linking the two mountains – especially the congested road up the eastern side of the loch. For the walker the biggest problem would be the necessary seven-mile walk from Balmaha to Rowardennan. Setting off rather bleary eyed at half-past-six in the morning, David rushed off to fill up with petrol and I jumped on the punctual 06:35 train from Anniesland, the station nearest my home, and settled into a snooze.  When the train arrived at Balloch (on time) and I made the very tight connection with the 07:16 bus to Balmaha, I had high hopes of winning the contest. Disconcertingly, I was the only passenger, but the driver assured me that later buses would be  packed with ramblers.

In less than an hour’s public transport travel from Glasgow I was on the remote eastern shores of Loch Lomond and wide awake to the challenge. On such a perfect morning, the brisk walk along the West Highland Way (WHW) from Balmaha  to Rowardennan was no hardship and I blew away the cobwebs with the cool morning air. Despite David phoning to  say he was already making his way up  Ben Lomond, I didn’t adopt an unnatural haste. I would catch up later. The WHW has always been a popular route between Glasgow and the Highlands and has been used by walkers since the 1920s. Forced to remain at their factory  jobs until Saturday evening, many had to walk through the night and use rowing boats to cross the loch to climb on the Cobbler or reach Rowardennan further north by Sunday morning. Of course,  the journey had to be reversed in time  for work on a Monday morning or else  face the sack. But the risk was worth it  and it is clear from contemporary diaries that their difficult journeys brought an enormous sense of privilege. Walking the WHW around Loch Lomond, I too feel a real sense of privilege. A fresh air paradise of small pebbly bays, fine mountain views and ancient woodland – its allure to Glaswegians is obvious. But, unfortunately, greater car use, cheap supermarket tents and the increased publicity that comes with national park status has led to problems. The narrow and difficult road from Balmaha to Rowardennan is often overwhelmed  with traffic. And the beaches within easy reach of a parked car have become  favourite spots for drunken barbecues.

Dying sense of privilege
On one level I commend their good taste, but on another I have to condemn their abject laziness and lack of respect. Everything is abandoned: bottles, cans,  food containers, those tinfoil barbecues  and even their tents and sleeping bags.  Trees are hacked and the green wood  lies half-burned in fire pits. The national park’s response has been to ban wild camping in 14 square kilometres/5½ square miles of the eastern shores and corral it into designated areas.  The move has been made under pressure to find a solution, but it is one that could undermine wild camping elsewhere and the adventure of walking the WHW, punishing the well meaning. It  also rather misses the point. My contention is that the true problem is it’s just a little too easy to reach Rowardennan, which undermines the mindset of privilege and seclusion that people have about the place. It seems obvious that it is the loch itself that holds the key. An increased provision of ferries and a restriction on the number of cars using the eastern road to Rowardennan could be offset with the introduction of a shuttle bus service from Balmaha.

Ramblers Scotland also feels that Scotland’s national parks have to prove their worth by leading the co-ordination of sustainable solutions that enhance the wildness of the parks. Helen Todd, development officer at Ramblers Scotland, points out that curbs on cars have been part of the solution elsewhere. “This is the way that places like Zion National Park in the USA have dealt with excessive motor traffic and consequential damage. It’s time for Scotland to learn those lessons,” Helen says. “Better regulation and management of traffic along the road to Rowardennan would probably go a long way to solving the camping problems instead of blanket prohibitions on everyone, including those who are camping responsibly.” Ramblers Scotland is also pressing the Cairngorms National Park Authority to close the road that goes to over 610m/2,000ft on Cairngorm, and that the mountain’s controversial funicular railway should be accessed by a new gondola or shuttle bus starting from further down. The proposals have been rejected by Cairngorm’s local politicians. But in Loch Lomond there is recognition that new ferries are part of the answer, and there are plans to introduce new services between the bizarrely incongruous shopping centre known as Loch Lomond Shores and various points on the loch. As Fiona Logan, chief executive of the national park, conceded: “Water is a key draw for visitors to the area but Loch Lomond is currently an underutilised resource. A strong tradition exists, particularly with day visitors, of choosing to visit by car. But as visitor numbers to the Park have increased, so have associated traffic and visitor management problems. The provision of the waterbus service will  be a key resource in tackling this issue.” At first the services will be limited and relatively expensive, though crucially there will be no ferry service between the railway terminus at Balloch and Rowardennan.

A point proved
I made good time while I thumped out  my polemic in my head. However, still  some three miles short of Rowardennan, David phoned to say he had reached the  top of Ben Lomond.  When I did finally reach Rowardennan, I was struck – as ever – by the beauty of the place. A plaque placed on the wall of Rowardennan Hotel by the Holiday Fellowship in the 1930s reminds everyone, in a gentle poem, to take their litter home and the long-standing special status of the small hamlet among walkers. The late evening ferry at 16:45 determined my unhurried ascent up Ben Lomond, and I even had time to enjoy a beer in the hotel. The ferry was perfectly punctual and the journey a pleasant new perspective on the loch.  However, as I disembarked from the dilapidated pier, it became clear that the  gentle message of the plaque was no longer enough. I watched as huge tents were pitched, barbecues lit and mountains of food and drink were assembled on the  loch shore. Only a car can facilitate these logistics and in this case the car is clearly  key to the problem.

At Tarbet on the western shore I met  up with David again and, despite the long drive around Loch Lomond, he had completed the Cobbler climb before I had even begun and was now heading back to Glasgow. It would be dusk before I hobbled exhausted into the station waiting room at Arrochar, having cut short my ascent of the Cobbler just shy of the summit. But, gratifyingly, the 22:45 Caledonian Sleeper service – ultimately bound for London – was bang on time and returned me to Glasgow on the stroke of midnight.  David had won the challenge with five hours to spare. At 27 years old, he had youth and an engine on his side. But he also experienced none of the usual traffic jams or problems parking we’d predicted – perhaps because it was a Friday. “When I was climbing the Cobbler I was very tired and had to sing to myself to  keep going,” David admitted. “The 40-mile drive around the south end of Loch Lomond felt long and tedious and, rather than  a complete day out, it felt like I was climbing two hills.” Ultimately, I felt my day had been successful and far more enjoyable. At every point of my journey, each mode of public transport was on time, clean and comfortable, and I’d managed to (very nearly) climb two of my favourite local peaks in one day. Although I’d failed the challenge, my decision to abandon the car had been vindicated.

Quick guide to Scottish public transport

FERRIES:
Calmac (✆ 01475 650100, www.calmac.co.uk)
Sail to 27 Scottish islands and combine well with bus and rail services for car-free walks. Island rover tickets start from £48.50 and a pre-planned ‘hopscotch’ ticket from £7.

TRAINS:
Scotrail (✆ 08457 48 49 50, www.scotrail.co.uk)
Scotrail’s train services form the backbone of the Scottish transport network, and the Highland lines offer scenic journeys to the most popular walking destinations including Fort William, Aviemore, Fife and Pitlochry. Services in the south-west are limited and there are no services in the Borders. Two children can travel free with each adult purchasing an off-peak return, and there are often £15 anywhere returns for over 55s.
Caledonian Sleeper service
(✆ 08457 55 00 33, www.scotrail.co.uk/caledoniansleeper)
The sleeper visits Inverness and Fort William, so you can go to sleep in London and wake up in the Highlands. From £19 one way.

COACHES:
Scottish Citylink
(✆ 0871 266 33 33, www.citylink.co.uk)
Buses that go where the train doesn’t, including Skye, Ullapool and Kintyre.

TRAVEL INFO:
Traveline Scotland
(✆ 0871 200 22 33, www.travelinescotland.com)
An excellent resource when it comes to planning journeys involving several modes of public transport.

GLASGOW:
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (✆ 0845 601 6499, www.spt.co.uk)
Co-ordinates travel in an extensive area around Glasgow, offering the integrated Daytripper ticket that’s ideal for walking linear routes. It allows unlimited travel on trains, most buses as well as the Helensburgh-Kilcreggan-Greenock ferry in the Strathclyde passenger transport area from just £9.80.

NATIONAL PARKS:
Loch Lomond & Trossachs
Details of Loch Lomond & the Trossachs’ summer 4B (boat, bus, bike and boot) initiative and other public transport options are available at www.lochlomond-trossachs.org.
Cairngorms
There are fewer details for the Cairngorms, but the relevant pdf can be found by searching under publications at www.cairngorms.co.uk.

At the start of a dusty country lane leading  out of the village, I squint at the unpromising  sun-scorched scene in front of me. Weeds  breaking through cracks in the pavement, cacti  tumbling over a ramshackle stone wall, and a  half-demolished outbuilding in the field opposite.  And then my guide encourages me to look a little closer. The weeds turn out to be caper plants whose plucked and pickled buds are a local delicacy, the cacti are actually prickly pear, harvested to make the fiery pink liqueur, bajtra, and that ruined building  is in fact the remains of a 17th-century farmhouse, that’s slowly and painstakingly being restored. It’s the first of countless occasions on my walking tour of Gozo that I’m truly astounded by the depth of history, culture and natural abundance of this tiny semi-arid island. It’s just 14km/9 miles long and 7km/4½ miles across, and a short ferry-ride from Malta. Yet there are monuments here that are older than the pyramids, more than 20 churches to discover among the islands’ many villages (one, in Xewkija, has a dome larger than St Paul’s Cathedral), and the locally-produced food and wine is of the finest quality. All of this means that any walk on Gozo, no matter how short, is literally packed with interest – provided you know what you’re looking at!

Bays and knights
With my prejudice chastened and my senses heightened, my guide leads me on down the lane into a green, patchwork valley of tiny stone-walled smallholdings, where the fragrances of hand-grown herbs waft up on the coastal breeze. Figs, olives, pomegranates, almonds and lemons the size of grapefruit hang from branches that occasionally spill over the boundary walls and out onto the highway, where they’re fair game for passing ramblers. The figs are succulently sweet.  Making way for the odd miniature tractor (we see few cars), our route zigzags down past crumbling limestone cliffs to the hidden cove of San Felip Bay below. Crystal-clear waters lap against a small  wharf of tiny fisherman’s huts, and I sit on a rock  to admire the view beside two leathery, old Gozitans  with fishing rods cast into the deep blue sea. On the boulder-strewn cliff tops above the bay, a watch tower looks out north over the Med. Built in 1661, it was first armed by the famous Knights of Malta who’d been given the islands of Malta and Gozo by the King of Sicily in 1530, hoping to rid himself of their constant political meddling. Having been subject to invasion throughout its history – passing between the Arabs, Spanish, Sicilians, Turks and French – Gozo’s coastline is today dotted with fortifications. The islands were finally granted independence from Britain in 1964 and their tumultuous past has left a cultural legacy that is unique in its mixture of European and Arabic, particularly in the Maltese language and food. Both will seem exotic and yet instantly familiar to the British visitor – plenty of English words are in common parlance and local dishes are served with the best roast potatoes I’ve tasted outside of my mum’s kitchen.

We finish our walk a few kilometres later in the pristine central plaza of Qala, drinking rich Italian coffee beside the village’s impressive baroque church. I watch a local farmer sell vegetables, fresh from the valley we’d visited, out of the back of his van close by.  Our journey followed a section of the Dahlet Qorrot walk, one of four circular routes promoted by Gozo’s tourist authority – all of which fit comfortably into a week’s holiday. The Ramla walk follows fertile valleys  from Nadur to the spectacular orange-red sands at  Ramla Bay; and the Saltpan walk begins in Gozo’s  capital, Victoria, and visits the traditional coastal salt  pans at Reqqa Point. But it’s the 12km/7½-mile Ta’ Gurdan walk that is the jewel in Gozo’s walking crown.

Chapels and temples
Starting beside the grand edifice of another baroque church, this time in the quaint village square of Gharb, we wind our way through narrow streets of stone-balconied villas, all bearing the ornately inscribed names of Christian saints or far-away countries. Like most islanders, the Maltese are prolific emigrants. Within minutes, we break out into open, level fields, dotted evenly with golden cylinders of bound hay. It’s a surprising and complete contrast to the chequered valleys on the previous walk. On our  way, we pass a pretty, solitary chapel and an ancient stone cistern at the base of a boundary wall. The  odd basking lizard is startled by our approach and scuttles away into the colourful wild verges of marigolds, poppies, dandelions and orchids. Then  for the first time on my walks in Gozo, we strike off road and cross a grassy headland trail to a collection of stones by a cliff-edge, overlooking the uninterrupted azure of the Med. They’re not yet officially recognized, but my guide suspects they’re probably the remains of a Megalithic monument, arranged in worship of the sun. And with good reason, since Gozo is awash  with mind-bogglingly ancient archaeology.  On a hill at the heart of the island are the Ggantija Temples, which – together with Malta’s Megalithic Temples – are the oldest freestanding structures in  the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Little  is known about their purpose or the people who  built them, but their size suggests a thriving Megalithic community once lived all over the island. We head steeply down from the headland to alight upon an extraordinary limestone platform below. Scooped out by eroding winds and rain, the prehistoric remains of hundreds of fossilised shells, crabs, mangrove roots and urchins are exposed on the  stone’s smooth surface. We follow the platform  along the dizzying cliff-range, passing the occasional makeshift hide of illegal bird trappers, who snare songbirds migrating overhead from Africa. It’s a tradition engrained in Maltese culture that’s proving difficult to eradicate, despite the local authorities’  EU-backed efforts to outlaw it since 2008.

Eco Island dream
Gozo currently has big plans to become, what they’ve branded, an ‘Eco Island’. The island has always sold itself as Malta’s quieter, more rural neighbour, offering many opportunities for outdoor activities (Gozo’s scuba diving sites are world-renowned).  But now it wants to push the eco-tourism agenda even further, aiming ultimately to make Gozo carbon neutral  by 2020. It’s not just about encouraging more tourists, insists Anthony Zammit, who spearheads the initiative at the Ministry for  Gozo. It’s also about increasing educational and employment opportunities for the young local  people who are currently leaving the island in their droves. “We want our economic guidelines to  become the same as our environmental ones,”  he says. “If we go the same way as Malta,  with its mass tourism developments, we will kill  the goose that laid the golden egg.” The Maltese government has pledged €80 million  to various environmental projects, including better protection and marketing of Gozo’s delicate,  coastal karst ecology – known as garigue – and  an afforestation programme that recently attracted the high-profile backing of HSBC. Gozo’s four promoted walking trails are another of these  projects, which has funded the creation of  new waymarks and guidebooks.

Judging by the decrepit state or total absence of waymarks I see along the Ta’ Gurdan walk, I presume it’s still a work in progress. But fortunately I have my guide to direct me along our inland return leg to  Gharb, which takes us up a verdant valley road along  a watercourse, past centuries-old farmhouses to a  tiny square devoted entirely to Gozo’s oldest basilica.  Rows of pink and white flowering oleanders flank our path as we make our way to a pretty hamlet at  the foot of Ta’ Gurdan hill. From here, the finish at Gharb is tantalizingly close, but there’s an arduous  and sweaty return-trip up to the hill’s 161m/528ft summit, where a landmark Victorian lighthouse of  the same name dominates the surroundings.  Whatever breath I had left is taken entirely by  the magnificent views that envelop me at  the top. A 360° panorama encompasses the whole island: all its craggy shores, fertile valleys and green rolling hills, each one crowned with  a neat ridge-top village and  a perfect-domed church.  My guide, like me, remains silent this time. Some views don’t need explaining, they  just speak for themselves.

You could win a fantastic 5-night/6-day Ramblers Worldwide Holiday to Gozo for two, staying half-board at the 4-star Calypso Hotel in Marsalforn. The prize includes return flights, transfers, and walks guided by an experienced leader. For your chance to win, simply answer the following question: What is the name of the oldest free-standing structure in the world found on Gozo? For terms and conditions, and for your chance to win, go to www.walkmag.co.uk/competitions by 30 November 2010.

Time/Distance: Gozo’s four promoted walking routes – Dahlet Qorrot, Ta’ Gurdan, Saltpan, and Ramla – range from 9 to 12km/6 to 8 miles, and take no more than five hours each, over mostly gentle terrain. It’s worth starting in the cool of the early morning during the summer months, to acclimatise gently to the heat.
Travel to: Air Malta (✆ 0845 070 1909, www.airmalta.com) flies from the UK to Malta Luqa airport, from £99 return. Allow one hour to get across Malta to Cirkewwa Harbour for the half-hour ferry to Gozo, costing €4.65 one-way for a foot passenger.
Travel around: Gozo’s grey-and-red buses serve most villages from Victoria’s central bus station. Fares are less than half-a-euro.
Further info: ✆ 020 8877 6990, www.islandofgozo.org; www.visitmalta.com/gozo.
Package tours: Ramblers Worldwide Holidays (✆ 01707 331133, www.ramblersholidays.co.uk) offer an 11-day guided walking holiday to Malta and Gozo, starting from £699 per person half-board, including flights, transfers and a dedicated tour leader.

Images: Mario Galea

Yesterday started really well here at Salen on the Argyll coast. I saw a sea otter and got right up close before it skittered off. Then in the afternoon it became very misty, and the next thing I knew I had both feet in a bog. I got out again, so it could’ve been worse, but I had wet feet for the rest of the day. However, I kept going. One of the main things I’ve learned over the last 160 days’ walking  is how stubborn I actually am. Another thing I’ve realised is how much I enjoy being around people. I was always  quite happy in my own company, but  all this time alone has made me aware that no man is an island. Unlike the British mainland, the coastline of  which I’m currently on a mission to  walk around.

I’ve always thought this would be an awesome thing to do, and after I left university last year and was struggling  to find a job I decided now was the time to go for it. I set off from my home in Portsmouth on 10 January 2010. So  far I’ve covered 3,200 miles and I’m about half way.  I’d done some walking with my parents as a kid, but nothing for six years. So it was tough in the beginning. I’d finish at the end of the day after covering about 20 miles and hardly had the energy to put up my tent. It’s easier now. I’m walking up to 30 miles a day without any problems.  Everything I need is in my rucksack: tent, roll mat, sleeping bag, clothes and a small stove. On a trip like this you realise how few things you actually do need. It’s amazing waking up in a different place every day. I’ve always lived by the sea and being this close to it gives me an incredible sense of freedom. I’m raising money for three charities that mean a lot  to me, so that helps keep me going too.

Popular paths are easiest – they tend to be well signposted and maintained. The Welsh trails were excellent. Less well-used routes have been tricky, especially here in Scotland, which seems to be particularly lacking in good footpaths. Most of those not part of a long-distance path have disappeared, despite staying on the maps. With a heavy bag and a lot of miles to cover, it can be very frustrating to be blocked on a public right of way. I’ve  lost count of the number of fences and gates I’ve scaled.

The plans for a coastal path around all England and Wales are interesting. I don’t see how a route that stays on the coast can be created with all the industrial works and MOD property on our coastline, not to mention the problem of uncooperative landowners. In my opinion, it would be better to focus  on making the whole of Britain more accessible. If better links were created between villages, towns and cities then people would walk more.

Despite the lack of clear paths, being in Scotland is glorious. Crossing the border was a major high point. I  really felt I’d achieved something  when I got that far.  There have only been four days I haven’t spent walking since I set off in January. Living outdoors has made me much more appreciative of the seasons and changes in daylight patterns. My degree is in zoology and I’ve always been passionate about nature. I feel much closer to it now. Of course there are lots of things I miss: people mainly, but little things too, such as having a kitchen to cook in and a selection of clothes. And definitely going to the pub with my friends, but I’ll appreciate all that so much more when I get back.

When I finish I’ll have to start looking for a job again. It would be difficult to  be stuck behind a desk after this, so hopefully I’ll find something where I  can travel and be outdoors. I’m not  sure what that will be yet, but I’ve got 3,300 miles or so to think about it.

Interview by Julia Buckley

Follow Nat’s progress on his blog, Nomad’s Land, and via his blog for Walkmag.co.uk at www.walkmag.co.uk/blogs

YOUR WALK OF LIFE
Do you have a story to tell about a life-changing walk or how walking has transformed your world? Contact us at walkmag@ramblers.org.uk

There are few more dramatic and challenging natural habitats in Britain than mountains. And although flora and fauna have adapted to the extreme conditions, according to Vic Royce of Highland & Islands Ramblers: “Keen hill walkers often seem totally absorbed with getting to the top of a Munro, which blinds them to the abundant and unique wildlife around them.”

Mountains offer a surprising variety of habitats: from scrub and acid grassland to rock and scree. The Scottish mountains are home to tiny Arctic and Alpine plants that have clung on since the last ice age. “There are at least four species of saxifrage flower on the highest grassy ridges,” says Vic, “while among the summer flowering plants is the exquisite dwarf cornel. Lower boggy slopes are often carpeted with bog asphodel and common and hare’s-tail cottongrass.” The only abundant mammal on the Scottish mountains is the red deer.

“We organise walks to observe the rutting season in October. The bellowing of angry stags and clash of antlers can often be heard from several miles away,” says Vic. One of the best places to view the rut is at Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve, in the Torridon Hills near Kinlochewe. The 4,800ha area of moorland, bogs and ancient pinewoods has extensive marked trails. Some upland wildlife has adapted to the conditions in specific ways. Both the mountain hare and ptarmigan (a game bird) shed their darker coats in autumn for a white covering to camouflage themselves against the winter snow. In summer, golden plover and dotterel nest on the highest slopes, while golden eagles are year-round residents.

“Take binoculars, you never know what you might see,” says Vic. “During a mountain walk in Argyll, our group saw a golden eagle struggling to fly with a dead heron in its talons. Suddenly, three peregrines mobbed the eagle, forcing it to drop its booty, which they then devoured themselves.”

Find out more
Go to www.highlandramblers.org.uk. For more about Beinn Eighe NNR, visit www.nnr-scotland.org.uk. Or read Hostile Habitats – Scotland’s Mountain Environment edited by Mark Wrightham & Nick Kempe (£16, Scottish Mountaineering Trust). ISBN 978 0 907521 93 8).

Main image: Richard Bartz / Text: Andrew McCloy