Active Outdoors

The minor road between Lybster and Watten holds happy memories for me from a previous bike trip from Aviemore up to John O’Groats.

As we turned the corner, a wall of heavy snow greeted us and the road went from black to pure white in seconds. And that was just on the way to this fabulous…

J?OHN shook me awake. After a night of fitful sleep in the tent I had fallen into a dream-filled slumber and didn’t hear the alarm. ?It was 4 o’clock…

The Caledonia Way is destined to be one of the UK’s finest long-distance cycle routes when it is completed. Even now, there are tempting sections of this…

Kyle of Sutherland loop - A triangle of tarmac offers a spectacular ride in the centre of the Highlands

Anagach Wood and Speyside circuit - A varied walk on mostly flat terrain taking in beautiful forests and a riverside trail

?YOU don’t have to climb high hills to get the best views, and one stand out example is Meall a’ Bhuachaille in the Cairngorms. At 810 metres, ranking…

IT’S an eerie feeling being out on a bike on a pitch-black country road with nothing but shadows for company. The experience can really play tricks…

A FEW months ago I wrote about a walk up Ben Bhraggie above Golspie and promised to return to try out the area’s mountain bike trails. So I headed…

THIS little adventure reminded why it’s so good to live in this part of the Highlands; a quick drive down past Fort Augustus on a Sunday morning and I…

A WILLINGNESS to be flexible about your plans can make all the difference to a successful mountain day, and this venture was a perfect example of that. In…

Scotland’s most popular long-distance path, the West Highland Way, takes walkers from Milngavie on the outskirts of Glasgow to Fort William in Lochaber. It’s…

WITH my wife and daughter off to Mallaig on the "Harry Potter" steam train, I opted for an active day while they were gone, not wanting to waste the opportunity…

THE rather bizarre monument on top of Fyrish Hill, a representation of the Gate of Negapatam in Madras, India, is worth the steep walk up to for the views…

HISTORY has not been kind to Cairn Gorm. Despite being at the heart of one of the most rare and fragile environments in Scotland, the northern corries…

IT'S not after every bike ride you have to replace all four brake blocks, worn down to the metal but that’s what I had to do after a day on the exciting…

SOON forgot the 5.30am alarm call as the train sped north on a bright and sunny morning, mainly because I was eagerly anticipating this cycle around some…

SITTING immediately to the south of the village, Cawdor Wood contains a wonderful maze of tracks and trails, and it’s no accident that they’re here. This…

THE fishermen had given up — the midges had won. Despite lighting a fire on the shore of Loch Arkaig in an effort to keep the annoying beasts at bay,…

THE backdrop could not be more magnificent — the Cairngorms, rising to 4000ft, with a sub-arctic climate where winds can reach speeds of 170mph, beloved…