summer 2013 taster
DESCRIPTION
The Summer 2013 issue of Scotland Outdoors is available now. You can buy direct via our website, support a local retailer by shopping with our stockists, or you can save money by taking out a subscription. Why not enter our Competition to win a free stay for four people in a luxury holiday cabin? Entries close on 14 August 2013. And how about submitting pictures of your own outdoor adventures this season? We will publish the best shots on the Reader Adventures page in our next issue... just email your photos to [email protected], telling us where you are and what you're doing.TRANSCRIPT
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Summ
er 2013 £3.80
Take the PLUNGEMeet the adventure racers seeking a challenge in the lochs and hills
A FOREST HOLIDAY IN ARGYLL – WORTH OVER £400
PLUS: Top fi ve boat trips • The joy of rockpooling • Robert Macfarlane on his love of the outdoors
ALONG THE GREAT DIVIDEIntroducing the Great Glen Canoe Trail
WILDFLOWER WONDERWhat makes the machair environment so precious
THE LONG AND WINDING COASTArgyll’s sea lochs and the unique land they embrace
or call 0845 643 2034 quote SCOT10
Minimum age: 10 years. Minimum height: 1.40m.
Supervision ratios apply. *Offer valid until 30th November 2013, excluding Saturdays.
Offer valid only at Aberfoyle, Crathes & Peebles Tree Top Adventure.
Book at goape.co.uk
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Go Ape is the UK’s number one Tree Top Adventure. Head to your nearest course for
fun in the trees, taking on Zip Wires, Tarzan Swings, Rope Ladders and a variety of
Obstacles and Crossings all set in Scotlands most beautiful forests.
Glentress Forest, Peebles nr Edinburgh
Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Aberfoyle
Crathes Castle, nr Aberdeen
Locations in Scotland3
01www.scotoutdoors.com
You can find our website at www.scotoutdoors.com
Look out for special online features and sign up forour e-newsletter to receive regular updates
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A word from the editor
Cover shot: Jamie Murray Grant
Scotland Outdoors online
W elcome to the summer issue of Scotland Outdoors.It’s full of lively, informative features and great
photography, as regular readers have come to expect. So what’s different? Well, there are more pages than
ever, meaning more space to cover the subjects thatinterest you. And those pages are now bound, ratherthan stapled, which I hope you’ll agree gives themagazine the quality feel that its content deserves.
Oh yes – and the writer of this letter is different, too.Richard Rowe, who founded the magazine in 2008 andhas edited it ever since, has opted to take a break andScotland Outdoors is now published by CMYK Design,based in Edinburgh. We have been proud to design themagazine for Richard since the start. Now, as publishers,we are determined to build on its success. I am noweditor, which is an honour and a great privilege.
Like you, I love Scotland, its wildlife and its openspaces, and I hope this new role will let me enjoy themeven more frequently.
I’m delighted that both Richard and his colleague, IdaMaspero, remain closely involved with Scotland Outdoorsand both have contributed features to this issue, writingwith the flair and expertise they bring to all their work.Both will be on hand at all times with ideas and advice.
And we hope to hear your views, too. Many of youcompleted the readers’ survey included in the last twoissues, and I’d like to thank you for that. The more weknow about your interests, the better we can make themagazine, so do tell me what you think, using the emailaddress below. Share your thoughts and we’ll goforward together.
Have a great summer – it looks like it’s finally startingas we go to press – and enjoy your Scotland Outdoors.
Don CurrieEditor, Scotland [email protected]
The Old Man of Hoy p14
South Uist p64
Fair Isle p6
The Bass Rock p14
Thornhill p24
Corryvreckan p14
p41EXPLORE
ARGYLL
THE ARTEMIS GREATKINDROCHIT QUADRATHLON,IN AND AROUND LOCH TAY
This is the swimming elementof the Quadrathlon, whichcelebrates its 13th year in July.Participants swim 1.5k acrossLoch Tay, run or walk up sevenMunros (24k), kayak a further11k and finish with a 54k cycleride. In a final touch of drama,to stop the clock they slice awatermelon in two with asword and then eat it.
This year the event is nearlyfull, with 400 willing soulsready to take on the challenge.The race, organised by Wild
Fox Events, has so far raised more than £6m for charity organisationsMercy Corps and Mary’s Meals. For every £1 raised, the EuropeanCommission adds another £4.
www.artemisgreatkindrochit.comwww.wildfoxevents.com
Staffa p14
St Abbs p14
Ailsa Craig p14
Fort William p34
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CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPHY:TIM WINTERBURN; DONALDMACPHERSON; RSPB; IDA MASPERO
CONTENTS
02 Scotland Outdoors Summer 2013
Editor: Don Curriet 0131 556 2220e [email protected]
Publisher: Neil Braidwoode [email protected]
Contributing editor:Richard Rowe
Design: Matt McArthure [email protected]
Advertising sales: Alison Frasert 0141 946 8708e [email protected]
Subscriptions:t 0131 556 2220e [email protected]
Stockist inquiries: Hayley Orrt 0131 556 2220e [email protected]
Print: Acorn web
Published by:CMYK Design91 East London St, Edinburgh EH7 4BQ
w cmyk-design.co.uk
Contributors
The Scotland Outdoors team
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Robert MacfarlaneNobody writes about landscapequite like Robert Macfarlane. Hisbook The Old Ways, now out inpaperback, reached a hugeaudience while taking aprofoundly serious and heartfeltapproach to the subject, and histhoughtful answers to ourquestions are crucial reading.Outdoor passions, page 26
Ida MasperoA key member of the ScotlandOutdoors team since themagazine started, Ida haswritten an illuminating accountof how Argyll’s distinctiveenvironment has developed.She also gives some vitalpointers on what this region,with its lochs, forests and fishingvillages, offers to visitors today.Neptune’s fingers, page 42
Laura SmithJust weeks into her new job asmarine ranger at St Abbs andEyemouth Voluntary MarineReserve, Laura took a call fromus, asking her for a summery‘Day in the life’ feature – andshe was happy to oblige withan account of a rockpoolingtrip. You’ll be amazed at thediverse creatures she found.Day in the life, page 72
Fiona RussellA certain amount of time infront of the computer screen isinevitable when you’re asuccessful writer and blogger.But Fiona Russell is happiestexpending energy outdoors –and for this issue she looks atthat most energetic of activities,adventure racing. Feeling adventurous, page 28
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CMYK
PEFC/16-33-533
PEFC Certified
This product is fromsustainably managedforests, recycled andcontrolled sources
www.pefc.org
ISSN 1757-224X
All contents © CMYK Design (2013)
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03www.scotoutdoors.com
EXPLORE ARGYLL
04 Reader adventuresYour photographs of great days out
06 Big pictureFair Isle, Shetland
08 NewsOutdoor news from aroundScotland
14 Top Five ...Sights to see by boatFrom haunts of gannets to acave that inspired an overtureand a whirlpool that hasfrightened many
17 EventsGet active with our guide tothe best outdoors events
20 GearAs summerwalkers take tothe trails andhills, wecomparewalking poles and help youchoose the right pair. Plus: wehighlight some of the mostinnovative outdoor productson the market
22 ReadingOur pick of some of the verybest new outdoor titles
24 Board and lodging Trossachs YurtsIf life under canvas has alwaysseemed a little rough andready, this luxury outpost isexactly the place for you
26 Outdoor passionsRobert Macfarlane, perhapsthe most original outdoorsvoice to have emerged inyears, talks about risk, life as awriter, and two moments thatwill stay with him forever
72 Day in the lifeLaura Smith, the new marineranger at St Abbs VoluntaryMarine Reserve, on the joys ofrockpooling
ADVENTURE
28 Feeling energetic?If running a marathon, swimming a
loch or cycling over a mountain pass is nolonger enough, why not try an event withelements of all three – and perhaps a spot ofkayaking, too? Fiona Russell looks at thegrowing sport of adventure racing
EXPERIENCE
34 Telling it straightThere’s little chance of getting lost on
the Great Glen Canoe Trail. You just point thebow in the direction of Inverness and startpaddling. Despite being out of practice,Don Currie decided to have a go
WILDLIFE & ECOLOGY
64 Full colourThe botany and birdlife of the machair
is unique – and, like so many apparently naturalenvironments, it would not exist in its presentform without its history of human activity.Richard Rowe looks at the state of a delicatecoastal landscape
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Scotland Outdoors wouldlike to thank Argyll and theIsles Tourism Co-operativefor its invaluable assistancewith this issue’s Exploresection. Find out more atwww.exploreargyll.co.uk
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42FEATURES
42 Land and seaYou’re never far from the coast in
Argyll, where sea, land, history and ecology areintimately entwined. Ida Maspero investigates
51 The mainland islandKintyre’s nickname suits it – this
peninsula has friendliness and quirkiness tospare. Don Currie took to the Kintyre Way
58 Complex characterArgyll’s highly indented topography is
the setting for all kinds of outdoor activity. Letus guide you round its ins and outs
REGULARS
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READER • ADVENTURES
04 Scotland Outdoors Summer 2013
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Who done it?
1 Black Cuillins on Skye, Nils Leonhardt2 Westfield Viaduct, near Falkirk, Karen Paterson3 The Hampson family on their boat at Anstruther,
Rosemary Hampson4 Gleann Lichd, Morvich, Fiona Leslie5 Warming up at A’Chuil bothy in Glen Dessarry,
Raf Bauer
PLEASE KEEP THE PICTURES COMING:Show us what you get up to and we will publish thebest pictures in our next issue. Just tell us where youare and what you are doing.
Email your high-resolution images to:[email protected]
Alternatively, you can share them on our Facebook page: www.tinyurl.com/somagfb
HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE RECENT PICTURESSENT IN BY READERS. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM
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