A FOREST HOLIDAY IN ARGYLL – WORTH OVER £400
Take the
PLUNGE Meet the adventure racers seeking a challenge in the lochs and hills
Introducing the Great Glen Canoe Trail
WILDFLOWER WONDER
What makes the machair environment so precious
THE LONG AND WINDING COAST Argyll’s sea lochs and the unique land they embrace
PLUS: Top five boat trips • The joy of rockpooling • Robert Macfarlane on his love of the outdoors
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Summer 2013 £3.80
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Fair Isle p6
A word from the editor
The Old Man of Hoy p14
W
South Uist p64
Fort William p34
Staffa p14 p41
Thornhill p24
EXPLORE ARGYLL
The Bass Rock p14
Corryvreckan p14 St Abbs p14 Ailsa Craig p14
Cover shot: Jamie Murray Grant THE ARTEMIS GREAT KINDROCHIT QUADRATHLON, IN AND AROUND LOCH TAY
This is the swimming element of the Quadrathlon, which celebrates its 13th year in July. Participants swim 1.5k across Loch Tay, run or walk up seven Munros (24k), kayak a further 11k and finish with a 54k cycle ride. In a final touch of drama, to stop the clock they slice a watermelon in two with a sword and then eat it. This year the event is nearly full, with 400 willing souls ready to take on the challenge. The race, organised by Wild Fox Events, has so far raised more than £6m for charity organisations Mercy Corps and Mary’s Meals. For every £1 raised, the European Commission adds another £4.
www.artemisgreatkindrochit.com www.wildfoxevents.com
www.scotoutdoors.com
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 that interest you. And those pages are now bound, rather than stapled, which I hope you’ll agree gives the magazine 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 and has edited it ever since, has opted to take a break and Scotland Outdoors is now published by CMYK Design, based in Edinburgh. We have been proud to design the magazine for Richard since the start. Now, as publishers, we are determined to build on its success. I am now editor, which is an honour and a great privilege. Like you, I love Scotland, its wildlife and its open spaces, and I hope this new role will let me enjoy them even more frequently. I’m delighted that both Richard and his colleague, Ida Maspero, remain closely involved with Scotland Outdoors and both have contributed features to this issue, writing with 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 you completed the readers’ survey included in the last two issues, and I’d like to thank you for that. The more we know about your interests, the better we can make the magazine, so do tell me what you think, using the email address below. Share your thoughts and we’ll go forward together. Have a great summer – it looks like it’s finally starting as we go to press – and enjoy your Scotland Outdoors.
Don Currie Editor, Scotland Outdoors don@scotoutdoors.com
Scotland Outdoors online You can find our website at www.scotoutdoors.com Look out for special online features and sign up for our e-newsletter to receive regular updates
Join us on Facebook and tell your friends! www.tinyurl.com/somagfb You can also follow us on twitter www.twitter.com/scotoutdoors
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CONTENTS
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Contributors
Fiona Russell
Robert Macfarlane
A certain amount of time in front of the computer screen is inevitable when you’re a successful writer and blogger. But Fiona Russell is happiest expending energy outdoors – and for this issue she looks at that most energetic of activities, adventure racing. Feeling adventurous, page 28
Nobody writes about landscape quite like Robert Macfarlane. His book The Old Ways, now out in paperback, reached a huge audience while taking a profoundly serious and heartfelt approach to the subject, and his thoughtful answers to our questions are crucial reading. Outdoor passions, page 26
34
Ida Maspero
Laura Smith
A key member of the Scotland Outdoors team since the magazine started, Ida has written an illuminating account of how Argyll’s distinctive environment has developed. She also gives some vital pointers on what this region, with its lochs, forests and fishing villages, offers to visitors today. Neptune’s fingers, page 42
Just weeks into her new job as marine ranger at St Abbs and Eyemouth Voluntary Marine Reserve, Laura took a call from us, asking her for a summery ‘Day in the life’ feature – and she was happy to oblige with an account of a rockpooling trip. You’ll be amazed at the diverse creatures she found. Day in the life, page 72
CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPHY: TIM WINTERBURN; DONALD MACPHERSON; RSPB; IDA MASPERO
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The Scotland Outdoors team Editor: Don Currie t 0131 556 2220 e don@scotoutdoors.com Publisher: Neil Braidwood e neil@scotoutdoors.com
CMYK
Contributing editor: Richard Rowe e richard@scotoutdoors.com PEFC Certified
Design: Matt McArthur e production@scotoutdoors.com Advertising sales: Alison Fraser t 0141 946 8708 e alison@scotoutdoors.com
This product is from sustainably managed forests, recycled and controlled sources PEFC/16-33-533
www.pefc.org
Subscriptions: t 0131 556 2220 e subscribe@scotoutdoors.com Stockist inquiries: Hayley Orr t 0131 556 2220 e hayley@scotoutdoors.com Print: Acorn web Published by: CMYK Design 91 East London St, Edinburgh EH7 4BQ w cmyk-design.co.uk
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ISSN 1757-224X All contents © CMYK Design (2013)
Scotland Outdoors Summer 2013
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FEATURES ADVENTURE
28
Feeling energetic?
If running a marathon, swimming a loch or cycling over a mountain pass is no longer enough, why not try an event with elements of all three – and perhaps a spot of kayaking, too? Fiona Russell looks at the growing sport of adventure racing
EXPERIENCE Telling it straight
34
There’s little chance of getting lost on the Great Glen Canoe Trail. You just point the bow in the direction of Inverness and start paddling. Despite being out of practice, Don Currie decided to have a go
WILDLIFE & ECOLOGY Full colour
64
The botany and birdlife of the machair is unique – and, like so many apparently natural environments, it would not exist in its present form without its history of human activity. Richard Rowe looks at the state of a delicate coastal landscape
EXPLORE ARGYLL
42
Land and sea
51
The mainland island
58
Complex character
You’re never far from the coast in Argyll, where sea, land, history and ecology are intimately entwined. Ida Maspero investigates
Kintyre’s nickname suits it – this peninsula has friendliness and quirkiness to spare. Don Currie took to the Kintyre Way
Argyll’s highly indented topography is the setting for all kinds of outdoor activity. Let us guide you round its ins and outs
Scotland Outdoors would like to thank Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative for its invaluable assistance with this issue’s Explore section. Find out more at www.exploreargyll.co.uk
REGULARS
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Reader adventures Your photographs of great days out
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Reading Our pick of some of the very best new outdoor titles
Big picture Fair Isle, Shetland
News Outdoor news from around Scotland
Top Five ...
Sights to see by boat From haunts of gannets to a cave that inspired an overture and a whirlpool that has frightened many
Events
24
Get active with our guide to the best outdoors events
Gear As summer walkers take to the trails and hills, we compare walking poles and help you choose the right pair. Plus: we highlight some of the most innovative outdoor products on the market
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Board and lodging
Trossachs Yurts
If life under canvas has always seemed a little rough and ready, this luxury outpost is exactly the place for you
Outdoor passions Robert Macfarlane, perhaps the most original outdoors voice to have emerged in years, talks about risk, life as a writer, and two moments that will stay with him forever
Day in the life Laura Smith, the new marine ranger at St Abbs Voluntary Marine Reserve, on the joys of rockpooling
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READER • ADVENTURES
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HERE ARE SOME OF OUR FAVOURITE RECENT PICTURES SENT IN BY READERS. WE HOPE YOU ENJOY THEM
Who done it? 1 Black Cuillins on Skye, Nils Leonhardt 2 Westfield Viaduct, near Falkirk, Karen Paterson 3 The Hampson family on their boat at Anstruther, Rosemary Hampson 4 Gleann Lichd, Morvich, Fiona Leslie 5 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 the best pictures in our next issue. Just tell us where you are and what you are doing. Email your high-resolution images to: adventures@scotoutdoors.com Alternatively, you can share them on our Facebook page: www.tinyurl.com/somagfb
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Scotland Outdoors Summer 2013
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