Isn't the weather great! I think the whole country has been enjoying an early spring, not just us up here in the Highlands. Despite what seems to be never ending trouble with dodgy knees I couldn't resist an easy cycle last night around the village where I live, Kinlochleven. The sunset over Loch Leven was pretty special, but it's been so long since I was on my bike I need to take it in to Off Beat Bikes for some repairs!
Anna

Labels: Highland, loch, sunset

posted by Outdoor Capital of the UK @ 12:04 PM  0 comments

My knee injury persists, and the weather has been alternately good, bad, good bad.... but some folk have been out and making the most of it. One of the world's leading outdoor equipment manufacturers, Petzl, sent a team of crack climbers to Scotland, to try winter climbing Scottish style - go to their blog to see what the guys made of things over here. They did some impressive climbs!

http://www.petzlteam.com/

posted by Outdoor Capital of the UK @ 12:48 PM  0 comments

The Fort William Mountain Festival was launched this weekend with a great ceilidh at Nevis Range and 2 days' worth of Triathlon competition around Glen Nevis. However, the Glen also played host to a more tranquil, but no less inspiring, Festival event on Sunday afternoon.


8 aspiring writers joined Susan Richardson for a Wild Writing Workshop. And wild it certainly was! We were subjected to snow, sleet, hail and wind, but it all added to the experience of looking at our surroundings in different ways. We were encouraged to look at both the big picture and the "1 inch frame", think about how characters as diverse as a photographer, a motor cyclist and a midge would view the area, introduced to the (new to me) world of concrete poetry, and considered what Raymond Inmon meant when he wrote "Angels whisper to you when you go for a walk". It certainly got the creative juices flowing and, when we re-convened at the Ben Nevis Inn, (after warming up with coffee and yummy cakes!) we took some time to get our thoughts on paper, using one or more of the above topics as a starting point. I picked the Inmon quote and considered how walking could be viewed as an opportunity to review your thoughts and issues without distraction, and how the natural environment could provide a refuge where you could seek guidance and commune with a higher power, whatever that may be to you. Not bad work for a wet and windy Sunday when I'd normally be more concerned with The Archers omnibus!


The workshop has certainly inspired me to get out and write about the outdoors, and where better to do it than the Outdoor Capital of the UK! All you need are the right clothes (see below) and some scraps of paper and a pencil. Having spent the afternoon cocooned in waterproof clothing, clutching a rapidly dissolving notepad, and still thoroughly enjoying it, I can't use the excuse of bad weather any more as an excuse for not getting out. As a certain Big Yin once said "In Scotland, there is no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes."

Labels: Glen Nevis, mountain festival, Outdoor capital, wildlife, writing

posted by Outdoor Capital of the UK @ 10:35 AM  1 comments