There seems to be a recent theme with my walks: large bodies of water! Loch Kinord last week, Loch Muick this time round. Actually, I planned this walk for a few weeks. I walked along its eastern shore in May 2011, on my way back from climbing the White Mounth range, and the loch really…

It took two visits to the Muir of Dinnet National Nature Reserve to walk the route I had planned. My first attempt was cut short by deteriorating weather (driving snow). Rather unexpectedly I had another chance a couple of days later thanks to an unusual alignment of stars and a leap year (just kidding…). Unlike…

My plan for this winter is to keep walking relatively long-distance but low-level walks to keep my ever-gradually-rustier body ready for the next hill-walking season. Last week’s walk was south of Aboyne, today’s north of it; more specifically, the village of Tarland. I parked my car in the village centre, picked up my gear and…

 I guess the title sounds overly dramatic, but - trust me - in the context of the last year it does reflect my feelings when I walked through the forest of Glen Tanar.  The walk, about 4-hour long, at various stages resembled many walks I'd done in Moray. There was a stretch along the edge…

Walking into a furnace; that’s how I felt the very moment I left the air-conditioned airport terminal in Berlin after having flown there from Scotland. Instantly I had to take off my fleece I’d donned all the way from Aberdeen. At that moment I couldn't possibly know it was the foretaste of what would I…