spring 2013 taster
DESCRIPTION
Our Spring 2013 issue brings you our usual wide range of outdoors pursuits with an in depth look at the thriving mountain biking scene in Scotland, community boat-building and seabird tracking. Our explore section follows the Road to the Isles and enjoys a spot of sea kayaking in the process. Of course we have all the regulars too.TRANSCRIPT
PLUS: Top fi ve Scottish trail runs • How mountains are ‘heighted’ • Tales from a wildlife fi lmmaker
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Spring
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BIG COUNTRYCOUNTRYHow mountain biking put Scotland on the world map
THE TROUBLE WITH SEABIRDS International study examines a worrying decline
STICKINGTHEIR OAR INOn the pull with Scotland’s coastal rowers
THE ROAD TO THE ISLES Explore by kayak,boat, train and more …
Your Surprising Forests!Bhur Coilltean Iongantach!
01www.scotoutdoors.com
PHOTOGRAPHY: COVER: ENJOYING THE TRAILS IN FISHERFIELD, NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS,
ON A COAST TO COAST JOURNEY. PHOTOGRAPH: ANDY MCCANDLISH/WWW.ANDYMCCANDLISH.COM
ABOVE LEFT: RIDERS AT THE MOUNTAIN BIKE WORLD CUP, FORT WILLIAM,WWW.FORTWILLIAMWORLDCUP.CO.UK
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A word from the editor
Scotland Outdoors online
T his issue opens with both a welcome and a goodbye.Not to mention a thank you. After five years and 19
editions of this magazine, I am taking a break and leavingScotland Outdoors in the extremely capable hands of new owners.
Launched in summer 2008 – just in time for the recession!– the magazine has come a long way since its first edition;built around a passion for exploring Scotland’s outstandingnatural riches, and a desire to showcase them to others,our small team has sought to create a magazine that inspires,entertains and informs in equal measure.
That will continue under the guiding hand of newowners, who are not really new at all; Edinburgh-based,the team at CMYK Design has been with us from thebeginning and are as much a part of the magazine as ourwriters and photographers. Experienced publishers as wellas accomplished designers, they know this magazine insideand out, and are the perfect people to take it forward.Scotland Outdoors is in very safe hands.
All that leaves me to say is thank you – to our readers,advertisers, distribution partners, contributors and all whohave championed the magazine, particularly in the earlydays. A special note of thanks goes to my colleague and,often, guiding light, Ida Maspero, whose personal andprofessional support, and sheer instinct for magazines, hashelped me stay the course.
I hope you enjoy our latest issue; it’s one that I’mparticularly proud to bow out on.
Richard RoweEditor, Scotland Outdoors
For J. Always.
Inchnadamph p16
WINNER Best small publishing company magazinePPA Scotland Awards 2009, 2010
Orkney p58
Spey Bay p36
Cambo Estate p24
Isle of Seil p38
Boreraig p16
Outer Hebrides p28
Ardcastle p16
Glen Doll p16
Yarrowford p16
p45EXPLORE
ROAD TOTHE ISLES
Inner Hebrides p28
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CONTENTS PHOTOGRAPHY:STEVEN MCKENNA; ULLAPOOLCOASTAL ROWING CLUB; ANDYHAY/RSPB; DOUGLAS WILCOX;JIMMY PRENDERLEITH; VICKIFELGATE; SUSIE ALLISON;CAMBO ESTATE; THE MUNROSOCIETY; MARAMEDIA/OTTERFILMS; ANDY MCCANDLISH
CONTENTS
02 Scotland Outdoors Spring 2013
Editor: Richard Rowet 01721 588140e [email protected]
Associate Editor: Ida Masperot 0131 4676121e [email protected]
Editorial Assistant: Hilary Littlet 01721 588140e [email protected]
Copy Editor: Ruth Noble
Editorial Board: Nick Williams,Chris Surgenor, CharlotteManwaring, Andy Ross
Advertising sales: Alison Frasert 0141 946 8708e [email protected]
Design & Production: CMYK Designe [email protected] cmyk-design.co.uk
Subscriptions: Hilary Littlet 01721 588140e [email protected]
Printing: J Thomson Colour Printers
Published by: Big Bend PublishingPort Brae House, Port Brae, Peebles, EH45 8SW, Scotland
Scotland Outdoors is publishedquarterly. It is available bysubscription and through in-roomcopies at high-quality accommodationproviders; farm shops and galleries;ferries and airline lounges; leadingwildlife and adventure travelcompanies; activity and visitorcentres; outdoor retailers and otherspecialist suppliers. For a full list ofstockists see:www.scotoutdoors.com
ISSN 1757-224X
All contents © Big Bend Publishing(2013)
This magazine is printed on ClaroSilk, which is FSC-certified andproduced using ECF pulp.
Contributors
The Scotland Outdoors team
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John AitchisonFresh from filming agroundbreaking new series onthe Hebrides for the BBC (to beaired in May), BAFTA- and Emmy-winning wildlife filmmaker JohnAitchison talks about his love ofwild places and why his homepatch in Argyll is every bit asspecial as more exotic locations.Outdoor passions, page 28
Douglas WilcoxRarely found too far from his seakayak for any length of time,Douglas Wilcox has anencyclopaedic knowledge ofpaddling around the Scottish coast.However, he has a particular lovefor the clear waters and magicalseascapes around Arisaig on theRoad to the Isles. It’s easy to seewhy. Casting a spell, page 45
Ellie OwenRSPB research scientist Dr EllieOwen has worked with seabirdsaround the world for ten years,but has been hooked on them formuch longer. As Ellie explainshere, she now heads a teamstudying the foraging secrets ofvulnerable seabird species as partof a pioneering European project.FAME and fortunes, page 58
Fiona RussellOutdoor writer and blogger FionaRussell thoroughly enjoyed her tripto the Isle of Seil near Oban tolearn about the Scottish CoastalRowing project – and how thelocal community is building itsown traditional skiff to race in thegrowing number of regattas heldaround the Scottish coast. All atsea, page 38
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45 Casting a spellThe waters off Arisaig are a magnet for sea kayakers, with
Douglas Wilcox just one of many paddlers to have lost his heart to thismagical area
EXPLORE ROAD TO THE ISLES
04 Reader adventuresReader photographs of wild getaways
06 Big pictureSpey Bay, Moray Firth
09 Reader surveyTell us what you think of themagazine – and enter ourcompetition to win a fantasticholiday in Glencoe!
12 NewsOutdoor news from aroundScotland
15 SubscribeOrder a personal or giftsubscription today!
16 Top Five ...Trail runsFrom easy routes close tourban centres to epicbackcountry journeys,Scotland has trail runs to suitevery taste
18 EventsGet active with our round-upof outdoorsy events
20 InnovationsA glance at some of the mostinnovative new outdoorproducts
22 CompetitionWin a guided mountain bikingexperience – plus extras!
24 Board and lodging Cambo Estate, FifeDecadent yet homely, CamboHouse offers a stately – andbotanically-rich – sanctuaryon the Fife coast, discoversRichard Rowe
26 Day in the life Ever wondered how theheights of mountains aredetermined? David Batty liftsthe lid on the ‘heighting’work of The Munro Society
28 Outdoor passionsArgyll-based wildlifefilmmaker John Aitchison mayhave filmed around the world– collecting two BAFTAs andan Emmy in the process – butremains in awe of the wildbeauty on his doorstep
64 ReadingOur pick of some of the verybest new outdoor titles
FEATURES
SPOTLIGHT
30 The wheel dealWith its acclaimed trail centres and vast
network of natural trails, Scotland has become amajor player on the world mountain biking stage.Richard Rowe asks what’s next for the developmentof a sport that has seen extraordinary growth over thepast decade
ADVENTURE
38 All at seaFiona Russell looks at an inspiring project
that has seen coastal communities collaborate to raisefunds, build and race traditional skiffs in regattasaround the Scottish coast
WILDLIFE & ECOLOGY
58 FAME and fortunes With our seabird populations facing seriously
declining fortunes, a pioneering international studyhopes to reveal Atlantic seabirds’ foraging secrets byusing GPS technology. Ellie Owen, RSPB Scotlandconservation scientist, explains
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Visit our website foradditional onlinefeatures submitted byreaderswww.scotoutdoors.com
52 Road trippingSteeped in history and romance,
and famed for its spectacular scenery, theroute west from Fort William to Mallaigoffers some true wilderness to be explored
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REGULARS
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READER • ADVENTURES
04 Scotland Outdoors Spring 2013
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Who done it?
1 Torridon by microlight, Jimmy Prenderleith2 En route to Tunskeen bothy, Galloway, Bobby Owens3 Ardfern Marina, Argyll, Susan Rowe4 Readying the BBQ, Kinshaldy Beach, Fife, Fiona Leslie5 Doggy paddle, Rothesay, John Fraser6 A Buddhist monk posing at the Falls of Dochart,
Killin, Frank Wenzel
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