Up and Down Days, Part Eight: Commitment
“…one never quite knows the mountain, nor oneself in relation to it.” “One walks among elementals, and elementals are not … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Eight: Commitment
Category: Writing
Up and Down Days, Part Seven: The Bad Day
I think that when people talk about having ‘adventures’ we generally mean doing something active, bold, possibly a little risky, … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Seven: The Bad Day
Up and Down Days, Part Six: Cold Forged
The day I enjoyed on An Teallach with Doug, Jack and the others was one of the best hill days … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Six: Cold Forged
Up and Down Days, Part Five: The Smiddy and The Forge
Part Five: The Smiddy and The Forge In the morning gloom of another tiny hut somewhere in the Highlands, I … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Five: The Smiddy and The Forge
Up and Down Days, Part Four: Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain’s full of strange sights Men who go there end by being scared. Water glints and gleams in the … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Four: Cold Mountain
Up and Down Days Part Three: Zero to Hero
The annual Burns Night trip to Skye was usually the highlight of the mountaineering club calendar. The third weekend in … Continue reading Up and Down Days Part Three: Zero to Hero
Up and Down Days, Part Two: Muppets on a Mountain
If you’re going to do any hillwalking or mountaineering at all in Scotland, then one of the most fundamental things … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part Two: Muppets on a Mountain
Up and Down Days, Part One: The Bay of Water
For many years I’ve liked to tell people that I have an ‘up and down’ relationship with Scotland’s hills. Partly … Continue reading Up and Down Days, Part One: The Bay of Water
The Silence of the Birds
In June, 1960, a group of Moray House students from Edinburgh University went on a week’s field trip to Glenmore … Continue reading The Silence of the Birds
The House of the Father, in the Valley of the Mother
David Lintern makes a personal journey to the oldest surviving Celtic ritual site in Europe, and bags a few Munros … Continue reading The House of the Father, in the Valley of the Mother
Thoughts on The Darkest Day
Hi. If you’d rather listen to this post than read it, then here is an audio recording. The full text … Continue reading Thoughts on The Darkest Day
A Winter Camp in the Cairngorms
The night was cold but still as we left the Sugarbowl, crossing the rushing Allt Mor in darkness. Nothing stirred … Continue reading A Winter Camp in the Cairngorms
Connecting with the Mountains – A Personal Journey
“Traditionally approached from either Speyside in the north or Deeside in the south, I would not have to think too … Continue reading Connecting with the Mountains – A Personal Journey
Adventures in Miniature
No no nooooo! Arms windmilling wildly, I pull my left foot out of the thick goopy bog and try to … Continue reading Adventures in Miniature
Today Was a Gift
A few days ago the first snows of winter arrived on the mountains. There was a hard edged clarity of … Continue reading Today Was a Gift
Swimming High in the Cairngorms
The Cairngorms National Park is a wild swimmer’s paradise. Famous for having some of the cleanest rivers in Europe, as … Continue reading Swimming High in the Cairngorms
Come Further Up, Come Further In
“Over the garden fence, behind the railway and the cherry trees, the Cairngorms are waiting. They should be more than a mere background to life.” Continue reading Come Further Up, Come Further In
Upstream, Downstream
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it attached to everything else in the universe.” John … Continue reading Upstream, Downstream
The Oaks of Sunart
As soon as the man on the phone stopped shouting at me and hung up, I made up my mind … Continue reading The Oaks of Sunart
The Grey Coast
The Cateran Ecomuseum · The Grey Coast by Hamish Napier A poem about where my father’s side of the family … Continue reading The Grey Coast
Land the Person
It occurred to me the other day, while I was walking up a hill through long grass beneath shady birch … Continue reading Land the Person
Summer is Here
‘The House in Rose Valley’ & ‘This is July’ It was wonderful to join ace Highland fiddle player Duncan Chisholm … Continue reading Summer is Here
Glen Torridon and the Awe of Time
On a cloudy October morning in 2008, I quietly opened the door of Ling Hut, where we had arrived in … Continue reading Glen Torridon and the Awe of Time
Looking Closely at Things
One of the great joys that photography can bring you is the ability to notice things that other people can’t … Continue reading Looking Closely at Things
Elm: The Tree of the Underworld
The Woods by Hamish Napier Hmmm, I wonder what kind of tree that is? The one on the corner of … Continue reading Elm: The Tree of the Underworld
The Caledonia Collective 