Having access to the outdoors is sometimes taken for gtranted. However for disabled people finding oppotunities to spend time in the wilderness can be more difficult. I was lucky enought to writte this article for Mountaineering Sotland Magazine and share a bit of my expereince. The outdoors have always been a part of my…
Since I began writing my Disability Travel and Sports Blog over a year ago, my motivation to go out and have fun has gone through the roof. One of the things that has really come back for me, is my motivation to go hillwalking in the Scottish Mountains. Having cerebral palsy has of course made…
Country Sport has been something close to my heart from a very early age. I grew up in a rural environment where I was surrounded by opportunities for fishing and country sport. After a long break I am now beginning to rekindle my love for the outdoors and am making the connections again to enable…
The Great Glen Hostel just south of Invergary provided the location of the Walk Highland Autumn meet. I, along with around 30 others, attended for a two night stay. Taking over the hostel for the weekend, a fun time was had by all. Walk Highland, as many people know, is a fantastic website and a…
This week the Shadow Education Secretary Tristram Hunt told the Independent Newspaper that the Labour Party must get over its fear of the ‘F’ word and start promoting family values. He said the party needs to ‘shed its leftist qualms’ about appearing to patronise when talking about family values. In the past the Labour Party…
Motivation and inspiration doesn’t get much higher than on a snowy Scottish mountain below a clear blue sky. On a picture postcard day myself and a friend set out to climb two mountains in Glenshee and what a day it turned out to be. The two Munros, Cairn an Turic and Cairn of Claise can…
Sports and fitness are so important to an individual’s health and happiness. I have reviewed my fitness routine recently and discovered how inspired and motivated I suddenly am. Nothing seems to inspire and motivate me as much as sports and exercise to support living a healthy lifestyle. I thought I would write and share a…
I have always had a desire to cycle the length of the Outer Hebrides have finally taken the plunge and decided to have a crack at it. Round the world cyclist Mark Beaumont recently accomplished it although he did it is 24 hours. I am not proposing to cycle the 186 miles in 24 hours…
I have been fortunate enough lately to have been given a regular magazine column to write. Shooting Scotland is a country sports magazine that has grown out of another publication called Farming Scotland. Having once been a supplement, Shooting Scotland is now a publication in its own right and I am delighted to be involved…
On a weekend away in Scotland, more often then not, one usually ends up traipsing round the nearest town or village to where you are staying in the rain. Last Saturday was no exception and waking up to a stormy day in Pittenweem we made for St Andrews for a mosey round the shops and…
Cairngorm Mountain is home to Scotland’s only Funicular Railway. Opened in 2001 the line takes thousands of visitors up and down Cairngorm Mountain to the highest cafe in the UK, the Ptarmigan Restaurant, which sits at over 3,500ft about sea level. Cairngorm is a hive of activity at all times of year with thousands of…
This week the House of Lord voted in favour of cutting disability unemployment benefit by £30 per week leaving many, already struggling people, without money they need to live on. Names of the politicians who voted in favour of such a move have been published in the Independent in a so called ‘name and shame’…
Overview For disabled people, or anybody doing a lot of outdoors walking, having the right footwear is absolutely crucial. As a child I remember being dragged round shoe shops to get ‘proper’ shoes and oh how I used to resent it. Now, of course I fully understand for myself the benefits of having the right…
We had a comfortable night in Mrs McPhee’s house and really good breakfast to start the day. That was the first time for many years I had stayed in a B&B and it’s a strange experience. I found it odd being in someone else’s houses with their things around me, and their tastes of décor…
I have to Confess, I live on a budget at the moment and I don’t have money to burn on expensive kit, however this doesn’t stop me from enjoying and taking part in the outdoors. I thought I would write this piece to review a rucksack at the lower end of the market. I recently…
Knoydart is a very special place. A peninsula on the west coast of Scotland accessed only by boat, it has all the feelings of a remote Scottish island. Staying in the village of Inverie, I went there recently to explore Scotland’s last true wilderness. Standing on the pier at Mallaig, I…
Seadrift Bed and Breakfast I have recently returned from a delightful short break on the beautiful shores of Lochalsh. My adventures took me onto Skye where I was walking amongst magnificent mountains. I went there to stay in a Bed and Breakfast just outside the Kyle of Lochalsh to sample its delights. I discovered a…
By far the best part of my cycling adventure was cycling over the mountains of Harris. Here is a short videos to try and show what is was like.
If you have been to my blog before you will know that I have recently cycled the Outer Hebrides and that this has been a big achievement for me as well as a lot of challenge and fun. I thought it was important however to round things off and try to summarise the trip in…
Cycling over Harris from Tarbert to Callanish was just wonderful, the weather was fine, the road was quiet and with a cross-tail wind most of the way cycling was not too difficult. Although the mountains of Harris were truly spectacular they, without doubt, presented the biggest physical challenge. Shortly after leaving Tarbert and passing through…