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

Labels: inflatable, Loch Linnhe, Outdoor capital, porpoises, seals, wildlife

posted by Outdoor Capital of the UK @ 12:58 PM  0 comments

A friend was up visiting at the weekend, and although both of us were recovering from recent illnesses we got out on Saturday for a great 4 hour walk around Kinlochleven. Spencer is much more knowledgeable than me about flora and fauna and it is always interesting to walk with him.

We started walking along a good track the north side of the stream from the Blackwater Resevoir taking a left hand track just after the footbridge over the Alt na h-Eilde. This track is very good at first but gets a little wet when it joins the pipeline that runs between the Blackwater Reservoir and Loch Eilde Mor. We walked up to the Loch and then bore right to end up back in Kinlochleven.

Along the way we saw windchat's perched picturesquely on top on the pipeline vents, a great midge eating plant - a sundew - and several species of butterfly including a Fritillary.

Anna

Labels: easy walks, Highland, wildlife

posted by Outdoor Capital of the UK @ 12:29 PM  0 comments