Hill Talk February 2007 - C~N~Do Scotland Newsletter
Hi Folks
Here we are in mid-winter in Scotland, Christmas has been and gone, our Highland New Year holiday has been and gone, and the snow has been and gone and is back again! The weather’s been varying between full blizzard conditions and the birdsong of spring sunshine. All of this means our winter walks and courses are experiencing plenty of the white stuff.
With the days starting to lengthen you may well be thinking of your walks for Spring / Summer, now is the time to book as some holidays already have only limited availability. Avoid disappointment and get your booking in now before it is too late.
What's New
If you've not done so already, check out our 2007 website which has been revamped and updated. Along with the general descriptions, we are now including the day to day itineraries for all holidays. The website is also the place where you can view availability on any particular holiday / course and check out any special offers that we may have.
New for this year is the 'Kintyre Way'. This is a new long distance route of approximately 87 miles, exploring the undiscovered gem of Scotland’s Kintyre Peninsula. Coastal scenery, wildlife and seafood abound.
Another new area for us in 2007 will be Caithness. Our 'Way Up North' holiday is full of interest, archaeology, bird life, wonderful coastal scenery, the world famous Flow Country, to name but some, and of course a host of great walks.
We've introduced two new wild trekking, camping and backpacking trips aimed at taking you into some of the wildest and most remote parts of Scotland. These are the Fisherfield Wild Trek and the 'Alladale Wild Trek' and these will appeal to those of you who really enjoy getting away from it all.
Have you noticed also that we've re-introduced the Southern Uplands Way again this year? It's Scotland's coast to coast walk a great “wee stroll” and easily achievable in two weeks.
Carbon Conservation
One big change this year is the introduction of a carbon offsetting facility to our website. Although we all know it is bad for our environment, air travel and car travel are often essential. This project gives you (and us) the opportunity to offset the carbon footprint of your holiday or other activity by contributing to a Scottish based project. In conjunction with the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) we are supporting the upland peat restoration project on North Arran. Considerable research and advice from leading ecologists has identified that, in the temperate latitudes of Scotland, the best form of carbon sink is peatland. Over the years many of our peatlands have been destroyed. This project aims to redress the balance and restore these natural habitats and make them actively functioning as carbon sinks again, thus providing an effective means of compensating for the carbon that our lifestyles inevitably produce. CNDo has committed to contributing 100% of our energy consumption from vehicles and energy use at the office. Within five weeks of going live, some £245 was contributed. You can use the scheme to offset any aspect of your carbon footprint – travel, home or business energy use. Our carbon conservation scheme website has full details of the project.
Desktop Wallpaper
Just to keep you thinking of things Scottish, here’s a download for your computer screen to keep relaxed as you sit there. Go to – Scottish desktop wallpapers and download your today.
Winter Skills
Now that the snow is returning to the hills in Scotland, maybe it's time to think about whether our winter skills need updating.
Snow on the hills doesn't mean that they are out of bounds to walkers but you do need to be properly equipped with the not just the right equipment but also the skills. So if you are new to winter walking or need to refresh your skills, why not consider a C-NDo winter skills course? This year we are offering both residential winter skills weekend courses in the Cairngorms and winter skills day courses nearer to our Stirling base. If you haven’t yet tried winter walking, why not give it a go?
Looking for Something Different?
Take a look at the summer solstice bivvy on our day walk programme. On the evening of 20th June we will be heading up Meall nan Tarmachan near Killin in Perthshire to bivvy out (sleep out in the hills). Rising early in the morning we will head to the summit to watch the sun rise, then back down for bacon butties in the village before returning to Stirling in time for work! What a fantastic add-on this would make to your Scottish holiday!
And Finally
We are currently updating the picture galleries on our website with the best photographs we can find. Do you have any digital images from previous holidays which we could use? Do send them in to us.
Enjoy yourselves wherever you go.
Team CNDo
