4 men who were found after a search in the Cairngorms had good equipment but poor navigational skills were a few miles from where they thought they were. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4467894.stm Roddy

Re charging for SAR and path maintenance, here are some suggestions of how it might be structured. · Annual recreational licence of £100 for walking/climbing on ground not owned by government to contribute to Search and Rescue and maintenance of paths, removal of rubbish etc. · Short-term...

Time to Pay! I am interested to see that there has been a suggeation that walkers should pay for their use of the West Highlland Way but I would suggest that £1 a day is well below the market value. Walkers should accept that almost all other sports and pastimes have to pay for the upkeep of...

A letter that might be of interest: Dear Sir Pay for Rescue Now that Search and Rescue services are to be privatised perhaps it is an opportune time to consider charging those who indulge in risk taking recreational activities such as sailing and hill-walking for the cost of their rescues. I...

I had a look and a feel of this camera in Jessops today, and I must say that it's got a really good solid feel to it, but at the same time is surprisingly light. I didn't weight it, but it seemed to be no heavier (or bulkier) than my G3 with the wide angle converter (the converter does add a lot...

Most published safety literature on hiking frowns upon walking alone, however the majority of my walks are undertaken uncompanied. Is this stupidity? How many others walk alone? .....17 summits this year 17 (15 Marilyns, 2 Sweats, 2 Wainwrights)

Is it possible to tell in advance when good sunsets or sunrises are going to occur? Clouds were a nice tinge of pink last night but haven't seen any really good ones for a while.

May I wish all members of this group all the very best for Christmas & the coming year. Having taken "early retirement" and hopefully reaching the big 60 in February I have been wondering what to fill some of my time with. Having spent the best part of the last 40 years wandering about on the...

Well OK, perhaps the heading's a little on the dramatic side, and I must confess here and now that this isn't a walking- related topic; however I have finally used my 'yellow peril' eTrex as a means of escape from inhospitable wilderness. Sort of. Our intrepid heroine (i.e. yours truly, but...

Right! We desperately need a cat herd! A certain Martin Richardson mooted an expedition a while back and it has got round to July again. If we don't pull our collective fingers out nothing will happen. Martin's suggestion was: 14 - 16 July 2006 Crickhowell - SO 215184. I can't make that weekend...

The usual date for the Leonids is November 17th, however this year the prediction is that the peak will be around 10pm on November the 19th, which is a Friday. Time of maximum expected (ZHR) 2004 Nov 19th 06:42 UTC (10) 2004 Nov 19th 21:49 UTC (~ 65) Another site advises that any time...

Tuesday 18 July 2006 We parked at the Salmon Hatchery on the east side of the A837, 3.5 kilometres south of our overnight accommodation at Inchnadamph Outdoor Centre. The midges, flies and clegs were upon us immediately we alighted from the car and my client, Janice, was ready in record time and...

The following is rather long, I hope you will bear with me. The new open access areas opened so recently that it is hardly surprising that some walkers are finding minor problems, as I have myself in the Peak District. The new explorer maps clearly mark the areas and the boundaries of access...

DAY ONE - FRIDAY Sunny day, puffy clouds. Until myself and Bill reached Snowdonia. Then it rained. On Snowdonia. Luckily it stopped as we reached the camp site, drove past, turned around, and reached it again. We couldn't remember which tent belonged to Jhimmy, so I made a guess. I turned...

The current edition of TGO (Jan 2005) makes quite a noise about a new columnist joinging their books, Colin Prior. Who he? Well, as the bullet point on the cover says "Britain's Finest Landscape Photographer" ....so if photography isn't your bag you can select ignore for this thread now...

The Reid wrote: I like to have a choice of pubs, restaurants and theatre etc without driving. I prefer to have a choice of hills, waterfalls, coastline etc. within easy travelling distance. I'd prefer both!

I must have forgotten to keep the 6th February 2005 urw thread "EX 16 Location & Date" but a quick Google suggests that we were tentatively planning: Whe Brotherswater, (English) Lake District When: Weekend of 23rd/24th April 2005 Campsite: Possibly this one (from Nick Pedley): "The Sykeside...

just breaking on sky news 3 British climbers die in snowstorms in Spains sierra nevada mountains.

From OUTDOORSmagic http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/news/article/mps/UAN/2751/v/1/sp/606603318365602495688 A London girls school has apologised after mountain rescue teams were called out to help a party of 39 inadequately equipped young girls in the Cairngroms yesterday. The leader of Cairngorm...

We did a spot of Hewitt bagging this weekend, enjoying some superb scenery on and around Bannau Sir Gaer, Fan Brycheiniog, Fan Gyhirych & Fan Nedd. However for myself and my companion Fan Brycheiniog was slightly spoiled by a gang of geriatric walkers. I think there's unwritten agreement that...