Today I went for a hike with my colleague Eef from work. We opted for the Brunssummerheide which is nearby. Completely dressed up for this winterwalk we headed off only to discover 15 minutes later that we were somehow lost as we were unable to follow the track instructions as all tracks were covered in snow and thus not visible for us. Damn. So then we decided to just follow our instinct and to find the restaurant, which should be halfway this track, on our own.

And.....we made it to the Restaurant Schieversheide in about one hour and 15 minutes. Hot chocolate was our reward. We grabbed ourself a booklet with available walks and map of the area and opted for the darkgreen route........but ......we could not find a darkgreen colored signpost, only a blue and yellow and light green one. Oh well, we managed to get here, so we will manage to get back to the parking lot...won't we?



We are able to pick up the darkgreen track after about 20 minutes and are definitely on our way back. Unless you oversee a signpost somewhere and end up at a spot we had been 1,5 hours ago. Duh.........



Somehow we make it back to the parking lot afterall. We have been walking for almost 3 hours on snow covered grounds (instead of the 2 hours we anticipated). But....a great walk full with creativity, LOL.

wow....This year our winter is a real winter. With temperatures dropping at night below - 10 Celsius and during daytime an average of - 4 Celsius. And the last 1 week we were presented with lots of snow........... we just love it.

Here some pictures taken on January 3rd, 2010:



and one week later we had this very cold winterday with gusts and lots of snow. Despite those weather conditions we went for a walk and took the following pictures:

It is a beautiful sunny day when we, together with Sue & Stewart of Homefarm B&B, go for a walk in the glen of Strathconon. As we have to cross a river this is not a good walk when it has rained a lot or when it is raining (difficult to predict ofcourse in Scotland)

Good to know:
Distance: 9 kms
Rate: easy (a bit of stone climbing when crossing the river)
Map (incl. elevation information): Strathconon walk
GPS-track available for download: yes

As always photo's (but not all of them) can be enlarged by clicking on them.

First you will have to drive to the end of the glen, where there is a parkinglot. Here you have a lovely view over Loch Bennacharian.



Walk along the loch and past the estate mansion. We spotted a herd of deers and ofcourse other wildlife.....

After 10 days on beautiful Ardnamurchan Peninsula, we head for the area of Inverness and stay at the Homefarm B&B of our co-authors in Muir of Ord. In this area we make some lovely and not too complicated walks. The first is to the area of Culbin Forest near Nairn (East of Inverness)

Good to know:
Distance: 11 kms
Rate: easy
Map (incl. elevation information): Culbin Forest - Hill 99 Viewpoint Trail
GPS-track available for download: yes

As always photo's (but not all of them) can be enlarged by clicking on them.

The walk starts at a huge parking where there are toilet facilities and there you can also pick up a leaflet of the area . The track is well-marked and is called Hill 99 viewpoint trail, although we did a small detour along the waterfront.

First you will come across these Gravel-pit Ponds, which were dugged to provide a source of fresh water for birds, mammals and insects.



The track continous through the forest and after a while you will be at the base of