Stone Country

The biggest peaks in each Scottish Mountain range - how many are there? Not as many as Munro's table of clustered bumps (pity the poor Skye bagger on the ridge!). The qualification is simple: the biggest peak in each distinct mountain range, though distinction is sometimes difficult. While this might seem lazy or just as arbitrary as Munro's fascination (a case in point is the Cobbler, much more dramatic than Ben Ime), it is at least not quite as obsessive, as each range gives a geological colour of its own and climbing the highest peak (usually) provides a good enough walking challenge, as well as offering a more realistic tour of Scotland's landscape, with landscape in mind rather than a tick-box. A good example of this is the northern Breadalbane range of hills sandwiching Glen Lyon. Beinn Dorain dominates only because it's by the road and it naturally captures the attention, but Beinn a' Chreachain provides a more remote experience entirely and arguably a rich

Garheugh Port , a set on Flickr. It's been a long time since Garheugh Port first attracted the boulderer, around the millennium in fact, when Dave Redpath, nursing a pulley injury, went exploring on the Galloway coast for some diversion... 'It was by chance that I pulled out an old guidebook, flicking through I happened to come across a place described as having a steep undercut slab and a few boulders. . .' Sounded promising... Dave disappeared every weekend until a batch of superb problems on the greywacke rock of Garheugh was completed. It became a popular summer venue for bouldering the highball slabs in the sun and sea breeze, a good winter venue for catching low winter sun and holding the roof slopers. It saw a host of visits by excited central belters until it seemed to fade back to nature, as many Scottish venues tend to do when they have their moment and are left to slumber. I returned on the hottest day of the year on the 3rd of June - a real continental s

Philip Watson, North Coast naturalist and social historian, will be signing and talking about his new book ‘Rathlin: Nature and Folkore’ which has just been published by Stone Country Press in PB at £9.99. Two events will be held: Manor House, Church Bay, Rathlin - 3pm on Friday June 10th - free food and wine (1pm ferry from Ballycastle)...hopefully the weather will be good enough for an evening walk of the island... Waterstones, Coleraine, 3pm on Sat 11th June 3pm - book signing