The Swiss Alps

Walkers and outdoor enthusiasts looking beyond Britain’s shores have a trio of books to guide them on their travels.

Kev Reynolds’s The Swiss Alps is the latest tome in Cicerone Publishing’s World Mountain Ranges series and follows books on Scotland and the Pyrenees.

The guide has routes for all abilities, from active hillwalkers to ski tourers and full-on Alpine climbers. Trekking routes and multi-day routes are also included and the book provides background information to help anyone planning a trip to make the most of their time.

The Swiss Alps is priced £25. Details are on the Cicerone website.

Mike Wells’s The Adlerweg is the first English-language guide to the 300km (186-mile) Eagle’s Way traversing the Austrian Tyrol from St Johann to St Anton.

Strong walkers can complete the route in just over two weeks, but many will take longer, with three weeks a typical time for the summer season walk, much of which is above 1,000m altitude.

The guide contains variants to the route and costs £14.95 from Cicerone.

Heading farther east, The High Tatras is a guide to walks and scrambles by Renáta Nározná and Colin Saunders.

The Tatra Mountains straddle the Poland-Slovakia border and offer well maintained and waymarked walking routes, including exposed sections with fixed chains or wires.

There are also scrambling sections, clearly marked in the book. The region’s history and flora and fauna are also described along with walks at all levels from easy to strenuous.

The High Tatras is on sale at £17.95. Further details are on the Cicerone website.

The Mawddach Trail. Photo: John Lucas CC-BY-SA-2.0

Walkers and cyclists are being warned part of a popular trail will be closed for at least two months.

Work to install a new bridge on the Mawddach Trail will mean a section of the route, which runs along the shore of the Mawddach estuary in north Wales, will be out of bounds from later this month.

The bridge will be built between the Coleg Meirion Dwyfor and the Marian in Dolgellau, putting that section of the trail out of use.

The 14km (9-mile) trail, which is open to walkers and cyclists, runs from Dolgellau to the coast at Barmouth in the Snowdonia National Park.

The work, by Gwynedd Council, will improve the route for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users. The new bridge will also improve the public footpath which runs from Coleg Meirion Dwyfor towards the town of Dolgellau.

The national park authority’s head of warden and access service Mair Huws said: “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by closing this part of the trail.

“At the moment, the bridge and the paths either side of it are not convenient for everybody. But once the new bridge will be installed and the new paths created, it will be easier for walkers, wheelchair users and cyclists of all ages to enjoy the whole of the trail.”

Pete Trumper, the national park’s head of property services added: “This is an exciting project and we are very pleased to be working with Gwynedd Council to ensure that more people can enjoy this part of the trail.

“We are extremely grateful to the council for funding and facilitating this important project.”

The park authority said walkers and cyclists should start or finish their trip at either Bont y Wernddu or Penmaen Pool car parks, rather than the Marian in Dolgellau.

The section of the trail will be closed from 13 February.

The Galileo satellites will eventually provide increased accuracy for outdoor enthusiasts. Image: OHB Systems

A British company has been chosen to build the navigation systems for the next set of Galileo satellites.

Galileo will eventually form a European satellite service to rival the USA’s Global Positioning System.

The European Space Agency signed a contract to produce the next eight satellites with a consortium including Guildford-based Surrey Satellite Technology and OHB Systems in Bremen, Germany.

The consortium already holds the contract for 14 satellites and the eight latest will eventually join the constellation orbiting Earth at a height of more than 23,000 km (14,300 miles).

The European Space Agency said: “Europe’s Galileo satellites combine the best atomic clocks ever flown in space for navigation – accurate to one second in three million years – with a powerful transmitter to broadcast precise navigation signals.”

The first two Galileo in-orbit validation satellites were successfully launched in October last year, and the agency plans to put another two IOV craft in orbit at the end of summer.

The 14 fully functioning satellites now being built by Surrey Satellite Technology and OHB and the eight just agreed will then progressively be launched to provide a full satellite navigation service for walkers, outdoor enthusiasts, motorists and numerous other users.

ESA has also agreed to commission beefed-up Ariane rockets to propel the satellites into their orbit. The first two IOV craft used Russian Soyuz rockets, one of the oldest space technologies still in use.

The satellite contract was signed this week at the European Commission’s London centre.

Galileo is planned to provide navigational accuracy of up two one metre and extend coverage into higher latitudes not covered by the GPS system and will also include a search and rescue function.

Members of the forum will advise on access matters in the Lake District

An appeal has gone out for new members of an influential group advising on access in a national park.

New recruits to the Lake District national park’s local access forum will need sound countryside knowledge and good communication skills.

The national park authority is looking for 10 members of the forum, which has a leading role advising the Lake District national park on how best to manage rights of way and other access areas.

The forums were set up following the introduction of the Countryside and Rights of Way Act, which gave the public the right to walk in areas that had been out of bounds.

The authority said members are chosen for their expertise in areas such as land management, conservation, access for all, transport, tourism, business, water-based activities and education.

Lake District national park access and recreation developer David Robinson: “We would particularly like to appeal to anyone prepared to devote some time to making this outstanding landscape more accessible and enjoyable for all. The contributions made by the forum are tremendous.

“Access to the Lake District is not just about footpaths and bridleways, it’s about how people from all walks of life and of all abilities actually get here and get around.

“So if anyone with expertise in health and wellbeing, education, sustainable transport, limited mobility or any other related field is interested, please get in touch.

“This is an exciting opportunity to influence the management of countryside access across the Lake District, including lakes, rivers and coastlines. We are looking for landowners, land managers, lake users and conservationists to work together to advise us on how we can improve on what we already do.”

Closing date of applications is 23 February.

More details are available from David Robinson on 01539 792698 extension 2735 or on the Lake District National Park Authority website.

Scotland's wild land is concentrated in the western and north-western Highlands and the Cairngorms

Scotland’s wild land has been mapped in a pioneering project aimed at protecting some of the nation’s most spectacular landscapes.

Scottish Natural Heritage, the Government’s advisory organisation on the outdoors, worked with a team from the University of Leeds to produce the maps.

The maps will help local authorities and other planning bodies make decisions about development and land use change to safeguard wild land. SNH said the maps can also help the tourism industry promote Scotland’s wild landscapes to visitors and walkers.

SNH said: “The Scottish public views wild land as an important priority. A recent SNH study found that 91 per cent of respondents agree that Scotland’s areas of wild land are important and should be protected.

“Another study found wild land provides even more economic and employment benefit than agriculture and forestry combined.”

The maps use a method developed by the university’s Wildland Research Institute based on work already carried out for the Cairngorms national park. Dr Stephen Carver, a senior lecturer in the department of geography at Leeds, has also worked with the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park on a similar project.

But the SNH maps detail the whole of Scotland’s wild country – a first in Europe. A geographical information system was used to detail four aspects of wild land: perceived naturalness – presence of natural and semi-natural vegetation; absence of man-made features, remoteness from public roads, and ruggedness of the terrain.

Simon Brooks, SNH policy and advice manager, said: “These new maps will give valuable, detailed information to local authorities to inform decisions.

“Scotland is famous for its wild landscapes – these maps tell us where the wildest areas are and will help everyone when considering changes in these places. The maps don’t mean changes or development can’t take place in these areas, but they do give local authorities more and better information to base planning decisions on.

“Using the maps and information published today, future work will identify areas of particular high wildness value. This work will build on our earlier work to identify wild land, and will support the Scottish Government’s policy of safeguarding areas of wild land character.”

Dr Carver added: “It’s great to see the methodologies that we developed here at the University of Leeds and with our partners in the Wildland Research Institute being used across the whole of the country.

“Scotland has taken the lead here, and is the first country in Europe to produce a national wildness map at this level of detail, so it’s very exciting to see these maps.

“Although we’re not surprised by the broad patterns shown, as we already have a good feeling for where the wild areas of Scotland are, the key thing with these maps is the fine detail and how they were created using the latest data and mapping tools.

“This makes them robust and repeatable. Hopefully, England and Wales will follow suit and produce their own maps in due course.”

The maps can be seen on the Scottish Natural Heritage website.

Ramblers set off from Bowden Bridge, Hayfield, for their 1932 mass trespass

Ramblers in period gear will re-enact a moorland walk that led to the imprisonment of five activists 80 years ago.

The walk will commemorate the Kinder Scout mass trespass, which led to a confrontation between ramblers and the Duke of Devonshire’s gamekeepers on the Peak District hillside.

Five working-class walkers, including Manchester Communist Benny Rothman, were jailed following the incident, which was a key point in the fight for public access to the hills and moorlands of Britain.

The mass trespass was the spur for a wider campaign which culminated decades later in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act in England and Wales. Scotland would benefit from the much more generous Land Reform (Scotland) Act.

The movement also led to the setting up of Britain’s national parks, of which the Peak District was the first to be established.

A week of celebrations later this year, which includes almost 30 walks, will mark the 80th anniversary of the mass trespass.

Broadcaster and keen walker Stuart Maconie will kick off the celebrations which will also see talks from musician and broadcaster Mike Harding, Ramblers vice-president and Open Spaces Society general secretary Kate Ashbrook and Dame Fiona Reynolds, director-general of the National Trust, which now owns Kinder Scout, the highest point in the Peak District.

Kinder Scout is now open to walkers and climbers

The Kinder 80 celebrations will include walks from Hayfield, starting point of the mass trespass, and Edale, with Ramblers from Manchester and Sheffield.

A sub-committee of the Kinder and High Peak Advisory Committee, representing the Peak District National Park Authority, Derbyshire County Council, the National Trust, the Ramblers, the British Mountaineering Council and the Sheffield Campaign for Access to Moorland, has organised the activities.

Chairman of the Kinder 80 committee Roly Smith said: “The trespass anniversary has become an important date in the outdoor calendar, and many people believe that the sacrifice made 80 years ago by these ramblers should never be forgotten.

“But we also want to look forward to what has been achieved on Kinder since then.”

The two Ramblers groups, including some in 1930s attire, will meet up for a celebration on the hill.

The week of events starts on 24 April and also includes an audio-visual show by photographer John Beatty, talks on the history of Kinder by Sheffield historian David and climbing on Kinder by the BMC’s Martin Kocsis.

Walks will include special ones linked to the High Peak Health Walks programme, a timeline walk, and others aimed at schoolchildren with a focus on fun, adventure and exploration.

A trespass-themed ceilidh featuring the Well Dressed Band and local singer-writer Sally Goldsmith will be held on Sunday 29 April and special exhibitions will be staged at the Moorland Visitor Centre, Edale, Castleton Visitor Centre, and the New Mills Heritage Centre.

A revised and updated version of leader Benny Rothman’s book on the trespass will also be launched at the event on 24 April.

The Government cash will help train new leaders and set up youth groups where few exist

Scout and Girl Guide groups will benefit from a £10m Government fund set up to provide new volunteer leaders.

The Department for Communities and Local Government today announced the cash boost which it said would recruit and train up to 2,700 leaders and set up 400 new youth groups.

The Government money will be channelled through Youth United, a coalition of youth groups which was set up by Prince Charles and supported by the Prince of Wales’s Charitable Foundation.

The aim is to start new youth groups in areas where historically there have been limited opportunities for young people to join such organisations because the few adults with the right skills and experience have needed the additional support from new volunteers.

Organisations such as Air Training Corps, Army Cadets, Boys’ Brigade, Fire Cadets, Girlguiding UK, Girls’ Brigade, Marine and Sea Cadets, Scouts, St John Ambulance and Volunteer Police Cadets are all involved in Youth United.

The cash will be allocated to inner-city areas of England.

Communities Secretary of State Eric Pickles said: “Scouts, Guides and the Cadets have a tremendously proud and successful history of giving young people the kind of fun, life skills and experiences they can’t get anywhere else.

“They rely on the goodwill and dedication of trained adult volunteers to provide this community service, which brings young people of all backgrounds and beliefs together.

“Over 1.5 million young people are regularly involved but many more want to join – with more volunteer leaders needed to bring waiting lists down – every young person in the country should have the chance to participate if they want to.

“The help we are giving today will mean Youth United groups can train a new generation of local volunteers to run a new Cub pack or Guiding patrol and make all the difference in 15 communities that face some significant challenges.”

Derek Twine, Chief Executive of the Scout Association said: “We welcome the Government’s investment in volunteering, and are pleased that the excellent work taking place in the voluntary sector to support young people and their communities is being recognised and encouraged.”

The funding will ‘kick start’ 400 new branches. Once established, the new branches are expected to be permanently self-sustaining, raising their own running costs through local fundraising activity and subscriptions.

Glencoe is one of Scotland's mountain areas owned by the NTS

An earl will take over from a duke as president of one of Scotland’s major conservation charities.

The Earl of Lindsay has agreed to take on the role at the head of the National Trust for Scotland, which owns some of the nation’s top mountain estates, including Glencoe and Ben Lawers.

He will succeed Richard, 10th Duke of Buccleuch if the trust’s membership endorses the move. He is due to take on his formal role at the charity’s annual meeting in Edinburgh in September.

James Randolph Lindesay-Bethune, 16th Earl of Lindsay is currently chairman of the Scottish Agricultural College, United Kingdom Accreditation Service and the British Polythene Pension Scheme.

He is also a non-executive director at Scottish Resources Group and BPI, an associate director of the National Non-Food Crops Centre and a member of the advisory board of Business and a Sustainable Environment.

From 1995 to 1997, he was the Conservative Scottish Minister with responsibility for agriculture, forestry, environmental protection, countryside, sustainable development and culture.

He is also a vice-president of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and between 1998 and 2003 was chairman of RSPB Scotland. He is chairman of the Moorland Forum, president of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, vice-president of the International Tree Foundation and the Royal Smithfield Club, and was a recent president of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland.

Sir Kenneth Calman, chairman of the National Trust for Scotland said: “Jamie Lindsay has an unrivalled breadth of expertise in terms of Scotland’s environmental heritage.

“He combines commercial acumen with direct experience of policy-making and governance, and I have no doubt that he will be an ideal ambassador for the trust as we move forward in delivering our new strategy.

“I’ve met Jamie on many occasions and can attest to his commitment to conservation and his sense of responsibility for the treasures entrusted to us from our nation’s shared heritage and culture.”

The 56-year-old was educated at Eton and Edinburgh University.

The Canal & River Trust will get more than £1bn of Government cash. Photo: Roger Kidd CC-BY-SA-2.0

A £1bn deal to transfer England and Wales’s canals and rivers to a new charity is a good deal for the taxpayer, the Government said.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon announced today that the new Canal & River Trust will receive £1.26bn-worth of funding over the next 15 years.

The deal will see England and Wales’s 200-year-old network of canals and rivers pass from public ownership to a new body dubbed the ‘national trust for the waterways’.

The Holyrood Government has decided Scotland’s canals stay in public ownership.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said a £10m-a-year element due to be paid to the new body would depend on the satisfactory maintenance of towpaths, flood management and keeping assets in a satisfactory state.

Defra said: “This is a good deal for the taxpayer, the waterways and for the millions of people that enjoy them.

“Releasing the nation’s waterways from Government control gives more certainty than ever to their financial future.

“The Canal & River Trust’s charitable status will mean new opportunities for revenue through donations, charitable grants and legacies, increased borrowing powers, efficiencies and volunteering activity.”

Mr Benyon said: “The Canal & River Trust will be a national trust for the waterways, maintaining and restoring 2,000 miles of heritage sites, wildlife habitats and open spaces so that we can all enjoy them for generations to come.

“Bringing our waterways into the Big Society puts decision-making into the hands of the thousands of people who cherish the waterways near their homes.

“Our £1bn investment will get this new charity off to the strongest start possible, and let local communities and volunteers shape the future of our world-famous waterways.”

The Ramblers, whose former chief executive Tom Franklin is a member of the trust’s board, welcomed the announcement.

The charity said it lobbied hard to make certain that public access to the country’s towpaths and canalside footpaths formed part of the trust’s charitable objectives, in recognition of the fact that walkers are amongst the biggest group of people to use our canals and rivers.

Kate Conto, Ramblers senior policy officer, said: “With millions of people each year using our canals and rivers it is clear that a walk besides Britain’s waterways is an important part of our cultural heritage.

“This funding announced today is good news for walkers and waterway users everywhere, meaning that the trust can take the best first steps possible towards protecting our waterways and ensuring that they can be enjoyed by all.

“The Ramblers warmly welcome this commitment to our waterways and the importance of improving public access to our rivers and canals for recreation, health and social wellbeing.”

Commercial property worth £460m already in the hands of British Waterways will be transferred to the new trust to allow it to continue funding its infrastructure work.

The Canal & River Trust will also receive a grant of £39m a year, linked to inflation, along with the £10m already mentioned.

A one-off grant of £25m to be used in the next few months will also be made and a Government guarantee on pensions liability made.

Defra said more than half the population lives within 10 minutes of a waterway.

If Parliament approves the plans, the new charitable trust is due to be launched in June. Rivers in the care of the Environment Agency are planned to come under the charity’s control from 2015-16.

A shot from Blue Obsession. Photo: Alan Gordon

Tickets have gone on sale for one of Britain’s biggest film festivals featuring adventure, travel and adrenaline sports.

More than 70 movies will be screened during the Sheffield Adventure Film Festival, and speakers lined up include Simon Yates, the famous wielder of the knife in Touching the Void, who will launch his new book, The Wild Within.

ShAFF is now in its seventh year, and has established itself as a major draw in the adventure film calendar, with movies covering climbing, kayaking, biking, running, skiing and boarding and just general adventure mayhem.

There will also be a series of expert nights on running, climbing and cycling during which top proponents of the three disciplines will share their experience and knowledge.

The festival takes place at the Showroom cinema in central Sheffield, South Yorkshire, from 9 to 11 March. The first expert evening will be on 9 February.

Full details of the programme, ticket prices and dates are on the ShAFF website.