After ten years of living an almost completely urban life in the city of Glasgow, 2009, for me, was the year that I emerged from the cocoon to discover the majestic Scottish wilderness.  Perhaps it could be same for any of the world’s great wildernesses, I don’t know any of them well enough to know if they have the same depth, but something of the way the landscape and people have woven together through time,  is truly magnificent.  It is said that the Scottish mountains are amongst the oldest in the world, and the poetry, the music and the people, even to this day, move forward with echos of this ancient history.  It might be foolish to try and convey this – like describing the taste of one of the finest single malt whiskies – but here are a few things that speak to me the loudest against this backdrop.   I’ll let you peel back the layers:

Sounds

‘Walts for Hector’ from Bothy Culture by Martyn Bennett

‘Why’ on Grit by Martyn Bennett ‘

‘Blackbird’ on Grit, by Martyn Bennett

’4 Notes’ from Bothy Culture by Martyn Bennett

more info | buy Grit | buy Bothy Culture

Words

A Man In Assynt_Norman Maccaig

more info | book available here

Pictures

I’ve been working on putting up a blog and forum for High-8, an organisation recently formed to  share stories and information about trips into the scottish wilderness.   Like many parts of the world, Scotland is a fantastic venue for outdoor sports.  Over time, I hope High-8 will become a great resource for activities like gorge walking, for which there is little information available and for which Scotland remains a relatively uncharted territory with huge potential for the sport.   We intend use the forum to explore possibilities in photography and film making, as a means to inspire and bring the amazing places and experiences to a wider audience.  If you do take part in this kind of thing in Scotland, then please do get involved. Here’s some pictures to wet the appetite: