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Hi all, I've just found out that The Woodland Trust are trying to buy 2500 acres of forest on the shores of Loch Arkaig, near the Great Glen. The plan is to restore it fully to native Caledonian Pine Forest. This is an incredibly rare habitat these days, and home to all manner of flora and...

Thankyou everybody :You_Rock_. I was really hoping it WASN'T going to be a rat of course. I'll have to get my air rifle sighted in again over the weekend now!

That was my first thought too, but I wondered if they were too big for that? Also, the rat poo I've seen before was much darker in colour.

Found in the middle of a tarpaulin covered log-pile, alongside a 10-15cm dished bed of dead Beech leaves. Evidently left by an animal who can't be bothered walking far to go the loo in the night, but who was it? Many thanks folks!

LOL, I never said it was a big cat, and I'm not aware of any sightings locally. What I meant was that the footprints themselves are definitely real. I'd have thought that a dog would have left distinct claw marks in the mud, whereas none of the four prints we found had any claws showing...

No Robbi, either they're the real deal, or somebody is roaming our fields at night solely in order to wind me up!! :D

OK guys, whose paws are these then? They look cat-like to me (no exposed claws), but at nearly 2" by 3", they've got me wondering. The pics were taken this week in a field in Central Scotland. Cheers!

Fantastic! I know the answer is roughly "spring", but when's the best time to do this? Are there any other signs that the sap is rising, or is it just a case of trying a wee nick to see, as per the photos?

Perfect - thanks Stuart! I'll send you a PM.

I have here two 58 pattern plastic mugs (2006 Ospreys, in good condition), but no water bottle to go with them. So, no harm in asking: Does anybody have a spare water bottle that they would send me in return for one of the mugs?

Plenty of deer about I should think, but I didn't see any fungi (snow still lying). Hard to tell how healthy the growth was as no leaves at the moment, but the tree was definitely still living.

Thanks Guys, We thought maybe it had seen Ray comming, and REALLY didn't want to end up as a canoe! :-)

I took these photos last weekend of a tree near Coylumbridge (Aviemore). What do you think folks - is it a disease that's caused the bark to become pitted like this, or is it just really old?

You should come fishing with me then. This will virtually guarantee no piscine contact whatsoever, for the duration of the weekend! ;-) Yeah, I'm thinking that as well, and the same goes for canoeing. However, since it's a skill sharing weekend, I'll bring my canoe and a spare paddle /...

Nice one - thanks guys! I knew it wasn't a dog, but it didn't look quite right for a wildcat either. Never thought of otters, as I always associate them with the sea. It'd be a great place to live if you were an otter though - loads of fish and frogs etc to eat. I did a quick google images...

Wahey! Managed to get a pass for the weekend, so count me in!!

A couple of years ago, we paddled and portaged into Loch an Doire Dhuibh, which is kinda behind Stac Pollaidh, near Ullapool. Anyhow, at the Southwest corner of the loch, we found a fantastic wee beach for lunch. When we landed, we noticed the sand was covered in some wierd footprints. They...

Oh, you've gone and done it now Fredster! All us paddlers will end up banned from BCUK at this rate (particularly me, since I have the dubious honour of having posted the opener for this one on SOTP!) {Hides behind sofa and hopes nobody else notices from now on}

Great! I've never been bramble picking in January before, but I'll try and give it a go tomorrow. Cheers!

Fantastic! I quite fancy having a go at a bramble basket myself now. Do they have to be harvested at a specific time of year? (i.e. can I do it now in the middle of winter, and get away with it?) Cheers!