Posts for August, 2025

What is Anagach Woods parkrun?
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it’s up to you!

When is it?
Every Saturday at 9:30am.

Where is it?
The event takes place at Anagach Woods, Forest Road, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3JL. See Course page for more details.

What does it cost to join in?
Nothing – it’s free! but please register before you first come along. Only ever register with parkrun once and don’t forget to bring a scannable copy of your barcode (request a reminder). If you forget it, you won’t get a time.

How fast do I have to be?
We all take part for our own enjoyment. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!

Anagach Woods parkrun needs you!
It is entirely organised by volunteers – email anagachwoods@parkrun.com to help.

Safeguarding
parkrun is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For our full safeguarding processes and policies, including how to report a concern, please see our Safeguarding Hub.

We’re friendly!
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee at Fiona’s Wholefoods, YMCA Building, High Street, Grantown – please come and join us!

Local orienteering event in the woods at Nethy Bridge organised by Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteering Club.

Courses suitable for newcomers, families, and experienced orienteers. Great mix of forest and intricate path networks. Getting started support available for newcomers.

Please enter online or email before 23.30 on the 8th of September to be sure to get your preferred course.

There will be some entry on the day based on map availability.

As climate changes accelerates and weather extremes become more frequent, the need to create diverse, resilient landscapes grows ever more important. Trees play a critical role in the landscape, providing essential shade, shelter and forage, as well as slowing the flow of water off the hills, maintaining soil health and enabling food production.

This immersive learning day provides a unique opportunity to find out everything you want to know about tree planting, tree protection and woodland management at the multi-award-winning Lynbreck Croft, owned by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. With 28 years of combined practical experience, Lynn and Sandra are creating a landscape at Lynbreck where trees and food production go hand in hand.

With practical hands-on learning opportunities and Lynn’s expert guidance, this course will help you to observe and understand the varied ways that trees are nurtured, managed and utilised on a working croft, emphasising their central place within a landscape that benefits nature, climate and people.

The Learning Day will cover:
– tree planting best practise
– small and large scale planting schemes, from wood pasture to continuous woodland blocks
– planning and planting an orchard
– creating shelterbelts
– tree protection and deer/rabbit management
– existing woodland and decaying wood management
– grazing of herbivores and pigs in woodlands
– creating and establishing hedgerows
– planting and harvesting tree hay for livestock
– firewood processing and making charcoal for domestic use

Across mainland Europe, the Eurasian lynx is staging a comeback. Freed from the pressures of unsustainable hunting and benefiting from a softening of public attitudes, this enigmatic feline has been successfully reintroduced into several countries and is now growing in numbers and expanding its range.

This special Learning Day will explore what a reintroduction in Scotland might look like, what challenges we might face and how we might manage coexistence.

We will also explore what it would be like to walk in the lynx’s footsteps once again, as we sharpen our senses to forgotten cues and learn how to identify and track pine martens, wildcats, badgers and foxes, comparing their behaviours and signs to those of a lynx. We will learn to think both like a lynx and like the lynx’s prey, experiencing the landscape through their eyes, ears and noses, as we seek to re-imagine how our woodlands would feel in the presence of this apex predator.

The Learning Day will cover:
– An introduction to lynx ecology and behaviour
– What a Scottish reintroduction might look like
– How a lynx reintroduction could benefit Scotland
– Remaining barriers to a lynx reintroduction and how they might be overcome
– Thinking like a lynx – tracking skills and the art of silent stalking
– Living with lynx – a fresh look at life (and death) through the eyes of a roe deer

Join us for a walk around Moray’s earliest surviving tower house, reputedly built for Scotland’s vilest man, Alexander Stewart—the infamous Wolf of Badenoch. Drumin Castle, an impressive medieval fortification, stands on a commanding bluff overlooking the confluence of the River Livet and the River Avon.

Upon reaching the castle, you’ll learn about its architecture, history, and the notorious Wolf, whose evil deeds continue to cast a long shadow over Moray’s history.

Drumin Castle has now reopened after masonry repairs, with access to the first floor now possible via a narrow stone staircase. Sensible footwear is recommended.

Step back in time and uncover the mystery of the Picts with the Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage and Dark Sky Ranger. This engaging talk and tour will introduce you to the Pictish people, their unique art, and the symbol stones that continue to inspire centuries after they were carved.

Set within the ancient and atmospheric site of Inveravon Church—an important place of worship and pilgrimage for generations—we’ll closely examine the intricate carvings on the four remarkable Pictish stones discovered here. You’ll learn how these enigmatic symbols fit into a wider cultural story and how the Picts helped lay the foundations of modern Scotland.

Join Lynn Cassells, co-owner of Lynbreck Croft, for an immersive learning day focused on planting, growing and working with trees, surrounded by the inspiring landscapes of the Cairngorms National Park.

As climate changes accelerates and weather extremes become more frequent, the need to create diverse, resilient landscapes grows ever more important. Trees play a critical role in the landscape, providing essential shade, shelter and forage, as well as slowing the flow of water off the hills, maintaining soil health and enabling food production.

This immersive learning day provides a unique opportunity to find out everything you want to know about tree planting, tree protection and woodland management at the multi-award-winning Lynbreck Croft, owned by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. With 28 years of combined practical experience, Lynn and Sandra are creating a landscape at Lynbreck where trees and food production go hand in hand.

With practical hands-on learning opportunities and Lynn’s expert guidance, this course will help you to observe and understand the varied ways that trees are nurtured, managed and utilised on a working croft, emphasising their central place within a landscape that benefits nature, climate and people.

For organisers:
Set-up from 10:30am
Donations to Castle Roy suggested £5

Entries will open approximately 6 weeks prior to the race ie late June.

The Glenshee 9 hill race is a 19 mile/5,500ft run across the 9 Munro’s bordering Glenshee Ski Centre in the East Highlands.

The race is run in an anticlockwise circuit across the following summits in this order:-

Creag Leacach (987m)
Glas Maol (1068m)
Cairn of Claise (1064m)
Tom Buidhe (957m)
Tolmount (958m)
Carn an Tuirc (1019m)
Carn Aosda (917m)
Carn a’Gheoidh (975m)
The Cairnwell (933m)
Start and finish is at Glenshee Ski Centre

There is one road crossing after approximately 13 miles (GR NO 147800) This checkpoint is also a cut-off which must be reached by 2.30pm. (ie. 3.5 hours from the start for faster competitiors up to 4.5hours for older age categories). This will be strictly enforced.

Route details can be found at www.stevenfallon.co.uk/glensheeroute.html

Entry Fee
Entry fee includes post race refreshments from Glenshee Catering. All profits from the race will be donated to Braemar MRT who will be providing event safety cover. 300 limit. Closing date Thursday 31st July 2025.

Wave Start
We will operate a two wave start. A 10am start for those in Veteran categories who would like this option (it is not mandatory!) and the main race start at 11am. We would not expect you to pick the 10am start if you are able to comfortably reach the road crossing within 3.5 hours.

Rules
This is a Category A long race and competitors are required to have completed similar events in the last two years.

Entrants must be over 18 years old.

Competitiors will be required to carry full body cover, whistle, map (this map must extend at least 2km beyond your race route in all directions and be waterproof), compass and some emergency food. PLUS any additional clothing dependent on the forecasted weather conditions.

Please note that although it is held in summer, it is Scotland, and well over 50% of the route lies above the 900m contour line. The route is not flagged and there are no water stations. Competitors will cross a number of burns which normally flow even in very dry summers.

Ever wondered what it’s like to zoom through a giant cloud of foam? Now’s your chance to find out! During our legendary Foam Days at the Wild Water Coasters, you’ll experience an explosion of foamy fun that the whole family will love.

Choose your adventure on the Otter or Wild Cat slides—each offering a thrilling ride with a delightfully foamy surprise at the bottom. Don’t forget your camera, as you’ll want to capture the unforgettable moment your loved ones emerge from their foam-filled boats. It’s a must-try experience you won’t want to miss!