12/07/2014
Join Mark Stephen and Euan McIlwraith for outdoor activities from Shetland to the Borders, including an investigation into the potential impact of a change to planning policy.
This weekend we bring you two special programmes.
6.30-7.00 am on Saturday morning - Euan McIlwraith investigates the potential impact of a change to Planning Policy which means that the building of huts as places of retreat is to be encouraged. Hutting culture isn't new in Scotland - communities were first established in the 1920's but only a few of these remain. These communities became places for city dwellers to escape to at the weekends and live a simple life in harmony with their natural surroundings, in much the same way as is the norm in Scandinavian countries. Over the past few years, Reforesting Scotland has been campaigning to have more support for the building of huts from the Government. Now this has happened, how will things work out in practical terms?
7.05 - 8.00 am and Sunday at 11.05 - The Appin Murder of 1752 forms the centre of Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, Kidnapped. We follow the route the heroes of the book, David Balfour and Alan Breck Stewart took, from the island of Erraid off Mull - where they were shipwrecked - through Mull and Morvern and then over to Appin, where this key event in Scottish history took place.
Along the way, we discover why Robert Louis Stevenson's account of their travels was so historically and geographically accurate. Plus, the legacy of his family and their remarkable achievements building lighthouses around the coast of Scotland.
This programme is Part 1 of our two part series looking at the long distance route, the Stevenson Way, which traces Balfour and Breck's route all the way through the Highlands and down to Edinburgh. It was first broadcast in July 2012. Part 2 will follow next week.