What I’ve been reading this week, 6 December 2019

Letting loose the lynx, taking ultralight backpacking too far, an outdoor election, and throwing in the apostrophe towel.

Environment

‘Forgotten’ elm tree set to make a comeback – I’m too young to remember a landscape with large elm trees. It’s nice to think that future generations might be able to enjoy this.

Urgency needed to tackle red deer numbers, warn charities – ‘These issues are closely connected to meeting the obligations of the Scottish Government’s climate emergency and halting drastic biodiversity decline. We need a sense of urgency to protect and restore our woodlands and peatlands.’

Let loose the lynx! – ‘If lynx are reintroduced successfully, and Britons grow used to sharing these islands with proper predators again — not just foxes and wildcats and birds of prey — then we could think bigger.’

Eight-foot whale found washed up on Thames shore – this is tragic.

Long-distance hiking, nature, and the outdoors

10 tips for a winter bothy visit – solid tips from John Burns here on winter bothying.

30 Signs You May Have Taken Ultralight Backpacking Too Far – guilty as charged on many of these.

A Slovenian Epic: Solo in the Julian Aps – Emily Woodhouse has had an adventure in the Slovenian Alps.

December begins with a monochrome day in the Cairngorms – moody, almost colourless images of the Cairngorms from Chris Townsend.

Election 2019 – What Do Party Promises Mean for the Outdoors? – this is an excellent roundup of the nature, environmental and access promises made by all the major parties in the 2019 General Election.

L2H day 0-1: full moon in Aries – Carrot Quinn has begun blogging about her thru-hike of the Lowest to Highest Route. Here’s the first instalment.

Writing and editing

Apostrophe campaign ends due to ‘ignorance and laziness’ – pour one out.

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