I found out by accident that the bus route along Glen Nevis had been quietly dropped with no or little publicity. The route takes you into the heart of Lochaber and is a great way of encouraging us out of our cars and into the countryside.

Highland Council officers were proposing to subsidise the route in an effort to keep it. They have now confirmed that Rapsons plan to continue the route on a commercial basis. Good news.

However they need to sort out their marketing, as many do not know it exists. It is perfect for linear or through routes into Glen Nevis from Kinlochleven or Spean Bridge.

In the Lake District there is enormous publicity of routes suitable for walkers on public transport yet here virtually nothing. With the drive towards sustainable tourism, groups like Nevis Partnership and Outdoor Capital UK should be working with the Council to come up with similar schemes.

I hear rumours that the five South Lochaber Community Councils have plans to take the Glencoe Hospital building into community ownership following its closure by NHS Scotland. Nothing has been made public yet but their proposals are thought to include the provision of secondary health services such as chiropody. Whilst it is sad that the hospital is closing I am not convinced the way forward is for the local community to take on the responsibilty and burden of maintaining such a large building. We await the publication of their proposals with interest.

Watching last night's Natural World programme on BBC2, I had expected a balanced assessment of plans to introduce animal species to the Alladale estate that are currently extinct in Scotland. Instead we got the views of the landowner, the estate manager, two estate workers, the estate's environmental consultant, a reserve owner from South Africa and several others who were in favour of creating a 23,000 acre Higland Game Reserve. The narrator treated us to a commentary describing the great benefits of reintroducing moose, brown bears, lynx, wild boar and wolves would bring. The only dissenting voice was the excellent Cameron Macneish who had less than a minute to explain his opposition. It is a pity the BBC decided to produce such a biased programme about an environmental issue that could have an enormous effect on a Highland wilderness, when a balanced approach was needed.

Update: In the interest of balance I have added a link to the Alladale Estate Website - here. I would recommend taking a look at their accomodation section and you will get an idea of who the Wildland Reserve is aimed at.

Biodiversity groups in the Highlands are on the look out for the Peacock butterfly. Apparently it has been spreading north and west in Scotland and need recorded sightings to map its distribution. More details online at: www.butterfly-conservation.org

Great news! As the Scottish Parliament e-petition demanding as urgent upgrade to the A82 drew to a close yesterday evening, it smashed the 8500 signature mark. This is despite the e-petition site being unavailable for some time yesterday.

The action group has done a great job mobilising support throughout Argyll and the Highlands in highlighting this important regional issue in a non-partisan way.