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John D Burns

Outdoor author and speaker.

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    • The Hot Tent Diaries
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    • Bothy Tales
    • Sky Dance
    • Wild Winter
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  • Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast

  • David Barter. Great Scottish Bike Rides| Podcast

  • It’s Up to Us: Path restoration project | Podcast

  • Dan Bailey: UKHillwalking.com | Podcast

  • Bobby Motherwell: Singer/Songwriter, Poet and Climber | Podcast
Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast
David Barter. Great Scottish Bike Rides| Podcast

Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast

July 16, 2026July 17, 2026John D Burns Comment
As you gaze across the landscape of the Highlands you will see vast areas of magnificent hills and lochs that stir the imagination, [...]

David Barter. Great Scottish Bike Rides| Podcast

June 25, 2026July 10, 2026John D Burns Comment
John D. Burns talks to Dave Barter about his new book Great Scottish Bike Rides. (Available to pre-order now) Released 6 July. Scotland [...]

It’s Up to Us: Path restoration project | Podcast

June 12, 2026June 12, 2026John D Burns
Derek Williams Sound Editor John D. Burns talks to Stuart Younie, CEO of Mountaineering Scotland and Ewan Watson, Project Manager for the Outdoor [...]

Dan Bailey: UKHillwalking.com | Podcast

May 29, 2026May 29, 2026John D Burns
For better or worse, the Internet has changed all our lives. Dan Bailey talks to John D. Burns about the influence the influence [...]

Bobby Motherwell: Singer/Songwriter, Poet and Climber | Podcast

April 28, 2026May 1, 2026John D Burns
Sound Editor Derek Williams In this podcast Bobby Motherwell talks to John D. Burns about his deep connection with wild places and how [...]

Climbing in Yosemite: A Memoir – Dennis Gray | Podcast

April 8, 2026April 10, 2026John D Burns
Sound editor Derek Williams The development of big wall climbing in Yosemite in the second half of the twentieth century was a seminal [...]

Martyn Howe: The Coast is Our Compass | Podcast

March 27, 2026March 27, 2026John D Burns
John D. Burns talks to Martyn Howe about his remarkable journey along the King Charles III coastal path. In this interview Martyn reveals [...]

Matt Heason: Wild Rock | Podcast

March 11, 2026March 11, 2026John D Burns
John D. Burns talks to author and adventurer, Matt Heason, about his new book, Wild Rock, which explores some of the great scrambling [...]

Neil Ansell – The Edge of Silence | Podcast

February 19, 2026February 19, 2026John D Burns
Sound editor Derek Williams One of the things that we often forget when we travel through wilderness areas is the sound of the [...]

Fort William Mountain Festival | Podcast

January 30, 2026January 30, 2026John D Burns
The organisers of Fort William Mountain Festival have announce an exciting line-up for the 2026 programme, taking place in Fort William and across [...]

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John D. Burns has spent over forty years among the mountains of the Scottish Highlands. He is an author and public speaker. His books tell of his adventures in this iconic landscape and have become classics for those who love wild places.
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Outside In Podcast
Outside In Podcast

From the Highlands of Scotland, climbers, hikers and nature lovers talk about their experiences in the wild

Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast
byJohn D Burns

As you gaze across the landscape of the Highlands you will see vast areas of magnificent hills and lochs that stir the imagination, but look closer at that scenery and a different picture emerges. What the tourist sees from their car windscreen, or the hillwalker admires from the summit of a mountain, is not a wilderness where nature rules, it is a scarred, desolate land, stripped of its forests and wildlife where nature clings to the edges of the landscape by its fingertips.

You can play your part in showing just how important rewilding is by signing the Rewilding Nation Charter

In this podcast, John D. Burns talks to Steve Micklewright Past – Convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and Chief Executive of Trees for Life about the organisations that are working together across for a wilder Scotland.

Steve Mickelwright

“Climate breakdown and nature loss mean we face an unprecedented threat to our way of life and our children’s future. But it’s not too late. Scotland can lead the way as a Rewilding Nation to benefit nature, climate and people,” said Steve.

Scotland is ranked 212 out of 240 countries and territories for the state of its nature, and 11% of its species face extinction. Intensive agriculture and climate breakdown are having the biggest impacts on biodiversity, according to the authoritative State of Nature 2023 report, with other threats including non-native forestry, pollution, and introduced species.

This is undermining access to food, fresh water and clean air. It is hampering efforts to lock away carbon, and harming people’s health and wellbeing, says the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, a coalition of more than 20 organisations.

But growing numbers of communities, charities, farmers and landowners are taking action to turn Scotland’s nature crisis around – helping society cope with climate breakdown’s floods, wildlife die-offs, droughts and crop failures, while creating jobs and economic opportunities.

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance calculates 2.1% of Scotland’s land is now rewilding, with more than 150 projects covering at least 160,000 hectares, from community woodlands to landscape-scale partnerships. This includes members of Rewilding Britain’s UK-wide Rewilding Network, and the Scotland-wide Northwoods Rewilding Network, led by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture.

Rewilding 30% of Scotland can be achieved by restoring wild habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas, with no loss of productive farmland. Rewilding goes hand-in-hand with nature-led farming, fishing and forestry, the Alliance says.

Produced by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, the Why Not Scotland? film explores the Scottish landscape through the eyes of Flo Blackbourn, a young Scot from Glasgow, who sets out on a personal journey to find inspiring examples of major nature recovery around Europe.

https://youtu.be/FFypWj1bjPk?si=G_iDTwWx6nM_od-c

One of the great success stories of rewilding has been the reintroduction of the beaver into Scotland.

A family of five beavers and a beaver pair have been released at two sites on Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin in the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve in the northwest Highlands. The beavers were relocated under licence from agricultural land in Tayside to an area where their natural behaviours are expected to positively benefit the landscape and biodiversity. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), which manages the 17,604-hectare NNR, has been working in partnership with Trees for Life on the initiative since 2022, supported by Beaver Trust. The project has included three phases of extensive consultations with local communities and land managers.

FLS North Region Manager, Alex Mcleod, said: “Beavers being translocated to Glen Affric is the culmination of a long, exacting and thorough process for FLS and Trees for Life. Fully engaging with the local Affric communities, including through a detailed consultation process,

Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast
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Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast
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David Barter. Great Scottish Bike Rides| Podcast
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It’s Up to Us: Path restoration project | Podcast
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Dan Bailey: UKHillwalking.com | Podcast
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Bobby Motherwell: Singer/Songwriter, Poet and Climber | Podcast
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Climbing in Yosemite: A Memoir – Dennis Gray | Podcast
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Martyn Howe: The Coast is Our Compass | Podcast
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Matt Heason: Wild Rock | Podcast
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Neil Ansell – The Edge of Silence | Podcast
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Fort William Mountain Festival | Podcast
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Recent Posts

  • Steve Micklewright: Scottish Rewilding Alliance | Podcast
  • David Barter. Great Scottish Bike Rides| Podcast
  • It’s Up to Us: Path restoration project | Podcast
  • Dan Bailey: UKHillwalking.com | Podcast
  • Bobby Motherwell: Singer/Songwriter, Poet and Climber | Podcast

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