Alastair Humphreys has nothing against big adventures – he’s cycled around the world, rowed across the Atlantic and pulled a glorified shopping cart for 1,000 miles across the Rub’ al Khali desert on the Arabian Peninsular, a giant, ludicrously inhospitable sandpit.

As regular readers will be all-too aware, this column is no stranger to excrement. Indeed, last autumn Four Seasons played host to a veritable carnival of copraphilia, taking not one, not two, but three consecutive weeks to discuss the provision of sewage treatment (or, rather, the lack of it) near Pease Bay in the Scottish Borders.

The use of “trail cameras” or “camera traps” has become an increasingly important research tool in nature study in recent years by providing a convenient means to monitor the occurrence of animals in a particular area.

Select your viewpoint for Fort William’s mountain bike extravaganza with a little help from an expert

There are times when I really do wonder about my sanity. On a recent family trip to Dumfries and Galloway I booked the four of us (me, husband Calum, Bill and Ellen) to go on the 820m zip wire at Laggan Outdoor Centre.

Heart-stopping moments and a spot of gore are guaranteed on a visit to The Edinburgh Dungeon

John Muir is Scotland’s greatest ever naturalist, right? Well that depends on who you talk to