Wild Places and Bothy Tales: Aberdeen

The Trust's North East Scotland Local Members Group hosts an event with author and adventurer John D Burns in Aberdeen.

Our first event with author and adventurer John D Burns (pictured above) took place on Thursday 3 October, with more than 80 audience members attending New Kings Lecture Theatre at the University of Aberdeen.

The evening was hosted by our North East Scotland Local Members Group and chaired by James Brownhill (pictured above). James introduced the group's local conservation activities and explained the running order for the night.

First up was Steph McKenna (pictured below), previously a seasonal ranger at Nevis and now John Muir Award Officer. Steph spoke about the work currently being undertaken there, including path repair work, litter picks and peatland updates - and the ways volunteers are integral to making all this happen.

Finally, author John D. Burns took to the stage dressed head to toe in camping gear and ready to take the audience on a journey through wild places, based on his book Bothy Tales: Footsteps in the Scottish Hills.

John’s love for wild places started early in life, when a school trip to the Lake District inspired him to explore more of the outdoors. “I come from Merseyside, which is a very industrialised area and I had never really experienced great wild open spaces until I went on that trip.” John told us. “That ignited this passion for the outdoors has been going ever since”

In his book Bothy Tales, John shares stories from the mountains and bothies of Scotland while highlighting the importance of caring and advocating for wild places. “I wanted to engage the imagination of the public and bring awareness to the kind of issues that surround our landscape," he explains.

The talk finished with an opportunity for questions from the audience, who quizzed John on everything from his most frightening experience while adventuring to his least favourite kind of bothy to spend a night in.

Huge thanks to everyone who attended - and further supported our work in wild places by buying our seasonal merchandise, including diaries, calendars and Christmas cards. View our Christmas collection online.

• You can catch John D Burns at our Edinburgh event Wild Places and Bothy Tales on 2 November. Find out more and book tickets.