NOT everyone wants to spend their weekends tucked up on the sofa watching the latest band of wannabes battle it out for a place in the final of a TV dancing or singing show.
While those contestants face challenges that may bring fame and fortune, for a great many people the weekend is about undertaking challenges that bring personal rather than financial rewards.
The Torridon Walking Festival, a new three-day festival in north-west Scotland which springs into life this weekend and runs from Saturday until Monday, offers plenty of rewards and challenges for those signing up to spend some time in one of the most beautiful and remote parts of Scotland.
The area is thought to be the inspiration for Middle Earth in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, but thankfully you don’t need enormous Hobbit-sized feet to scale the iconic summits or explore the local forest footpaths to have a good time.
The festival aims to entice adventure seekers and low-level trekkers to try to experience for themselves some of the best walking routes in Scotland.
The programme has been designed to ensure that whether you thrive already on the thrill of being in a mountain environment or want to try a low-level walk off the beaten track, there’s something for everyone.
Highlights for serious walkers include the epic Liathach, which stands over Glen Torridon and is certainly one of the mighty boxes to be ticked by all mountaineers; a full day out on Beinn Eighe, taking in two Munros, and a day climbing Beinn Dearg following very few paths and reaching a height just a metre short of a Munro.
For those who want to extend their sense of adventure and experience some of the magic that Scotland exudes in its remote wild places, festival organisers have arranged a special overnight expedition to a remote and secluded bothy.
After dining in front of a roaring stove and swapping adventure stories, walkers can take to their sleeping bags in the knowledge that the morning brings the chance to witness Scotland’s landscape at its finest.
For those who would rather remain closer to sea level, there are loch-side rambles and leisurely woodland walks through the autumnal countryside with plenty of time to take photographs and learn more about the flora and fauna.
For walkers who are budding photographers, there is the opportunity to spend a day with a professional landscape photographer who will go through the techniques which will help create the ultimate picture of a perfect day spent on the hills.
The guides taking part in the festival are all fully qualified, enthusiastic and have spent a lifetime exploring the hills of Scotland.
Confident and with plenty of dry wit to call upon, they’re usually spotted heading up the side of the hill with no path, or trying to outdo each other by heading up the side of a hill which is steeper than the hill with no path.
Their main aim, however, is to help walkers and non-walkers achieve something they never imagined possible – which is good news for potential festivalgoers.
The festival will be opened by world-renowned Perth-based mountaineer Polly Murray who, at 26, was the first Scottish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Because of its location, many attending the festival will want to spend the night in the area. There are plenty of accommodation options – many listed on the festival’s website – ranging from youth hostels, B&Bs and guest houses to self catering, inns and hotels such as The Torridon Hotel, named Scottish Hotel of the Year 2010 and 2011, which stands on the shores of a stunning sea loch.
In the evenings, walkers can join the guides for some live music, a pub quiz and a well-earned pint.
The first Torridon Walking Festival takes place this weekend from Saturday to Monday and prices for walks range from £15 to £105. For further details or to book a place on a walk visit www.thetorridon.com/ activities/walking-festival or call 01445 700300. Organised by Torridon Activities, the walking festival will be followed by the second Torridon Inn Real Ale Festival, which runs from October 7-9.
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The programme of evening events is also very popular. On the Thursday there is a talk on the wildlife of the Galapagos Islands by an Angus Countryside Ranger, followed by supper. 
