Helen Todd

@helenrambler.bsky.social

Chair Planning Democracy; board member Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre; volunteer with Spokes; Hon Fellow Scottish Env LINK, worked for Ramblers Scotland before retirement. Walking, cycling, mountains, Scottish politics, CND, climate change, gardening.

Please read through the thread, to understand the photograph. And spend a moment of two today to remember Nagasaki. To think of peace. That one day our world may know what it means to have peace. 🙏🏻❤️

ᕼᗩᗰᗩKKO@kanpaiyokohama.bsky.social · yesterday

Today, I’ll be offering prayers for #Nagasaki and those that lost their lives today [Aug. 9, 1945] at 11:02am. The time “fat man” was detonated. This haunting picture I’m sharing is the aftermath of that bomb. I’m not accusing. Like our leaders. We’re just wanting reconciliation. [con't]👇🏽

A barefoot boy waiting in line and staring ahead at a crematorium after the Nagasaki bombing, with his dead baby brother strapped to his back. Photo by US Marine photographer Joe O’Donnell

Since Sep 2022, I've been building a website where you can find out who owns rural Scotland. Today I am publishing the latest update (July 2026) which contains ownership information on 5050 landholdings covering 5.9 million hectares (14.7 million acres) or over 77% of rural Scotland 1/2

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Woo hoo! We're off to the Cairngorms for our next trip 14-17 August, at the lovely Muir Cottage near Linn of Dee. A previous August trip saw us heading up big mountains and also enjoying the bonnie, blooming heather in the surrounding pinewoods. We have monthly weekends away, new members welcome!

Four hikers on a rocky path heading up Beinn a'Bhuird, with a background of the Cairngorms plateau under sunny/cloudy skies.A walker on a path through a pinewood with blooming heather under the treesa group of walkers heading along a path by a river with pinewoods around and distant hills, blue skies and sunshineMuir Cottage, a hut owned by the Cairngorm Club.  An old white sone building and more modern wooden-clad extension, surrounded by a lawn but situated on the edge of a pinewood.

"we will once again invoke the ‘sustainable transport hierarchy’ here, though we think the Council may have stuck it on their office walls upside down" 🙃 The invaluable edi.bike weekly roundup. Always worth a read for Edinburgh cyclists, even if sometimes it's a bit depressing.

🚲 edi.bike | weekly news digest@edi.bike · 7d ago

🚲 edi.bike | issue 156 | 3rd Aug '26 A creative reallocation of jeopardy on George IV bridge; North Bridge reopens with ‘car is king’ layout; plus events, infrastructure, route closures & more: https://buttondown.com/edi.bike/archive/issue-156-3rd-aug-26/ #edinburgh #bikeSky

A tree-lined urban street in full sunshine, under a bright blue sky, offers ahead of us a filter to pass through a speed reduction build-out from the pavement - there is a blue cycleway sign, a short red asphalt path through the build-out, with bollards and signs showing that vehicles headed in this direction must give way to oncoming traffic. Some parked cars and the tops of buildings peek out from the trees looking into the distance.

🔴NEW: Far right group Knights Templar International, whose frontman Jim Dowson has a long history of involvement with far right groups, is now supporting Scotland’s new wave of night patrols. Our latest: www.theferret.scot/jim-dawson-funding-vigilante-scotland/

A man in a suit speaks in front of overlapping Union Jack and red-and-white flags. Text reads: “The ex-BNP ‘Christian patriot’ raising international funding for Scottish ‘vigilante’ night patrols.”

Had an enjoyable walk along the Fife Coastal Path today, from North Queensferry to Aberdour. Sunshine, wildflowers, woodlands, seaside, good chat and historic interest. We do a local walk on the last Sunday of each month. All welcome!

Two walkers on a gravel path lined with trees and bushesFour walkers standing in sunshine on a verge with the Firth of Forth and Forth Bridge behind. 
Two walkers looking at a patch of wildflowers Woman sitting on a wall by a ruined chapel, two more women looking out of an upper window behind.

“.. this is not about energy. It is about power.” Excellent article on the wider context of Scotland’s energy system, the fundamental lack of energy sovereignty and how our infrastructure could/should be decentralised.

sovereignty.how

Mike Small@bellacaledonia.bsky.social · 3w ago

The heatwave is intense. The Cairngorms are on fire. Ecosystem collapse and climate breakdown are here now. It’s time to change how we think about our energy and economic systems and values. bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/07/19/d...

Really enjoyed this long weekend away - though the low cloud and occasional drizzle were a bit annoying. Especially as the rest of Scotland seemed to be sunny! However, I climbed three Corbetts and explored new places like Redpoint beach. Always good to get away with Red Rope.

Red Rope Scotland@redropescot.bsky.social · 2w ago

We had a lovely trip to Aultbea last weekend. The weather wasn't always great, but we made the most of it. Some hills (An Teallach & a couple of Corbetts), swimming in the sea, coastal walks and fabulous shared meals. Thanks to LSCC for the fab hut! Our August trip is to Braemar, 14-17 Aug.

Group of six walkers on a grassy hillside above a sandy bay, distant mountains and a blue sky.

I’d been dreaming of climbing the 2 Corbetts Beinn Dearg Mhor & Beinn Dearg Bheag in Fisherfield for years. Sadly the forecast suggested the cloud would lift earlier than it actually did yesterday - just as we were descending, typical! But it was an amazing (and long - 22 miles!) day out anyway. 🥾🥾

Hiker on top of a misty, grassy mountain summit with a rocky outcrop beyondWoman standing by a small summit cairn on a mountain in the mist. View across a wild mountain landscape, a loch in a corrie below a Rocky Mountain, beside a loch with more mountains on the other side. Hiker walking in a grassy path alongside a loch with mountains in the distance, blue skies

#Edinburgh 20mph cost £2.8mn. Results: 📉39% drop in casualty rates 📉40% fewer collisions 📉23% fewer fatalities 📉33% fewer serious casualties 🚗 Negligible change in travel time 💰£38mn saved in collisions, healthcare & productivity Still lots more streets to reduce to 20mph in Edinburgh.

SpokesLothian@spokes.org.uk · 4w ago

👍 10-year anniversary of #Edinburgh area-wide #20mph pioneered by @lesleyhinds.bsky.social @stephenjenkinson.bsky.social @20splenty.bsky.social @pactsuk.bsky.social @labourwalkscycles.bsky.social @activetravelcaf.bsky.social @da-anderson.bsky.social @edi.bike @edfoc.bsky.social @chdot.bsky.social

What has Spokes done for cyclists over the past 50 years? Hard to pin it down to one thing! Love the maps, but also appreciate all the hard work responding to planning applications and the campaigning that goes on, to the benefit of us all. Can't wait to read all the entries to this competition!

SpokesLothian@spokes.org.uk · last mo.

'Spokes & Me' In 2027 Spokes will be 50! For our 2026 #SpokesComp tell us any way that Spokes being around has been good for you Could be as simple as using a #SpokesMap to make a great outing or commute route --> www.spokes.org.uk/2026/07/spok... @edi.bike @edfoc.bsky.social @chdot.bsky.social

Start of the competition article...

Spokes & Me – the 2026 #SpokesComp

In 2027 Spokes will be 50 years old! For our 2026 summer competition, we’d like to hear any way in which you have benefitted from Spokes being around – recently, ages ago, or through the years.

    Maybe you bought one of our super maps and used it to devise a great commuter route, or for a brilliant weekend bike ride
    Maybe you cycle across the Meadows every day, enjoying the car-freeness and the cherry blossom, not even knowing that it was illegal until an arduous years-long Spokes campaign way back in the last century!
    Or maybe you are a dedicated campaigner who has been involved in loads of Spokes activities in the past – or now – and helped make a small contribution to a better world
    Whatever your connection, Spokes member or not, if you are reading this, we’d love you to enter!

Who Owns Scotland? Since September 2022, I have been building an online platform that enables you to find out who owns rural land in Scotland. The June which ownership information on 5025 landholdings covering 5.9 million hectares (14.7 million acres) or over 77% of rural Scotland 1/3

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NEW: Has devolution helped or hindered Scotland's economy? 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Critics claim it has failed. I dug into more than two decades of data to test that claim (it's wrong), and identify lessons England. 🧵

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