A SERIES of free lectures across Scotland will tell walkers and climbers visiting the mountains during the winter months how to reduce the risks they face.

They will be delivered by Heather Morning, mountain safety adviser with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

She said: "These talks will show both the good and the bad, and give people an idea of the sorts of skills and equipment they need to acquire if they are to head into the mountains this winter."

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland has teamed with equipment shops Cotswold Outdoor and Tiso, Scottish Walks Magazine, The Mountain Café in Aviemore, and the Munro Society to deliver the winter season's lecture series.

They will be at branches of Cotswold Outdoors and Tiso in Aberdeen, Stirling, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Perth and Inverness.