Month: March 2016

March 29, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Last week, the Tory Government at Westminster published an 8 – Point Plan for National Parks in England http://www.cnp.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploadsfiles/National%20Parks%20Plan.pdf In the introduction it states the Government has an “ambition to put National Parks at the heart of the way we think about the environment”.   Contrast this level of interest with this week’s Political Hustings…

March 27, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Douglas McAdam, Chief Executive of Scottish Land and Estates had an article in the Sunday Herald today http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14386203.A_landowner_s_defence_of_culling_mountain_hares/ defending the killing of hares in which he referred to the Cairngorms at the end.  He was obviously trying to persuade our politicians, who I have heard read the Sunday Herald, and the CNPA that everything is…

March 26, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

A copy of Voice, the excellent publication from the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs (I am a member), arrived in the post this morning.   Voice gives over a page of the publication to Gordon Watson, LLTNP Chief Executive, to provide an update from the Park Authority.  It includes a section on the proposed camping…

March 25, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

On Tuesday the RSPB reported the death of a Hen Harrier on a moor near Newtonmore last September  http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/ourwork/skydancer/b/skydancer/archive/2016/03/22/hen-harrier-lad-found-dead-on-speyside.aspxhe  It was good to hear Grant Moir, the Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park, condemn the probable killing outright – a more upfront response than the Park’s reaction to the Mountain Hare massacres last week. …

March 23, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

As a result of campaigning against the proposed camping byelaws, I have uncovered a number of failings in respect to how the LLTNPA operates, many of which concern a lack of openness and what I would describe as cover-ups.  Today I received further proof of this.   I hope you will bear with me while I…

March 20, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Following the parkswatch post last week on what the Cairngorms National Park could do to stop mountain hair massacres, claims have been made about another massacre on Balmoral http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14371147.Queen_urged_to_stop_mass_killing_of_hares_at_Balmoral/ Ever since Queen Victoria bought Balmoral, the royal family have set the standard about what is acceptable in terms of hunting.   Deer hunting used to be…

March 19, 2016 Nick Halls No comments exist

On Monday I drove along the A 82 stopping at laybys & sites used for camping along the Loch side. Most of the land is owned by Luss Estates who last year blamed campers for the state of the country-side http://lussestates.co.uk/news/litter-problem-worsens-wild -campers   Apart from the usual litter thrown from car traffic, which is ubiquitous throughout…

March 18, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

The Scottish Campaign for National Parks (I sit on their Executive Committee) has published its report on Tourism and Future National Parks in Scotland, see  SCNP press release for tourism report 16.03.16   This follows on from http://www.scnp.org.uk/News/Docs/2013/Unfinished-Business-a-national-parks-strategy-for-scotland.pdf   While the purpose of Parkswatchscotland is primarily to scrutinise our existing National Parks, I would hope that…

March 18, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

When I was out on Monday on west Loch Lomondside I was struck by the number of cyclists.  It was a lovely sunny day and lots of people were out on the main National Cycle route.     Get the West Highland Line to Tarbert and cycle back to Glasgow or Dumbarton- a great day out.  …

March 16, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

I have long wondered why Scottish Land and Estates, the organisation representing landowners, was so vocal in its support for camping  bye-laws.   After all Forestry Commission Scotland is by far the largest landowner in the National Park and the voluntary sector, including the Woodland Trust, NTS, RSPB and Royal Scottish Forestry Society also own sizeable…

March 15, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

After a morning looking around west Loch Lomond (to be covered in future posts) I attended  today’s LLTNPA Board Meeting as an observer with Peter and Mary Jack from the Loch Lomond Association.  A member of Buchanan Community Council had also turned up to see how the Board operates. In governance terms the March meeting…

March 14, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

The CNPA have responded to the media coverage of the mountain hare cull  http://cairngorms.co.uk/mountain-hare-cull-statement/    The response is quite predictable – as a member of staff the Director of Conservation was not in a position to launch the CNPA in new directions – but very sad.  It demonstrates some of what is wrong with so-called conservation…

March 13, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

There has been some excellent coverage today of the mass killing of hares in the Cairngorms National Park by Rob Edwards http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14340402.Outrage_of_landowners_mass_killing_of_mountain_hares/ Raptor Persecution Scotland https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/more-mountain-hares-massacred-in-cairngorms-national-park/ and Mark Avery http://markavery.info/2016/03/13/mountain-mountain-hares/ I am delighted that some of the commentators are now asking why this practice is taking place in a National Park which was set up…

March 13, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

In the last week I have come across a couple of obituaries of Tom Hunter, who died in February, and whose idea of a long distance walking route from Glasgow north led to the creation of the West Highland Way http://www.milngavieherald.co.uk/news/local-headlines/in-memory-of-tom-hunter-creator-of-the-west-highland-way-path-1-4061152  and http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14329809.Tom_Hunter/     Its worth quoting an extract from the Herald   “In those days,…

March 8, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

I was delighted to see early on Sunday morning on my way to climb on Beinn Udlaidh that the  abandoned car that has been lying off the road south of Inverarnan has been lifted – five months after I asked the Park what they were doing about it  https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/02/17/litter-a-mote-in-the-eye-of-the-national-park-authority/     I wish I could claim…

March 7, 2016 Nick Kempe 4 comments

Among the papers for the LLTNP Board meeting on 14th March is a letter from Aileen McLeod, Minister for the Environment, setting out why she explained camping bye-laws.  Agenda Item 8 – Appendix 1 – Ministerial Letter to Linda McKay – Byelaw decision  It is essential reading.   Beneath the spin about listening to a range…

March 4, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

Yesterday the Campaign for National Parks, which operates in England and Wales, launched  a new blog and survey  http://www.cnp.org.uk/blog/we-need-talk-about%E2%80%A6national-parks  which I received via the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (I am on their Executive). What I like about the blog piece and the survey is that is aimed at everyone, residents and visitors, and that…

March 4, 2016 Nick Kempe 1 comment

Another interesting revelation from the Board Strategy Group minutes see post 2nd March) is about the the failure of the LLTNP Authority to consider properly the cost of enforcing the proposed camping  byelaws. At the meeting of 7th May:  “FL (Fiona Logan, their then Chief Exec) advised that the patrol of East Loch Lomond has…

March 2, 2016 Nick Kempe No comments exist

I attended the special Park Board Meeting that approved the camping bye-laws on 27th April 2015 along with three people from the Loch Lomond Association http://lochlomondassociation.co.uk/. The business took well under an hour and 5 minutes of this was taken up with telling the three of us we were not allowed to say anything –…