Tag: access rights

February 3, 2024 Nick Kempe 1 comment

After a number of FOI requests, Rob Edwards revealed in an excellent article in the Ferret on 18th January (see here) that officials at Historic and Environment Scotland (HES) had been considering trying to close the Radical Rd below Salisbury Crags in Edinburgh permanently.  While shocking, that was hardly surprising.  Having fenced off access for…

January 15, 2024 Nick Kempe 6 comments

Soon after suggesting that sporting estates managed for grouse pose the greater threat to access rights because of their concerted attempts to make people “keep to the path”  (see here), I came across this salutary reminder that some deer stalking estates are still ignoring the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC). One of the primary meanings…

January 4, 2024 Nick Kempe 6 comments

Wildlife, however much depleted, is present everywhere.  Consequently if wildlife was a reason to keep to tracks there would be no right to roam anywhere.  And in my case I could not have attained my objective on Hogmanay, the trackless summit of Carn nan Tri-Tighearnan a few miles north of the Cairngorms National Park.  The…

October 3, 2023 Dave Morris 6 comments

Along with Andy Wightman and Nick Kempe (see here) I recently spoke at the event on the Scotland/England border to highlight the campaign to extend public access rights England. The text of my contribution, which I hope has relevance to national parks and other land and water in the UK, is found below. It is worth…

September 29, 2023 Nick Kempe 25 comments

On Saturday I was involved in a demonstration organised by the Right to Roam campaign at Scots Dyke, constructed in 1552 to delineate the border between Scotland and England.  As one activist straddling the border put it, this foot has a right to be here, the other one doesn’t.  The differences in access laws between…

September 20, 2023 Nick Kempe 7 comments

Scotland National Parks and the Scottish Government If you want to understand why Scotland’s National Parks have achieved so little in the 20 years since they were created, you need look no further than successive Scottish Governments, both the Ministers responsible and the civil servants that have supported them. Instead of encouraging and empowering our…

July 14, 2023 Nick Kempe 1 comment

The Right to Roam campaign https://www.righttoroam.org.uk/ has taken a far broader approach to access rights than has traditionally been the case in England and has been building a broad campaign for a new legal right of access on the Scottish model. One of the outdoor recreational activities that has been highlighted by that campaign is wild…

June 26, 2023 Nick Kempe 2 comments

A significant row has developed in Glenmore, the most popular place for visitors in the Cairngorms, and various interests are now trying to stampede the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) into initiating measures to ban camping there.  This post argues that primary responsibility for the problems in Glenmore lie with Forest and Land Scotland and…

February 7, 2023 Mike Dales 7 comments

As we celebrate twenty years since the passing of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, and as someone who was involved in the process that led to the establishment of the statutory access rights contained in that Act, and its subsequent implementation, I would like to contribute my personal thoughts on the current discussion around…

February 2, 2023 Dave Morris 10 comments

The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks are part of the UK family of national parks. The experience gained in any one of these national parks may therefore be of relevance to other parks within the family and more generally as regards the enjoyment, management and protection of land and water in the…

January 29, 2023 Nick Kempe 8 comments

On Monday, a special meeting of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)  is being held to consider and approve a report to Scottish Ministers proposing revisions to the byelaws which govern boating on Loch Lomond (see here for papers and to get a link on the day to watch the meeting, which…

January 18, 2023 Nick Kempe No comments exist

The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) strongly welcomed the Drumlean judgement (see here) and issued a news release following Lord Clark’s initial decision in the Gartmore core paths case (see here), the subject of this post.  So far, however, they have said nothing about the decision of the Inner Court of Session,…