On Saturday I walked up the Strone road as part of a round of the Monadliath. It is almost three years since I first blogged about the “improvements” that were being carried out on this road and considered the implications for the planning system (see here). The Cairngorms National Park Authority, to their credit, then…
Month: September 2020
Two weeks ago I spoke to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board (see here) about the urgent need to consider improved visitor infrastructure over the winter as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. More specifically, I tried to draw attention to deficiencies in papers on Visitor Management and Litter Prevention that…
Yesterday, on my way up to Speyside I pulled into a layby and parked behind a trailer loaded with crates. I did not realise immediately but half were packed with adult red legged partridge (you can just see them in the lower four crates on the left). Breeding of red-legged partridge is now a sizeable…
In response to recent written Parliamentary questions, Fergus Ewing (Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy) has stated that: – A decision on the repair of the funicular is expected shortly. – The business case will be published shortly. This suggests that there will be no period between publication of the business case and a decision by…
“Trespass” is a particularly loaded word. It comes from the Old French “trespasser” meaning “pass beyond or across, cross, traverse; infringe, violate”. In English it came to mean “transgress in some active manner, commit an aggressive offense, to sin” – as in “forgive us our trespasses” used in the Lord’s Prayer – but is also…
After my post last week (see here) on attempts to stop people exercising access rights post-Covid, I was sent these photos from Ledard Farm in Strathard. The Land Reform Act gave people the right to access fields with livestock and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code states this clearly: “Access rights extend to fields with farm…
On Monday I was pleased to speak at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meeting on the need for improved visitor infrastructure in the National Park. While I will come back to the case I presented (see here) in a further post, I was only about to do because the LLTNPA has…
Following the release of lockdown, I have come across far fewer no access signs in Scotland’s countryside compared to the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth crisis in 2001. The main impediments to access in areas like the east shore of Loch Lomond have been the closure of roads and car parks by Public Authorities…
Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s consultation on its draft vision for a masterplan at Cairn Gorm (see here) closed on Monday. The next day, at 8.45 a.m on a wet Tuesday morning in mid-September, how many campervans could be seen in the Coire Cas car park? The numbers were probably higher than normal as the more…
In the early hours of Sunday, only six days after it was re-opened (see here), the A83 was closed after another landslide on the slopes of Beinn Luibhean (see here). The BBC report stated there had been 75mm of rain in 24 hours. Then yesterday the West Highland Line was closed between Bridge or…
The Dirty Camping debate in the Scottish Parliament On Wednesday, almost an hour after it was scheduled and after a very long day, MSPs started to debate Murdo Fraser’s motion on Dirty Camping (see here) at 6pm. Although the chamber appeared mostly empty, a number of MSPs contributed online and the debate went on until…
The Scottish Parliament this afternoon debates a motion (see here) by Murdo Fraser on Dirty Camping, just the second members’ debate since the start of the corona crisis. While the Scottish Parliament increasingly appears to have little real power, what is said today could still be very important for framing any debate on camping and campervanning…
When I went up upper Glen Falloch on 8th August to look at the hydro intake (see here), I spotted a new forestry road on the far side of the river. This appears to be in the exact same location as a road which was notified to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority…
If you did not hear the Call Kaye programmme on 18th August, “Is it time to stop moaning about tourists”, it is highly recommended listening. It is available on iplayer (see here) for another 9 days (from 1 min 20 secs for an hour) and, after all the moaning, mainly featured people who were advocating…
In 2018 the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (I am on the Committee) carried out a review of Scotland’s Regional Parks (see here). In large part this was prompted because no-one else seemed concerned about what was happening or the lost potential. With Councils now pulling, or threatening to pull, their support for Clyde Muirshiel,…
In August, after the landslides at the Rest and Be Thankful, I visited Glen Falloch to look at what damage had been done to the run of river hydro schemes there by the heavy rainfall. It is three weeks since I blogged about the damage that I had missed seeing in 2019 (see here). That…
The Folly A folly is defined as:- (1) the quality of being foolish. (2) a foolish action, idea, etc., and, (3) an imitation castle, temple etc. built as a decoration in a large garden or park (National Park?)! And that is exactly what the Cairngorm ski resort has become because of the failed aspirations of…
School Wood, Nethy Bridge On Friday (see here), after a long campaign by local conservationists, the Cairngorms National Park Authority Board decided by a vote of 14-2 to reject the recommendations of their planning staff and refuse the application for housing at School Wood. They are to be congratulated. This was a major test for…