The treatment of staff at Cairngorm Mountain For a number of years now I and other campaigners have heard about the toxic culture at Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland Ltd (CMSL) but until now staff and former staff have been very reluctant to speak out about it. Besides the bullying and intimidation referred to in the…
Month: January 2025
On 20th December, just before the statutory deadline expired, Flamingo Land lodged an appeal with the Scottish Government against the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)’s decision to refuse their proposed development at Balloch. On the same day Scottish Enterprise (SE) announced they were extending their “Exclusivity Agreement” with Flamingo Land to enable…
When the ground is frozen or covered in snow, as it was in the west for much of the week after New Year, it becomes very difficult for red deer to find enough food and they start to rely on the fat reserves they put on in the Autumn. On our first two days in…
On 17th January BBC Scotland published a story “No opening date for funicular as funicular repairs near end (see here). In it they stated: “Owners, public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), had hoped to have it running again late last year but said bad weather had caused delays”. Consider the image above and compare…
On New Year’s Day I went with Dave Morris for a short walk on the Dorback Estate which had previously been managed primarily for sporting purposes. The estate had been owned for the last four years by Salingore Real Estate Ltd, registered in the Bahamas, but at the end of 2024 was bought by…
On Wednesday the Helensburgh Advertiser ran a story stating that Kirsty Young’s proposal to build a luxury lodge on Inchconnachan, the island on Loch Lomond best known for its wallabies, had been approved (see here). While technically correct this was misleading as the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA)’s planning committee approved…
A few days ago Lesley Riddoch posted some excellent drone footage from Lettoch Films (see here) of the woodland that has developed in the central reservation of the A9 between Bruar and Drumochter. Most of the trees and other plants have spread there through natural regeneration and were able to do so because of the…
Hogmanay was forecast to be a wet day and Strathspey was flooded so I thought I would take a look at the River Gynack overflow, which had been reconstructed after being almost washed away in 2017 (see here), to see if it was operational and, if so, how the revised design was working. My estimate…
Happy New Year! Much of the woodland I have been by or through recently has had sheep in it (see here) as happens at this time of year. When food is in short supply on the moors and open hill sheep will find a way through deer fences or hop over stock fences into woodland. …
Included in the press statement Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) released on Xmas Eve about the funicular not re-opening as planned by the end of the year (see here) was the following: As recently explained (see here) “Safety testing, trial runs, staff training” all take place AFTER the remediation works are finished and assuming that everything…