Month: February 2025

February 28, 2025 Nick Kempe 1 comment

Yesterday with almost no notice the funicular at last re-opened. Highlands and Islands Enterprise, in a news release issued on Wednesday (see here) claimed that “all safety-critical matters have now been concluded” – not exactly the same thing as stating all the safety concerns that caused them to close the funicular in August 2023 have been…

February 24, 2025 Nick Kempe 2 comments

Last week the Scottish Government published the fourth piece of legislation this Parliament ostensibly  intended to improve how we use and manage land in the countryside, including National Parks – the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill (see here for papers)   This follows the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, passed a year ago and…

February 21, 2025 Nick Kempe 5 comments

With little sign of the Scottish Government implementing the provisions of the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 and while the Cairngorms were aflame from muirburn (see here), the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) Board on 14th February approved new fire management byelaws and a draft “Integrated Wildfire Management Plan” for consultation with land…

February 17, 2025 Nick Kempe 19 comments

Driving north up the A9 on Saturday Andy Cloquet observed muirburn on five sites between Dalwhinnie and Newtonmore with “an acrid smell over five miles of road” and sent parkswatch these two photos. The ostensible purpose of the Wildlife Management & Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024 (“the Act”), which was passed by the Scottish Government last…

February 1, 2025 Nick Kempe 4 comments

At the end of August I  wrote about the proposal to install a telecommunications in Glen Undalain, the glen which runs south from the campsite at Shiel Bridge towards the Saddle and is part of the Kintail National Scenic Area (NSA). While few people know about NSAs, the designation intended to protect Scotland’s most beautiful…