Every year I check out the litter and marine debris washed up on the shore at the head of Loch Long at Arrochar, and occasionally the state of a similar beach at Lochgoilhead. Debris accumulates in vast quantities during the southerly gales and high tides that annually occur between October and late Spring. Because of…
Author: Nick Halls
By Nick Halls, resident of Ardentinny This is the fifth in a series of articles about forestry in the National Park near where I live (see here) The impact of windthrow The value of the trees relative to the difficulty of extraction and the dangers posed by windblown trees makes harvesting from areas like…
By Nick Halls, resident of Ardentinny This is the fourth in a series of articles about the Argyll Forest part of the National Park where I live (see here). Recently, as a stage in forestry operations, fencing seems to have proliferated. In the past fencing was usually used to exclude stock from the forest, as…
By Nick Halls, resident of Ardentinny This is the third in a sequence of reports (see here) and (here) on the impact of Forestry Commission Scotland practices in the Argyll Forest Park, which forms the south western part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Rhododendron ponticum, an invasive species, was apparently introduced…
Gross, poorly managed, temporary quarry on Forestry road at head of Glen Finart. NB apparently no regard for H&S or Mines & Quarry Legislation. All photos, save one, by author By Nick Halls Following the post on the destruction of a core path and right of way in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park…
By Nick Halls (resident of Ardentinny) This is the first of a sequence of reports focused on access around Glen Finart in the Argyll Forest Park, which is part of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. The path was a traditional route, and Right of Way, that has existed since at least the 1940’s,…
By Nick Halls As a resident of Ardentinny, I routinely travel between Ardentinny and Glasgow by road. I make it a practice of stopping on Loch Lomond side to visit the camping places, for which permits are required, at Suie Field and Cuilag, situated on the shore between Inverbeg and Luss. Access to both…
By Nick Halls, resident of Ardentinny The changing landscape of the National Park I monitor the evolution of the Bye Laws and the incoherent manner of the implementation, by means of observation, talking to campers, visiting designated sites, reports contributed by ‘Parkswatchscotland’, and articles in magazines of Representative bodies of the physical activities in…
By Nick Halls In my last post (see here) on the torpedo station, I stated that the gates blocking the old main road were both locked, thereby preventing vehicles entering the area. Recently, the southern of the two gates has been burst open and badly damaged. It was ajar for a period and it…
By Nick Halls Following the post about the planning blight at the site of the former torpedo factory and range on Loch Long (see here), I went to take a look for myself. I wanted to take a look at the impact of the gates that have blocked off the old road and check if…
The LLTNPA is discouraging camping at designated sites. Following the implementation of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Management Zones on 1st March and the requirement to purchase a permit for the use of designated sites or risk a criminal conviction I revisited two sites to refresh my recollection of the environmental condition…
On the way to pick up Nick Kempe from Balloch Station to look at proposed Trossachs Camping Management Zones I passed Duck Bay picnic area at about 09.30 on Monday 17/05/2016, after a very pleasant and presumably busy weekend. I do not know who is responsible for maintaining the picnic area, but it does represent…
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…