Author: Nick Kempe

February 13, 2022 Nick Kempe 7 comments

On 15th April 2021 the Balavil estate submitted a prior notification (see here) to Highland Council to create 2.6km of new forestry “tracks” around Creagbui, 3km northwest of Kingussie and north of the A9.  This is the seventh planning application/prior notification for new roads on Balavil in the last six years.  The Cairngorms National Park…

February 6, 2022 Nick Kempe 3 comments

Following my post on Fires, hypocrisy and access rights I was alerted that Highland Council, rather than fulfilling their statutory duty to uphold access rights, had themselves been putting up “No Fires” signs. These signs are contrary to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) which was approved by the Scottish Parliament: The meaning of “Wherever…

February 3, 2022 Nick Kempe 4 comments

There is an interesting article in the December edition of Scottish Birds, the quarterly magazine of the Scottish ornithologists club, about nuthatch colonisation on the Glenfalloch Estate at the head of Loch Lomond.  The authors, who work for Alba Ecology Ltd, have been undertaking annual breeding bird surveys of the area since 2015. They report…

January 12, 2022 Nick Kempe 6 comments

I have not so far blogged on the long-awaited (see here) masterplan for Cairn Gorm which Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) published last June (see here).  Subtitled “Unlocking the potential of the Cairngorm Mountain Estate”, the masterplan is a vague and poorly drafted document:  the operator, Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) is to explore “options…

January 8, 2022 Nick Kempe 7 comments

On 28th December Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) issued this sledging policy on their website and a similar statement on their facebook page. It epitomises everything that is wrong with the current management Cairn Gorm and is unlawful. The statement appeared to have prompted by the bedlam at the patch of snow that has been…

December 23, 2021 Nick Kempe 5 comments

I have not blogged about the Glen Etive hydro schemes since preliminary construction work started two years ago (see here). I am afraid I have kept away.  I was very pleased, therefore, but also extremely concerned to be sent these recent photos of the Allt Charnan by John Sinclair, a local resident. What you can…

December 21, 2021 Nick Kempe 8 comments

It was Drennan Watson, long-time conservation activist in the Cairngorms, who first pointed out to me that when saplings emerge from tree shelters they are the perfect height for deer to nibble.  But until yesterday I didn’t have any photos to demonstrate what happens. The tree tubes were a few kilometres beyond the neglected western…

December 16, 2021 Nick Kempe 10 comments

The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA)’s consultation on their draft National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) officially closes on Friday, apparently at 5pm.  So far, I have only considered the draft plan from a climate and nature conservation perspective but will continue covering other aspects of the plan after the consultation closes.  Before that, however, I…