Scottish Ministers last week approved byelaws (see here for the text) which will make it an offence, with a fine of up to £500, for a person “without lawful authority” to light a fire or barbecue or “place or throw or let fall a lighted match, firework or any other thing so as to be…
Author: Nick Kempe
[Post updated to include data from most recent Forest Research statistices and corrected 27th September]. Eighteen months ago I wrote a critical post (see here) about how Scottish Forestry is not only funding companies like BrewDog (see here) and Abrdn (see here) to plant trees, they have also been subsidising the production of trees by…
A few weeks ago a reader alerted me that there were new unlawful access signs on the Auchreoch Estate, which changed ownership in January 2025, and that they had seen sheep grazing in the Coille Coire Chuilc. Two land-management failures in one! Unfortunately the reader sent no photos – if you see bad stuff, please…
On Monday morning I watched the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board Meeting online (see here for agenda and papers). It should be essential viewing for anyone who cares about what is happening to democracy in Scotland but neither the LLTNPA Board nor the Scottish Government want public to see how they…
I really liked the message on this leaflet and the wider message of the ALP Project, which “aimed to safeguard high alpine habitat, one of the last pristine environments in southern Europe” (see here). Having not seen a single plastic tree tube and next to no litter in something like 300km and 25,000m of ascent…
One of the great pleasures of walking in the Alps are the mountain flowers. I have always got particular enjoyment from seeing plants which are rare in Scotland, like the Alpine Sow Thistle, growing profusely. Until recently the Alpine Sow Thistle was confined to a few inaccessible ledges in the Cairngorms but last year was…
Traditional systems of transhumance, where people move their livestock up hill in summer and then back down in winter, are still fairly widely practised in the Italian Alps, in contrast to Scotland where the summer migration to the shielings ended when large flocks of sheep replaced people. In some ways walking the Grande Traversata delle…
For my first few days walking the Grande Traversata dell Alpe (GTA) – I started from the Nufenenpass on 24th July – it was cloudy, windy and periodically wet, the forests were predominantly composed of conifers and the mountain flowers still out While some flowers were past their best others were in full bloom. As…
The timing of the Scottish Government’s announcement on Tuesday that Scottish Ministers, i.e Ivan McKee the Minister for Planning, had decided to overturn the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s decision to refuse the proposed fishfarm in Loch Long (see here) could hardly have been worse. It came just two weeks after the Ferret…
On 24th June the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) launched an “informal” consultation on its initial proposals to amend the core path plan it agreed ten years ago, in 2015 (see here). The consultation, which closes on 31st August, consists (see here) of an interactive map, showing existing core paths with proposed additions and removals, and…
I have not blogged for almost a month because I have been away in Italy walking the northern half of the Grande Traversata delle Alpi, the Italian equivalent of the GR5 in France – which I wrote about a couple of year ago (see here), (here), and (here) – but longer. Apart from my partner who joined…
(I wrote most of this on way to Alps a week ago and only got decent internet a week later. Apologies if it is now out of date or been overtaken by events but hope it is still worth saying). One would.hardly expext the new Chief Executive of Cairngorm Mountain (Scotland) Ltd, Mike Gifford, to…
On 22nd July the Strathy reported (see here) the Spey Catchment Initiative (SCI) is planning to consult the local community before using “ecological engineering” techniques to restore the eroded banks of the Allt Mhor above Kingussie. The project is described as being “in partnership” with the Pitmain and Glen Banchor Estate, with funding – the amount…
Following my post in June (see here) about how about the transfer of land from Scottish Enterprise (SE) to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) appeared to be paving the way for Flamingo Land’s proposed development at Balloch go ahead, I have had responses to further Freedom of Information requests from…
It is over six months since I blogged about how the crisis facing commercial forestry interests at Stobo Hope in the Borders (see here). Since then a successful judicial review by the Stobo Residents Action Group has forced Scottish Forestry, the public agency responsible for regulating forestry and distributing grants, to cancel the £2m grant…
In December abrdn told the Scotsman that they had made mistakes with their carbon offsetting tree planting scheme at Far Ralia, the land they had bought for £6.5m in 2021 and are now trying to sell. While admitting these mistakes included “basic things around designing woodlands and certain processes” they did not explain what they…
Prof Douglas McMillan, a contributor to this blog, sent me this photo taken by a friend of his a week ago, noted that the report of the Deer Working Group highlighted their introduction and spread as a significant problem and asked whether the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has done anything…
Unacceptable telecommunications masts (29) – the new plan for Scotland from the Shared Rural Network
Ten days ago the Shared Rural Network (SRN) programme announced (see here) that they were scaling the £500m UK Government funded programme to erect telecommunications masts in Total Not Spots, areas without 4G mobile phone coverage. Instead of aiming to erect c260 masts across Scotland, many in Wild Land and National Scenic Areas, the SRN are…
Four important letters relating to the Flamingo Land planning application appeared on the Department of Planning and Enforcement Appeals planning portal on 4th July, three of which were retrospective. The letters (see here) include one dated 24th June, sent on behalf of the Minister for Planning, Ivan McKee, officially confirming that Mr David Buylla had been…
Following my post on King Charles and the muirburn which took place on his estate at Delnadamph on 27th February, a very windy day (see here), I submitted a Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to see if their control centre at Dundee had been notified, as per the provisions…
In my post on the Scottish Government’s decision to call in the Flamingo Land application for a decision by Scottish Ministers (see here), I highlighted the fact that the Planning Minister, Ivan McKee, had asked for another report from a Reporter at the Department of Planning Enforcement and Appeals (DPEA) without saying who he had asked…
On 27th May Goldcrest Land and Forestry Group misleadingly announced a new property was for sale, “Beinn Bhreac Hill” (see here). In fact Goldcrest had marketed Beinn Bhreac a year ago as Lot 4 in the Royal Scottish Forestry’s Society (RFSF)’s attempt to sell off their “forest for a thousand years” at Cashel (see here)….
The Report of the Deer Working Group “The Management of Wild Deer in Scotland” published over five years ago was very clear that the use of muirburn to improve grazing for deer was very damaging and the Scottish Government should stop supporting it financially and only allow it in exceptional circumstances: The Scottish Government…
The Lake of Menteith, east of Aberfoyle, is one of the many places in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park that it is difficult for the public to access. Its on the Glasgow-Stirling X10A bus route (see here) which offers six buses a day Monday to Friday, a reduced service on Saturday and none…
The Royal Society of Edinburgh and the Society of Antiquaries for Scotland organised a very interesting talk his week by Professor Chris Watley about the access battle at Harvie’s Dyke. This is recommended viewing for any interested in access rights. (The main talk starts at 8 mins 20 secs see here and last about 30…