Tilhill Forestry is changing its approach to access A few days after my post on forestry industry signs and access rights, I was contacted by Kirsty Adams, Head of Health and Safety at Tilhill Forestry asking to speak because “Tilhill Forestry are currently running a public awareness of safety in the forest project and one of…
Author: Nick Kempe
“As the National Park Authority, we aren’t responsible for collecting all litter in the Park but we are working to tackle this issue across the area as best we can. We are doing this by trialling different approaches to managing litter on our own sites………………………” In May the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority…
Reviewing our National Parks Ten days ago, writing in the Sunday Telegraph (see here) or (see here for Guardian article), the Westminster Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, who currently has no powers to speak of in Scotland, announced a review of National Parks in England chaired by Julian Glover: “The goal of Julian’s review is not…
Scotland’s own “Windrush” problem? Following my post on parkswatch and the GDPR (see here) this post takes a look at the civil liberties and governance issues which have been created by the Loch Lomond and Trossach’s National Park Authority’s collection and processing of data under the camping byelaws, itself the outcome of the byelaw enforcement…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority elections In a positive step for democracy, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has announced the candidates (see here) who have been nominated to stand in the elections to the National Park Board which will be determined by postal vote on Thursday 5th July. I…
On Sunday, hoping to have missed the worst of the thunderstorms, I set with my daughter for a two day round of the ring of Tarff as training for her first mountain marathon. I had not thought of checking the state of the Bruar hydro restoration (see here) and (here) and had planned to approach…
The implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation and Parkswatch and the LLTNPA Anyone is who a member of an organisation or who subscribes to blogs is likely to have been bombarded recently with communications about the new General Data Protection Regulation which came into force last week. Parkswatchscotland is a blog, not an organisation, …
After the record temperatures in the Highlands it may seem strange to write about what’s happening to downhill skiing at Cairngorm and the impact on the local economy but its all related to the current planning applications at Cairngorm. The first, the application to install a dry ski slope above the Coire Cas carpark (see…
Last week, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority validated an application for planning permission in principle for the Riverside and Woodside sites at Balloch (see here). This is a massive application, the details of which I will come back to in further posts, which has been submitted in the names of both Flamingo…
Following my post last week on forestry and access (see here), Andy Gray sent Parkswatch a couple of photos he had taken on Saturday 12 May 2018 when he and his family had decided to enjoy an ascent of Cruach Tairbeirt, the small hill above Loch Lomond which is most frequently accessed between Tarbet and Arrochar. On…
The section of the Speyside Way between Kincraig and Speybank is a beautiful walk through oak and birch woodland, with a scattering of aspen, hazel and rowan. Though not far from the pinewoods of Glen Feshie, somehow the very occasional pine looks out of place. The strip of woodland along the river is regenerating…
Following my post before the first May holiday weekend If you come across an access problem this weekend report it! which featured a fence on Loch Gynack in the Cairngorms, the Cairngorms National Park Authority alerted me that they had a form to report such problems. The link is at the bottom of this page…
Mining and quarrying have formed two of the greatest challenges faced by National Parks in England Wales. This is because the upland areas there are rich in minerals and provide rock good for housebuilding and because most of the National Parks are situated in close to large urban conurbations. Our two National Parks in…
On Sunday 13th I noticed a crashed or abandoned car just south of Inverarnan close to the location of another abandoned blue car which had featured in two of the earliest posts on parkswatch in 2016 (see here). These explored how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s approach to abandoned cars fitted…
Following the disappearance of a sea eagle on the Invercauld Estate, Raptor Persecution Scotland provided some excellent coverage of the disappearance (see here) along with subsequent commentary. So far this has covered the welcome statement from Grant Moir, Chief Executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, condemning the disappearance (see here) and then a commentary…
The proposal At the end of March Vento Ludens submitted a planning application (see here) for an additional hydro intake on Ledard Farm which is owned by former Councillor and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Member Fergus Wood. I must admit to initial disbelief, having investigated the shenanigans that took place over…
I was struck by the contrast been this story in the Herald last week and the story the week before about the children from the east end of Glasgow who had never seen the sea (see here). While Kelvinside Academy has set up its own outdoor centre in what used to be the Allargue Arms…
The primary reason for the creation of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park was to provide a mechanism that would manage visitors better in the interests of both people and the natural environment. The National Park was envisaged as a body that would ensure that proper infrastructure was put in place to enable people…
Yesterday nominations opened for elections to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board, the only scheduled local elections for Scotland this year. (The next Cairngorms National Park Authority direct elections will be in 2019). One third of the board of each of our National Park Authorities is made up of members directly elected…
After construction On Monday, I dropped by the Corriemulzie hydro scheme a few kilometres west of Braemar to see what progress had been made on restoring the landscape destruction caused by poor oversight of the contractors who had built the scheme in 2016 (see here). I was pleasantly surprised. Now The terrible scar in the…
Stephen Campbell, a keen angler, who has commented several times on parkswatch posts and like most anglers is strongly committed to conserving the natural environment sent me this photo taken at the weekend along with the comment “No Difference” and that the rubbish “had obviously been lying for a while”. The Loch Drunkie dam on…
Last Sunday I took a walk around the Pitmain Estate on the higher ground between Newtonmore and Kingussie. There is a deer fence which runs between the ugly, and recently upgraded track, and Loch Gynack which prevents people from reaching the loch shore. This area could, and should, provide a high quality recreational experience…
SNH are currently consulting on a new plan for the Invereshie and Inshriach National Nature Reserve (see here). The NNR covers the land between the road up the east side of Glen Feshie (and the moor of Feshie) and the fine ridge which extends from Carn Ban Mor over Sgurr Gaoith to Creag Dubh. The…
On the surface the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority is quite transparent about the complaints it receives, reporting on these to the Government through its Annual Report. Below the surface, however, there is evidence to show that the LLTNPA is covering up what is really going on. In this post I will take…
James Stuart, Convener of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, has publicly stated that he is committed to ensuring the National Park operates with greater transparency. One of the things I have been lobbying him on in the last year was for the LLTNPA to start publishing ALL responses to information requests…