The creation of the new rope tow in Coire Cas, which created so much destruction at Cairngorm, required planning permission Removal of Shieling Ski-Tow & replace with a modern rope-tow of similar length and profile The Shieling tow replacement supporting images document is worth looking at as it gives a very clear picture of how this…
I picked up earlier this winter that there has been a lot of discontent from downhill skiers and boarders about how Natural Retreats has been operating the ski area, with the general perception being they have neglected winter sports in favour of summer visitors. There is also a lot of concern on Speyside about the…
Following my post https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/06/17/ring-ouzels-new-vision-cairngorm-ski-area/ Ron Greer sent parkswatch some photos of montane scrub from North America and Norway and some useful links which help illustrate the type of landscape that might result from planting the ski area. Here are some useful links from Ron: http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/heritagemanagement/montanescrub/ http://www.nhdfl.org/about-forests-and-lands/bureaus/natural-heritage-bureau/photo-index/labrador-tea-heath-krummholz.aspx (more photos from eco-equivalent zones in North…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meeting last Monday included a paper on “Your Park” after a request from a Board Member at the previous meeting for regular updates this year. That there is now some public reporting on how the Park is developing its camping proposals is a step forward. The…
Approaching the abandoned ski tow in Coire na Ciste two weeks ago, partially concealed by the rows of abandoned chairlift seats, three men in flak jackets, each with a camera whose lense was the size of a telescope, were reclining on the ground. Two of them had come to Speyside from the south east of…
While I usually visit the Coire Cas carpark at least a couple of times a year to climb or ski tour it was years since I had taken a proper at the Cairngorm ski area. I was prompted to do so with Dave Morris two weeks ago by this photo taken by Ron Greer…
I have now been observing Board Meetings for 18 months and the one on Monday was twice as long as usual (the shortest has been over in 45 minutes), all because there was some debate in public. A welcome development even if the meeting again demonstrated much of what is wrong about how the Loch…
Among the papers for the LLTNPA meeting today are three concerning the draft Annual Report and Accounts http://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/looking-after/npa-board-meeting13/06/2016/menu-id-409.html For readers who are not aware these include statements about the governance of the Loch Lomond National Park Authority which are signed off by the Park’s external auditors, Audit Scotland. There is not a mention in…
The inclusion of a paper Agenda Item 9 – Reducing litter in the National Park for discussion at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Board Meeing on Monday (13th June) is welcome. The paper makes a number of welcome statements, which are very relevant to the issues which have been raised on Parkswatchscotland by…
The Herald yesterday (8th June) carried a story that has now been recycled several times about the Mountains and People Project which is investing £6.1m in footpaths in our new National Parks. The new angle was hillwalkers are being asked to report footpath problems, far from a new idea but good stuff. What was new…
Raptor Persecution Scotland published a piece today about the BBC Countryfile programme at the weekend on the Invermark Estate and the recent history of persecution in the Angus glens. The list of crimes, most never “solved” or brought to justice is horrific. In the interests of accuracy though its worth stating the vast majority of…
On 27th May the Loch Lomond and Trossachs Park Authority advertised a planning application to create a new 30 place campsite at Loch Chon. You can find all the papers through the Park planning portal http://eplanning.lochlomond-trossachs.org/OnlinePlanning/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=dates&keyVal=O79O0SSIJ6T00. It is bizarre that the LLTNPA is applying to itself for planning permission when the land is owned…
The Strathie carried an article last week that Natural Retreats, the company that operates “Cairngorm Mountain” on behalf of Highlands and Island Enterprise, has dropped its plans to rebuild the Day Lodge complex by the Coire Cas carpark http://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/News/Plans-for-futuristic-Cairngorms-Day-Lodge-are-axed-02062016.htm This would have included new facilities, such as a conference centre. This is to be welcomed. …
I have been meaning for a couple of weeks to refer readers to the excellent piece from Neil Reid, the Cairngorm Wanderer on the National Trust for Scotland’s latest proposals to renovate Derry Lodge Plans announced for Derry Lodge development I remember discussing the future of Derry Lodge at the Mountaineering Council of Scotland twenty…
Cameron McNeish has some interesting comments to make on National Parks and the political priorities for the new Scottish Government in the latest Walkhighland newsletter http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/news/political-priorities/0014950/ In it he states he believes the reason the SNP did not commit to more National Parks was lack of cash – or to put it another way because…
The Cairngorms National Park Authority has, with Scottish Natural Heritage, issued a short educational video on dog walking in the National Park https://t.co/ZsYpjNosWL This is to be welcomed. The Land Reform Review Group, which reported to the last Scottish Parliament, concluded that access rights were working well but there were a number of areas where further…
Following my last post on camping provision in the LLTNP https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/04/27/con-loch-chon-loch-lomond-trossachs-national-parks-disappearing-camping-plans/ I asked Gordon Watson, the Park’s Chief Executive once again about the outstanding campsites which had been agreed for the Trossachs back in 2012 and to clarify how the Park’s draft Development Plan would encourage new campsites email to Gordon Watson 28th April 2016 …
My thanks to Stella Bray who asked Patrick Harvie, Leader of the Greens, his view of the camping byelaws in an online question and answer session before the election https://www.facebook.com/ScottishGreens/videos/10154164579926170/ His response appears 39 mins and 39 seconds into the video and is worth listening to. He clearly states that there is no justification for…
Following my contribution concerning the condition of Duck Bay picnic area at 09.30 on Monday 16/05/2016. On returning to Argyll from Glasgow on the evening of Wednesday 18 May 2016 I looked at the area again. I was impressed, the bins were all empty and the overflowing garbage cleared up, the litter that had been…
The Scotsman three weeks ago http://www.scotsman.com/news/environment/loch-lomond-and-trossachs-named-top-of-uk-beauty-spots-1-4121929 carried an article on how the National Geographic Traveller magazine had voted Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Britain’s top National Park because of its stunning landscapes and called it a “Scottish Haven”. One wonders if anyone voting has passed through Glen Falloch in the past year and witnessed the…
I had never driven along the Forest Drive, a forest track open to public motor vehicles, that goes from the Dukes Pass north of Aberfoyle to Loch Achray in the Trossachs until Monday. The Drive, and the land 200m on either side of it which is owned by Forestry Commission Scotland, is included in what…
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…
I was out looking at the proposed Trossachs Camping Management Zone with Nick Halls on Monday. Nick is a compulsive litter picker and spotted an abandoned tent on the west shore of Loch Achray so we pulled into the Ben Venue carpark, operated by Forestry Commission Scotland and picked it up. There are no litter…
In April the Standards Commission decided that Owen McKee, the former convener of Planning for the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park who had been trading in the shares of the Cononish goldmine, had breached the Code of Conduct for Standards in Public Life. They would have suspended him if he had not resigned https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/04/20/owen-mckee-hearing-standards-commission-2/ …
David Lintern, the wild land photographer who writes for Walk Highland, contacted me last week about the Ben Glas hydro scheme, above the Beinglas farm campsite at the head of Loch Lomond. He has written a heartfelt and poetic piece on his blog http://www.davidlintern.com/blog/ about this, along with photos which show the destruction that is taking…