On Xmas Day I took advantage of the relaxation of advice on travelling to head up to Breadalbane for a walk over Maol Ghaordie with my partner. The bog was nicely frozen on the way up, it felt properly wintry on the top and we traversed the hill to descend by the scenic and rarely…
Category: Loch Lomond and Trossachs
Snow enhances the beauty of our hills but it can also highlight the destructive impact that human developments have on the natural landscape. The hydro path, picked out by the snow, has disfigured Gleann Casaig and destroyed the sense of wildness in the Ben More and Ben Ledi wild land area. Once, from viewpoints on…
On 6th September, a couple of days before my post More forestry shenanigans – the recently constructed road in upper Glen Falloch, I had written to the Director of Planning at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority asking him to clarify when the track was built and out of what materials. I received…
Just before Xmas Scottish Enterprise (SE) announced (see here) it intended to renew its Exclusivity Agreement (EA) with Flamingo Land which was due to expire at the end of December. If approved by Scottish Ministers, the EA will legally commit SE to selling the land it owns at Balloch to Flamingo Land, should they secure…
The landslips that have blocked the A83 through the Rest and Be Thankful more or less continuously since August are a wonderful example of what happens when decision-making is not informed by an understanding of the natural environment and fails to consider the consequences. From the original decision to route the A83 across the unstable…
As usual, the latest edition of Earth Heritage (see here) has some excellent articles about Scotland but I was particularly interested to read “Reflections from a Geoheritage Sabbatical in Scotland: The View from America”: “Scotland was a natural choice for a geoheritage sabbatical for several reasons: spectacular and diverse geology; the importance of Scottish scientists…
Amid the public outcry about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s approval of the Hunter Foundation development at Ross Priory, the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division has opened a case (see here) on whether an Environmental Impact Assessment should have conducted. Until that is decided, the LLTNPA’s decision has effectively been…
On Monday I watched, or tried to watch, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board meeting online (see here for papers) . The “lifesize” video link kept cutting out soI had to log back in ten or so times. It appeared from disappearing Board Member and vice-convener Willie Nisbet that I was not…
Last Monday the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Planning Committee approved the Hunter Foundation (THF)’s proposals (see here) and (here) for a “Global Leadership” (and wedding) Centre on the shore of Loch Lomond unanimously. While the meeting was webcast live, unlike other public authorities our National Parks do not make recordings of their…
Signs in the countryside form part of the narrative about access and help shape public understanding about what the right to roam in Scotland means. Even if ignored by many, I find it hard to pass signs without taking a photo. Six weeks ago, on spotting a cluster of signs behind a Welcome to the…
The Planning Application for the Hunter Global Leadership Centre at Ross Priory, which I wrote about in June (see here), is due to be considered by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority on Monday. The Planning Report makes sorry reading and throws any pretence at objectivity to the wind. As in the…
Backed by a host of environmental NGOs, the Greens have secured a debate in the Scottish Parliament this week about the Nature Emergency. With the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful still closed, it seems to be a good time to highlight further the challenges posed by landslips (see here for Glen Falloch and…
In September I visited the Pentlands Regional Park twice and was quite concerned about how access was being managed in response to the influx of people into the countryside. Parking was restricted, toilets closed and there was a proliferation of “no” signs (see here). Apart from some quite helpful signage about social distancing and one…
I was pleased to have this letter published in the Herald on Monday. While Nicola Sturgeon didn’t introduce legal restrictions on travel yesterday, she made it clear that her government is working on them (see here): “These will remain in guidance over the next week but we continue to prepare the regulations, and resolve the…
It is hard to know whether to be inspired or depressed by the battle over vehicular use of “green lanes” which I touched on a year ago in post comparing what was going on in the Lake District National Park and the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (see here) The latest newsletter of…
This post takes a look at the planning application for a proposed distillery, visitor centre and warehouse in the conservation village of Luss submitted on 11th August by the Hay Partnership on behalf of Glen Luss Distillery Ltd. The proposal The application (see here) is in two parts. The first, the area in red on…
Recently a new publication appeared on the LLTNPA website under Our Plans and Publications. This is headed “Indicative Regional Spatial Strategy (Draft) – 2020” (see here). The following includes excerpts from it. You will see that there are areas included for potential development where there has already been controversy and public outcry, notably proposals for…
Moulsdale Properties’ planning application at Tarbet In a welcome decision, this week Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority planners rejected a retrospective planning application from Moulsdale Properties for the enlarged entrance and road leading up the Ben Cruach Lodge (see here). Key points from the report (see here) are: There was widespread opposition to…
I have been staying in Braemar for the week and so far have seen almost no litter (and no fly tipping) in the Cairngorms National Park, quite a contrast to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park in the summer (see here). Even accepting that it is now quieter than August, the differences are quite…
Ben A’an is a honeypot for hill walking, especially for “beginners”. Fantastic views, steep and craggy enough to provide a sense of adventure and not too far from urban populations, it is many people’s first hill. It has been very popular for some time and has become even more so due to the corona crisis. …
A week ago, Land Use Consultants withdrew their request to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority for a scoping opinion about a possible chalet development on land between the River Falloch and the A82 north of Ardlui (see here) after a large area of ancient woodland had been unlawfully felled. Back in 1992…
Two weeks ago I spoke to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board (see here) about the urgent need to consider improved visitor infrastructure over the winter as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. More specifically, I tried to draw attention to deficiencies in papers on Visitor Management and Litter Prevention that…
Yesterday, on my way up to Speyside I pulled into a layby and parked behind a trailer loaded with crates. I did not realise immediately but half were packed with adult red legged partridge (you can just see them in the lower four crates on the left). Breeding of red-legged partridge is now a sizeable…
After my post last week (see here) on attempts to stop people exercising access rights post-Covid, I was sent these photos from Ledard Farm in Strathard. The Land Reform Act gave people the right to access fields with livestock and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code states this clearly: “Access rights extend to fields with farm…
On Monday I was pleased to speak at the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board Meeting on the need for improved visitor infrastructure in the National Park. While I will come back to the case I presented (see here) in a further post, I was only about to do because the LLTNPA has…