New tracks continue to be bulldozed into the hills at an alarming rate for access to forestry, livestock, shooting, windfarms, hydro dams, pylons & masts. Designation of the area as a National Park appears to make no difference, for new tracks have now recently been bulldozed into most of the side glens of Glens Falloch…
Category: Loch Lomond and Trossachs
Following James Fenton’s fine post “Just Say No ” and earlier posts on the destruction in Glen Falloch (see here and here) I wanted to write a bit more about the permanent impact that the construction of these schemes is having on the landscape. This is not just about hydro schemes of course, and issues…
Thanks to Liza Downie for sending me this photo from Ben Lawers after my last post. I had questioned why the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park had just tendered for an automated number plate charging system when it had…
At the end of last week, while the National had an excellent article by Lesley Riddoch and follow up letter by James Cassidy on access to the countryside, the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority was advertising its latest plans to charge for access. The contrast between what is needed and the Loch…
Early in August Scotgold announced it had produced the first gold from its bulk ore processing trial at Cononish goldmine (see Herald). This involves the crushing of ore that has already been extracted from the old mine to see how much gold it contains. The original planning approval for the goldmine did not allow this. …
I was shocked recently to see what is happening in the wild areas of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. Every side glen in the Glens Dochart and Falloch area now has a hydro scheme. This necessitates the construction of tracks high into the hills and the addition of dams into previously wild…
I have been asking the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority what criteria it would use to decide the planning application it is making to itself for a campsite at Loch Chon. Among the issues is that the Your Park proposals to develop new campsites is not consistent with the Park’s proposed Development Plan…
Poorly constructed and often illegal hill tracks have visually blighted many parts of the Highlands over the past decades. Recent changes in legislation have brought some measure of control to these but ongoing vigilance is needed. Although this is a Scotland wide issue, it is highly relevant to the National Parks. Scottish Environment LINK…
Following the inflammatory facebook post from Rothiemurchus estate on campers here and here I had not appreciated the Cairngorms National Park Authority had issued a short new release please tread lightly. Its tone is highly commendable, highlighting just how inflammatory the Rothiemurchus was, and the message a positive one: “We want people to enjoy the…
Following my post on the LLTNPA’s unfortunate decision to use National Park’s week to launch its new litter enforcement powers, when other National Parks across the UK were celebrating the theme of adventure, there was an excellent letter in the Herald today from James Fraser, Chair of the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs. (While…
In my first post on the proposed campsite at Loch Chon and camping in Strathard, I included the two photos below and questioned why, since its since its impossible to camp along most of the north shore of Loch Ard, this area had ever been included in the proposed camping ban? …
A fair amount of information has come to light in the last three weeks about the LLTNPA’s camping plans which raises serious further concerns about both the adequacy of those plans and the whole camping byelaw proposal. Camping in Strathard It says a lot about the LLTNPA that they have kept their camping…
Yesterday was the start of National Parks week, an annual celebration of National Parks in the UK. The theme of National Parks week this year is adventure. The Cairngorm National Park Authority has responded to this with a positive press release press release about celebrating National Parks, announcing a number of events and encouraging people…
Dear LLTNPA, Your Guidance on Renewables recommends the use of fencing should be kept to a minimum. Is this fencing at the Derrydarroch power station what was meant? Or has perhaps this been designed to keep walkers on the West Highland Way, from where this photo was taken, at bay?
Dear LLTNPA, I know that the LLTNPA is very pre-occupied with branding, so that every signpost has to be in your corporate colours, but I really wonder if this is the best way to get messages across? I have been a few time to the Carrick Nature reserve and never seen any litter. There…
Dear LLTNPA, I am afraid by the time you read this, the section of turf in the photo will have long gone – its just too comfortable for cattle to walk on. This is a shame because your Guidance on Renewables recommends the creation of a turf/soil strip along the centre of all new…
Dear LLTNPA, I was interested to see in May that meters had been installed at the carpark in Inveruglas. I appreciate you are short of money but it seems to me particularly mean to advertise the new wooden structure at Inveruglas, as part of Scotland’s scenic routes, and then charge people for…
Dear LLTNPA, In May I visited the Loch Venachar quay site off the Invertrossachs Road where you installed a new carpark with gates last year, just outside Invertrossachs House, the home of your convener Linda McKay. I note that the trees on the quay, which were not in the original plans, were growing particularly…
Dear LLTNPA, I know at the behest of the Scottish Government both our National Parks have been promoting scenic routes and as part of this some interesting sculptures have been created over the last year or so including the structure at Inveruglas. To many people like myself though the natural beauty of the area speaks…
Dear LLTNPA, I spotted these tents at Bein Glas campsite on Sunday 26th June at 9.30 am. They looked abandoned to me and sure enough they were still there late afternoon. When you published all those photos of abandoned tents by the lochshores you implied that banning camping outwith controlled areas would stop these problems…
One of the objections I submitted to the LLTNPA’s development plan Response – Development Plan and Camping was it used totally different terminology to describe campsites than what has been used in the Your Park consultation – a case of one part of the Park not talking to another. (See https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/06/07/park-authority-applies-planning-permission-unwanted-campsite-loch-chon/) I emailed the Park’s…
I was out last Sunday taking a look at the Glen Falloch hydro schemes which I had not yet visited. In an earlier post I was very critical of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park for setting out no firm rules about what locations might be suitable for hydro schemes https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/05/24/glen-falloch-hydro-schemes-2/ . The…
On Friday I received a response (EIR 2016-018 Response) to the questions I had raised about the proposed north Loch Venachar campsite. This was approved in the Five Lochs Management Plan of 2012 but the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park had failed to deliver it as planned in 2013-14. (For background see https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/05/27/disappearing-campsites-loch-lomond-trossachs-national-park-development-plan/.) I…
The National Trust for Scotland, which owns two important properties in our National Parks, Ben Lomond and Mar Lodge, was in the news again last week because of its latest financial crisis (Herald “NTS faces death by 1000 cuts “). The script is wearily familiar: the need to re-organise to make ends meet and cut…
I was in the Lake District last weekend, camping in Borrowdale, where there are at least 8 campsites in the 12 kilometres south of Keswick with not a holiday chalet or caravan in site. The contrast with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, where the National Park Authority has granted provision for much of…