This post examines the need to elect politicians to the next Scottish Parliament who are committed to land reform legislation. It notes the loss of experienced land reformers and the need to replace them with others who have equal enthusiasm for land reform. It provides examples of recent difficulties including serious misunderstandings within VisitScotland of…
Tag: access rights
The relaxation of travel restrictions on outdoor recreation and the Lomond & Trossachs National Park
Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement last week that the restrictions on travel within Scotland for outdoor recreation would be relaxed on 16th April, ten days earlier than scheduled, took most people by surprise. The legal restrictions on travel which were first introduced on 27th November remain in place, meaning that you still can only travel outside your…
In 2014 the Land Reform Review Group published its report, the land of Scotland and the Common Good (see here). This contained a short section on access rights which concluded that generally they were working well: Since then, access rights have been challenged as never before, with the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority leading…
This post takes a further look (see here) at the Scottish Government’s continued unfair restrictions on people’s right to travel for outdoor recreation and why they have been able to get away with this. The change in the Stay at Home “rule” Both the UK and Scottish Governments have muddied the differences between “law” and…
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which introduced access rights, also gave Scotland Local Authorities and National Parks new powers and duties as “Access Authorities”. Section 25 required Access Authorities to set up one or more Local Access Forums (LAFs) to advise on the exercise of access rights in their area and to help resolve…
Following my post on the air pollution caused by muirburn (see here), I have been sent a number of photos by readers expressing concern about the levels of destruction that have been caused by muirburn these last two weeks, both inside and outside the Cairngorms National Park. In the case above, the people concerned had…
I was not expecting the Scottish Government to relax the current “rules” on Outdoor Recreation when Nicola Sturgeon made her announcement in the Scottish Parliament last week and I was right. While P 1-3 children will be allowed back to school this week, a welcome move but one which has some risks (there is now…
Whether you know Dave or have never come across him, the 10 minute video produced by the Fort William Mountain Film festival (see here), much of which is set in the Cairngorms National Park, should be an inspiration for anyone concerned about the natural environment and access to nature. It shows just what can be…
Two weeks ago, two women who had travelled from Fife to walk up Ben Lomond and called the rescue team were charged with Culpable and Reckless Conduct (see here). Last week two men who had travelled from Glasgow to Ben Nevis and had to be rescued from Minus Two Gully were issued with a fixed penalty…
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…
[Update. While I checked the law at New Year, I did not realise when drafting the post the list of reasonable excuses for leaving the place you are living was amended on 5th January (see here clause 18 (2) t) to include outdoor recreation. I have consequently amended the post which had highlighted the differences…
Four days after its damp squib of an official opening on 19th December (above), Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) announced that it was shutting up shop indefinitely (see here), but also that it had decided to lock the snow gates at Glen More for good measure, making it very hard for anyone else to enjoy…
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…
This post takes a critical look at the new laws on travel that the Scottish Government introduced last week and their implications for outdoor recreation, in all its forms. I argue that the restrictions would, if interpreted by the police and courts as the Scottish Government apparently intends, be unjustified and discriminatory and fail to…
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…
After blogging about how this sign breached access rights ten days ago (see here), I was delighted to be informed by the Cairngorms National Park Authority yesterday that it has now been removed by the Balmoral Estate. The CNPA Access Team have said that they now going to talk further with the estate about a…
Following my post on how “trespass” had reared its ugly head at Aviemore (see here), it has done so again in the Scottish Countryside Alliance’s rural crime survey (see here). The survey is due to close this weekend and the SCA states it intends to present the results to the Scottish Parliament before the…
On Saturday, I walked with friends up Lochnagar from the old Invercauld Bridge, through the Ballochbuie forest and then across the moor to scramble up the Stuic. Shortly after the start, at a junction, we came across this sign at the start of a road leading off to our right . While apparently intended to…
“Trespass” is a particularly loaded word. It comes from the Old French “trespasser” meaning “pass beyond or across, cross, traverse; infringe, violate”. In English it came to mean “transgress in some active manner, commit an aggressive offense, to sin” – as in “forgive us our trespasses” used in the Lord’s Prayer – but is also…
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…
Following the release of lockdown, I have come across far fewer no access signs in Scotland’s countryside compared to the aftermath of the Foot and Mouth crisis in 2001. The main impediments to access in areas like the east shore of Loch Lomond have been the closure of roads and car parks by Public Authorities…
The Dirty Camping debate in the Scottish Parliament On Wednesday, almost an hour after it was scheduled and after a very long day, MSPs started to debate Murdo Fraser’s motion on Dirty Camping (see here) at 6pm. Although the chamber appeared mostly empty, a number of MSPs contributed online and the debate went on until…
The Scottish Parliament this afternoon debates a motion (see here) by Murdo Fraser on Dirty Camping, just the second members’ debate since the start of the corona crisis. While the Scottish Parliament increasingly appears to have little real power, what is said today could still be very important for framing any debate on camping and campervanning…
In 2018 the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (I am on the Committee) carried out a review of Scotland’s Regional Parks (see here). In large part this was prompted because no-one else seemed concerned about what was happening or the lost potential. With Councils now pulling, or threatening to pull, their support for Clyde Muirshiel,…
Following my posts on how litter (see here) and traffic management issues (see here) are being used to attack access rights, Perth and Kinross Council has now gone further than even the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has dared to do. The move could undermine access rights across Scotland. The comments on thei…