I have come across a few pieces in the media over the last two weeks which I believe show just how out of touch the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority are in their attempt to stamp out camping and fires. Beltane, fires and the Park Beltane, one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals, was…
Tag: Camping bye laws
The Scottish Labour Party issued its election manifesto on Wednesday, for some strange reason long after the other political parties. Judging by the 2.7k hits on its website there has not been that much interest but, unlike the SNP, it does make commitments in respect to National Parks: ” Scottish Labour in government established…
In the Government Press release announcing the camping byelaws Dr McLeod made a powerful claim to justify her decision: “The evidence that I have seen of damage caused, particularly in some of the most environmentally fragile spots in the National Park, tells a compelling tale of the need for action. Abandoned campsites, discarded litter,…
Last week I received EIR 2016-003 Review Response from the LLTNPA which confirmed their decision not to release information about why they had decided to develop a campsite at Loch Chon https://parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2016/03/27/con-loch-chon-proposed-trossachs-west-camping-management-zone/. I will appeal to the FOI Commissioner (my fourth appeal, the first two of which have resulted in the Park releasing information and…
The LLTNPA used claims about damage to trees by rogue campers as part of their justification for the camping byelaws, their main evidence being a few photos. Previous posts on Parkswatch have criticised these claims, pointing out most of the woodland in the area owes its survival to coppicing and far more damage is done…
Angling on Loch Lomond just reached the front page of the Herald yesterday and a sizeable piece inside http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14406526.Anglers__ban_on_taking_home_salmon_caught_in_Loch_Lomond_based_on_flawed_figures/. The decision to ban the killing of wild salmon in many areas of Scotland was taken by the Rural Affairs, Climate Change of Environment Committee of the Scottish Parliament (RACCE) on 9th March when they approved…
On Friday I took advantage of the only good day forecast for the holiday weekend to visit Loch Chon (dog loch) before going for a walk over Beinn a Choin (Ben of the dogs). Most of the road between Aberfoyle and Inversnaid, covering Loch Ard, Loch Chon and Loch Arklet is part of the proposed…
A copy of Voice, the excellent publication from the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs (I am a member), arrived in the post this morning. Voice gives over a page of the publication to Gordon Watson, LLTNP Chief Executive, to provide an update from the Park Authority. It includes a section on the proposed camping…
On Monday I drove along the A 82 stopping at laybys & sites used for camping along the Loch side. Most of the land is owned by Luss Estates who last year blamed campers for the state of the country-side http://lussestates.co.uk/news/litter-problem-worsens-wild -campers Apart from the usual litter thrown from car traffic, which is ubiquitous throughout…
I have long wondered why Scottish Land and Estates, the organisation representing landowners, was so vocal in its support for camping bye-laws. After all Forestry Commission Scotland is by far the largest landowner in the National Park and the voluntary sector, including the Woodland Trust, NTS, RSPB and Royal Scottish Forestry Society also own sizeable…
After a morning looking around west Loch Lomond (to be covered in future posts) I attended today’s LLTNPA Board Meeting as an observer with Peter and Mary Jack from the Loch Lomond Association. A member of Buchanan Community Council had also turned up to see how the Board operates. In governance terms the March meeting…
There has been some excellent coverage today of the mass killing of hares in the Cairngorms National Park by Rob Edwards http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14340402.Outrage_of_landowners_mass_killing_of_mountain_hares/ Raptor Persecution Scotland https://raptorpersecutionscotland.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/more-mountain-hares-massacred-in-cairngorms-national-park/ and Mark Avery http://markavery.info/2016/03/13/mountain-mountain-hares/ I am delighted that some of the commentators are now asking why this practice is taking place in a National Park which was set up…
I welcome the creation of parkswatchscotland because our National Parks are so important for outdoor recreation and they are not always getting matters right. Every item in this briefing on outdoor recreation issues for the Scottish Parliament elections is relevant to National Parks and some concern them directly. Briefing by Dave Morris This…
Among the papers for the LLTNP Board meeting on 14th March is a letter from Aileen McLeod, Minister for the Environment, setting out why she explained camping bye-laws. Agenda Item 8 – Appendix 1 – Ministerial Letter to Linda McKay – Byelaw decision It is essential reading. Beneath the spin about listening to a range…
Another interesting revelation from the Board Strategy Group minutes see post 2nd March) is about the the failure of the LLTNP Authority to consider properly the cost of enforcing the proposed camping byelaws. At the meeting of 7th May: “FL (Fiona Logan, their then Chief Exec) advised that the patrol of East Loch Lomond has…
I attended the special Park Board Meeting that approved the camping bye-laws on 27th April 2015 along with three people from the Loch Lomond Association http://lochlomondassociation.co.uk/. The business took well under an hour and 5 minutes of this was taken up with telling the three of us we were not allowed to say anything –…
Earlier this week Reforesting Scotland launched their new Guidance on Hutting http://www.thousandhuts.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/160215-Huts-Guidance-FINAL-screen-res.pdf. It was welcomed by Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Richard Lochhead, “Huts and hutting are a great way for people to enjoy Scotland’s outstanding natural environment, with all the benefits to health and wellbeing this can bring. I very much welcome the…
If you’ve been along the A82 in the last eight months, you might have seen this wrecked car just off the road south of Inverarnan. I first saw it last summer and when it was still there in October wrote to Gordon Watson, Chief Executive of the National Park Authority to ask if the Park…
Mike Wade, in an article in the Times on Saturday http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/uk/scotland/article4684602.ece has done a great service in showing that local communities are far from unified in their support for camping bye-laws. After quoting Stuart Fraser, of the Oak Tree Inn at Balmaha, which has been vocal in its support for the bye-laws, he quotes not just…
Having spent much of the last year trying to persuade decision makers and through reasoned argument and evidence, I was appalled by the decision of Aileen McLeod, the Environment Minister to approve new camping byelaws for Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. I very much admire Cameron McNeish, who had been trying to lobby quietly…