On 15th May, after climbing in Glen Coe, I stopped off to show my climbing partner the camping permit area at Inveruglas – one of several the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park has created which are not fit for purpose. Most of the permit area – like many others in the National Park –…
Tag: Camping bye laws
Knowledge and the abuse of power Globally, there is a struggle going on about who controls information and part of this is about who gets to see publicly funded research. George Monbiot has given excellent coverage to how academic research is being captured by corporate interests and what people are doing to oppose this (see…
Every time I travelled along the A82 last year I spotted people camping in breach of the camping byelaws in the tent free zone the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has created between Inveruglas and the Falls of Falloch. The northern part of this was not included originally within the Loch Lomond West…
I’d like to apologise to readers for reporting that all four cases the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority reported to the Procurator Fiscal last year involved campervans. The LLTNPA is now claiming that none of the cases involve campervans and, if that is the case, it has implications both for my post yesterday…
[NB the part of this post which dealt with how the camping byelaws affect campervannsers has been corrected today. The reasons for this are explained here] The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority is keeping pretty quiet about its consultation with campervanners and motorhomers. The “consultation” (see here) has not been advertised on…
After Friday’s post (see here) about the legal quagmire that the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Authority has created for itself through the camping bye-laws, its good to be able to report on progress from the Park’s excellent Access Team. Strange as it may seem, my understanding is that the Access Team, like the Local…
[The original section of this post that dealt with the enforcement of byelaws against campervans contained faulty information, based on that originally supplied by the LLTNPA, and has been corrected (see here)]. The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s camping byelaws come back into effect today within the four camping management zones in the…
Its now almost a year since the Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham visited the head of Loch Long at the invitation of local MSP Jackie Baillie and local residents (see here) to see the litter problem. The local community has been organising clear-ups for years but the sheer volume of rubbish swept up by the sea was…
Yesterday, I received a copy of a paper on the development of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s Camping Development Strategy which had been considered by their “Delivery Group” on 22nd November 2018. This post will take a look at what that paper tells us about the adequacy of provision for campers in…
Ten days after reporting this sign, which I had used as an example of why people need to report signs which contravene access rights (see here), the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Access Team responded to say it had been removed: Dear Mr Kempe I am contacting you to inform you that the…
Background to the core path network and the consultation While the focus of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 was rightly on securing general rights of access, the recreational organisations involved recognised that the biggest challenge for the future would be how to extend Scotland’s poor path network. Scotland at the time was far ahead…
I am pleased to report that following my post in November about the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority’s (LLTNPA’s) unlawful application of the camping byelaws (see here), that they have started to address the issue of unlawful “No camping” within the National Park”. This post will first take a look at the law…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board meeting on 10th December was a complete contrast to the September “stand-up” meeting with its threadbare agenda (see here). This time the agenda was packed (see here) but the meeting was as poorly organised as the last. Time for National Park Board Meetings to be…
In June Parkswatch exposed the unlawful warning system the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority had introduced along with the camping byelaws (see here). Staff had no legal authority to introduce such a system, were failing to inform people who were warned of the consequences or their rights, and were retaining personal data about…
There are very serious legal issues about the way in which the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority have tried to implement the camping byelaws which up until now they have tried to sweep under the carpet. The most significant legal issue arose early last year when the LLTNPA was forced to drop its…
With 12 years collective learning since the implementation of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 (the Act) and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) in 2006, one might expect the core principles enshrined in both to be embraced by the agencies charged with managing access and enforcing the legislation. From experience I’ve generally found that…
On 17th September the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks Authority issued a News Release to say they had investigated a case of fly tipping, issued a notice and that a £200 fine had been paid as a result. This is welcome. Its evidence for what I and others have long been saying, that the…
On the 11th October the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority issued a further update (see here) to “stakeholders” to mark the end of the second year of the camping byelaws. This post takes a critical examination of what the LLTNPA is saying, considers what the LLTNPA is failing to tell stakeholders and takes…
A week ago, two thirds along the forest track between the Ardchullarie and Anie hydro intake (see here), above the eastern shore of Loch Lubnaig, I came across this locked gate. (It was hard to note the exact position after been sandwiched between thick conifer plantations for a time but it was at GR 594115…
Scotland has almost no natural treeline and lacks the montane scrub zone which is found in other mountainous areas such as Norway and the Alps because of a long history of overgrazing (by sheep and deer) and excessive burning. It is therefore very welcome that the Cairngorms National Park Authority attaches a high priority to…
After my post on the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority war on campers, which referred to the Park’s failure to open the new campsite at Loch Achray as promised (see here), local rumours are that the campsite has not opened because the water from the borehole is not drinkable. I have asked the…
While Argyll and Bute Council’s decision to raise car parking charges at Arrochar by 800% (see here), has received much media attention, it also transpires that they intend to introduce this level of charges at their car park in Duck Bay, one of the most popular places for visitors on the west shore of Loch…
Saturday was the first time I had been along the “camping management zone” on the west shore of Loch Lomond for a couple of months. Prior to the start of the camping byelaw “season” in March the LLTNPA spent a lot of money erecting “repeater” signs warning campers that they faced fines of up to…
Between 18th and 21st September the Cairngorms National Park Authority are hosting the Europarc conference (see here) for “protected area professionals” . The theme of this year’s conference is “reconnecting young people with nature”. All attendees are being encouraged to bring a young person as part of the International Year of Young People and my…
Remember the main way the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority sold the byelaws as being necessary? Multiple photos of abandoned campsites which on closer examination turned out to be the same few campsites photographed from different angles. I will only post 1 photo of the abandoned tent here but there was other detritus…