There is an interesting article in the December edition of Scottish Birds, the quarterly magazine of the Scottish ornithologists club, about nuthatch colonisation on the Glenfalloch Estate at the head of Loch Lomond. The authors, who work for Alba Ecology Ltd, have been undertaking annual breeding bird surveys of the area since 2015. They report…
Tag: LLTNPA
The same flock of sheep that are slowly killing off part of the Coille Coire Chuilc Caledonian Pine remnant (see here) appear to be destroying areas of peat bog on the broad summit ridge of Fiarach, the hill above. It’s on the same landholding, Auchreoch, bought by Richard Bayman Lewis of Killin for £240k in 2014….
In November I spent an hour or so on the eastern side of Coille Coire Chuilc, north west of Crianlarich (for maps showing location see below). The wood (“coille”) is the second most southerly fragment of the Caledonian Pine Forest in Scotland and protected as such, being a Site of Special Scientific Interest and being…
It was Drennan Watson, long-time conservation activist in the Cairngorms, who first pointed out to me that when saplings emerge from tree shelters they are the perfect height for deer to nibble. But until yesterday I didn’t have any photos to demonstrate what happens. The tree tubes were a few kilometres beyond the neglected western…
Following his post on the A82 upgrade (see here), John Urquhart and other volunteers from the Helensburgh and District Access Trust (HADAT) requested a deputation to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board on their alternative proposals for a high road linking Tarbet and Invernan. This was accepted and the HADAT delegation was…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board meeting today was meant to be held both on-line and in public at the National Park HQ. With the wave of Omicron sweeping the country, I fully expected the meeting to be cancelled but the notice (above) was up last night and still was this…
While working on my last post criticising the response of the leadership of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority to the climate emergency (see here), I had no idea of the damage that had by wrought by Storm Arwen at Stronachlachar in the Trossachs. My thanks to the Steamship Trust for including parkswatch…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) website has had a makeover. If you click on their site address https://www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/ you are greeted by a photo of a digger in the uplands, the hashtag slogan “Let’s do net zero” and a page of links to information on various aspects of the “climate emergency…
I am writing this post in my capacity as Convener of Helensburgh and District Access Trust (HADAT), a Scottish incorporated charitable trust which seeks to improve countryside access in the Helensburgh and Lomond area. The trust manages the Three Lochs Way Great Trail and for many years has had ambitions to see that route extended…
The divurgence between how people in Glasgow have welcome people to the COP -26 summit has been been most interesting. On the one hand sections of the population profiteering through exorbitant charges for accommodation – one wonders if any of the hotels or landlords charging delegates £1000s to stay will invest those profits in making…
On 10th November 2018 a large landslide took place above the eastern end of Loch Quoich. It was triggered by the collapse of a crag halfway up the steep hillside, demolished an electricity pylon and resulted in the road to Kinloch Hourn being closed for 6 months while the slope was stabilised at an estimated…
Parkswatch has long campaigned that most visitor facilities in the National Park should be kept open year round (see here). There are sufficient people, including tourists from abroad, visiting the National Park every day of the year that it no longer makes sense to close facilities over the winter. There are signs from the latest…
On Friday, while travelling north up the A82, I stopped by the first roundabout at the start of the Crianlarich bypass to take a look at the landscaping. It provides a lesson in ecology and current forestry practices right next to the road. The A82 Crianlarich by-pass, was completed in December 2014, almost seven…
On Friday I travelled up the A82 to Lochaber where I am staying for a week. The transformation of the verges and laybys that followed the installation of litter bins by the Friends of Loch Lomond and Trossachs, which I had blogged on a month ago (see here), has continued. All the laybys I could…
Wherever possible I try to visit sites before blogging about how they are being managed or the likely impacts of developments but sometimes that is not possible. I had only made one fleeting visit to Glen Falloch this year – to look at the project to remove the overhead powerlines – and had not re-visited…
In March, a Planning Application (see here) was submitted to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) to add five new intakes to the Ben Glas run of river hydro scheme, above the Eagle Falls at the head of Loch Lomond. Parkswatch has covered this scheme before, (see here) and (here) for example,…
In my posts (see here) and (here) criticising the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board for abandoning their decision-making role and allowing senior staff to take control, I was aware of a recent exception to the rule. At the Planning Committee on 30th August (see here for papers) Board Members rejected a recommendation…
The number of people drowning in Loch Lomond has been a major issue for years, with our public authorities being far more concerned about the health and safety standards being applied to competitors in the European Swimming Championships, all by definition great swimmers, than the general public (see here). But even after the terrible events…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Board meeting two weeks ago was only the second I have not observed in seven years. There appeared no point. The whole agenda (see here) was based on corporate box ticking – finance reports, audit reports, corporate governance: There was no substantive item about any of the…
On Wednesday I drove to Luss, the first time I had been along the A82 since May, and was amazed by the transformation. Instead of the usual litter strewn verges and laybys, I had to look quite carefully to spot any litter. The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority has for years had a…
The Herald yesterday revealed that Argyll and Bute Council have had an offer to buy the car park at the foot of the Cobbler accepted. The sum has not yet been disclosed. Unfortunately what should have been good news, bringing a piece of private land into public ownership for the benefit of the public, is…
In January 2020 I wrote a post (see here) about the LLTNPA’s consultation on “Active Park, Healthy People”, parkspeak for what had been an Outdoor Recreation Plan, and said this about paths: “Paths are crucial for outdoor recreation and – whether you agree with the spin or not – for the delivery of the LLTNPA’s…
This post takes a look at the implications of the co-operation agreement and shared policy programme that has been agreed between the SNP Government and the Greens (see here) for National Parks in Scotland. Investment in National and Regional Parks While the SNP said absolutely nothing about National Parks or Regional Parks in their election…
Watching the torrential rain showers in Glasgow over the last ten days, I have been wondering about what impact they have been having in hills, both in our National Parks and more widely. Erosion is a natural process but the impact of increased heavy rainfall due to climate change on eroded slopes such as that…
Last week I was sent this picture of a sign spotted outwith the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority Loch Chon campsite (see here) in Strathard. It is a con. The Scottish Government stated right from the start on the pandemic last year that our access rights as set out in the Land Reform…