The snowsports season on Cairn Gorm came to an end on Sunday 16 April 2023. It wasn’t the best or worst of seasons, although the available parking capacity was exceeded on a number of occasions, particularly at mid-term in February. During the course of the mid-term holiday in February, CairnGorm Mountain Scotland Ltd found it…
Tag: visitor management
When Forest and Land Scotland (FLS) announced in November they had awarded the lease for the Glenmore campsite to Twinflower (see here), they said nothing about the leases for the two campsites in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. These had been advertised through CDLH at the same time after FLS had bought back…
Introduction In a previous post (see here) I commented how the inaction of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park (LLTNP) on helping define the route of the A82 between Tarbet and Inverarnan was worrying. There appeared to be an unwillingness on the part of the LLTNP to do anything positive to ensure appropriate use…
[NB Part of this post has been updated following the claim at the LLTNPA board meeting that the FOI response for 2022 only gave part year registrations and numbers increased considerably after that date] The single greatest flaw in the the Loch Lomond bye law consultation process, which I touched on in my last post…
On 18th January the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) issued a news release (see here) about improvements to visitor infrastructure that are underway across the National Park. This was then picked up by various media without critical comment. While new investment in visitor infrastructure is welcome, the news release failed to explain…
This post takes a further look (see here) at the proposal to sell off the Luss Visitor centre which the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) Board Members will be asked to approve today. (The proposal is due to be discussed between 9.30 and 11 and the discussion can be viewed live –…
Last month, in a great piece of investigative journalism (see here), Rob Edwards from the Ferret obtained a copy of a document called the “Salisbury Crags Rock Risk Management Options Appraisal 2021” from Historic Environment Scotland (HES). This revealed that HES are seriously considering trying to close the Radical Road in Edinburgh permanently. Although I,…
Following the end of the 2021/22 Snowsports season, Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL), the company owned and controlled by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, has reimposed mandatory parking charges for the Coire Cas car park. The only difference from before being that the charge has been increased by no less than 50%. Customers’ reaction can be…
The Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA)’s consultation on their draft National Park Partnership Plan (NPPP) officially closes on Friday, apparently at 5pm. So far, I have only considered the draft plan from a climate and nature conservation perspective but will continue covering other aspects of the plan after the consultation closes. Before that, however, I…
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…
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…
The campervan park within the Coire na Ciste car park on Cairn Gorm (see here) and (here) will close for the season this coming weekend. Commercial failure or success? Data gathered from observations carried out each evening over two separate 1-week periods provides the evidence that the Ciste campervan park has been avoided by…
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…
Following my post which highlighted how Highlands and Island Enterprise (HIE) and Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) were restricting access to the campervan park at Coire na Ciste to three time slots a day (see here), I am pleased to report that HIE/CMSL appear to have changed tack. According to the CMSL website (above) it…
This post takes a look at a recent attempt by Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE)/Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL) to defend their new but low standard and barely used campervan facility in Coire na Ciste at Cairn Gorm. [Update: for how HIE/CMSL responded to some of the issues raised in this post (see here)]. …
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 Cairngorm National Park Planning Committee saw fit to grant Cairngorm Mountain [Scotland] Ltd (CMSL), Highland and Island Enterprise’s wholly owned subsidiary, permission to set up a Campervan Park in Coire na Ciste on Cairn Gorm. That consent was granted on 21 May 2021. CMSL indicated to the planning committee that they might be able…
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…
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…
When the Scottish Parliament resumes in Edinburgh on Monday, MSPs should go and take a look at the access problem that is visible from their doorstep. The Radical Road below Salisbury Crags has now been closed by Historic and Environment Scotland for almost three years following a rockfall. The prolonged closure raises issues of national…
Out of Doors on Radio Scotland yesterday (see here) had a great piece on Network Rail’s attempt to close the “private” level crossing at Dalwhinnie (from 35.30), an attack on people’s ability to exercise their access rights. This was first covered in the Badenoch and Strathspey Herald two weeks ago (see here) and now become…
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…
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority used to operate three visitor centres around the southern half of Loch Lomond. It owns two, those at Luss and Balmaha, which date back to the Lomond Park Authority and were transferred to the LLTNPA on its creation. The third, at Balloch, was constructed by Scottish Enterprise…
Argyll and Bute Council have been consulting on a new Traffic Regulation Order which would introduce parking restrictions and charges of £1 an hour at Duck Bay on the west Shore of Loch Lomond. As at Arrochar, where it can now cost £9 to go for a hill walk (see here), Argyll and Bute Council…