It’s been closed off like that since Feb; before that there were advisory notices from the latter part of last year. It’s to do with the unstable rock buttress just beyond where the path overlooks the old quarry, and also the last high bridge – the one before the bridge at the foot of the Law – is said to be no longer as secure as the health/safety/council people would like. Whether either of these things are bad enough for a popular glen to be formally closed is questionable, but that’s the way of it just now. (I sneaked in from the top end a couple of months ago with an engineer friend to have a look at the bridge, and he just laughed at the idea that it was any less stable than say a year earlier.)
The reason it’s not being fixed in a hurry is, predictably, because of a lack of money. It’s dragging on badly – and anecdotally, speaking with people met on the hill, a steady and possibly increasing number of walkers are just ignoring the restriction and walking along the glen anyway – it’s easy enough to sneak round the side of the barrier in your photograph. Clearly people using the glen when it’s officially shut isn’t ideal, but the longer this goes on, the more likely that is to happen.
The dodgy bits of the glen should be repaired asap – because it’s an important local resource (both for hillwalkers and village dogwalkers), and also because there’s always a risk that someone using the glen illegally might have an accident.
Anyway, the official council closure notice for Path 61 (as it’s called by the council) is here:
http://www.clacksweb.org.uk/environment/corepathsplan/and a piece I wrote about it for the CalMerc back in June is here:
http://tinyurl.com/6u2ax2uI’ll likely chase some more quotes and write another CalMerc piece over the winter, assuming the situation stays as it is at present.
PS – Hope you enjoyed your day out. The Nebit is a fine little summit, especially good as a way back to the Hillfoots as it connects with the old path down the front slope above Alva – this misses out the track zigzags very neatly although can be hard to find if you don’t know where it starts.