Erosion

[alexmat]

I have been walking the hills of Scotland for over 40 years and one thing I have noticed is the huge increase in erosion and damage to our environment .. Not only on our more popular hills but now on those which many choose to ignore. This was apparent to day whilst climbing Meall Chuaich close to Dalwhinnie. Whilst out walking i happened to stop and speak to an estate worker. who advised me to continue my walk up the stalkers path and ascend the Munro from a different route rather than the normal one. The estate has no problem with walkers (although he did say there has been a marked increase in property damage ,litter ,wildlife disturbance and anti social behavior in the last few months.) The erosion to the path which ascends the south west of the hill is appalling .What was once a single track is now a motorway. Badly damaged peat bogs and soil disturbance. So much so the estate are looking to fence of the area and reroute walkers further up the glen to encourage regeneration.. its something we all have to consider and we are all at fault.We have to be more considerate ,Plan alternative routes and think where we are walking rather than stick to the known routes and turn them into ugly scars.. The hills are fragile and our environment a finite resource .One that we damage at our peril. .

[dave munn]

I suppose it is an inevitable problem given the increased numbers on the hills. Good to hear though when estates look for active solutions without discouraging walkers. A lot of the problems come from ill equipped walkers, particularly in terms of footwear, which ‘encourages’ avoiding muddy sections etc and worsens existing erosion. I have started walking a lot more recently after many years not being able to get out for various reasons and have been impressed by much of the path improvements and work to regenerate. Takes a lot of money though.

[al78]

Should be possible to cycle up glen Tromie and ascend Meall Chuaich from near Bhran cottage. The OS map shows a bridge over the river Tromie and a path from there to near the summit.

[SummitViews]

The estates cause far more damage to the environment with driven access roads than walkers will ever cause

I really don’t see a problem here as long as people are being sensible

All erosion will quickly recover in a few years when we are all banished from visiting the hills in line with the Green agenda nonsense

[WalkWithWallace]

We do need to accept the damage we're causing and do alternative routes and stop creating braids in paths by dodging boggy sections.

Estates criticising walkers for erosion though... glass houses springs to mind . Bulldozed tracks and ATVs tearing up the landscape.

Should be possible to cycle up glen Tromie and ascend Meall Chuaich from near Bhran cottage. The OS map shows a bridge over the river Tromie and a path from there to near the summit.

This does look like a good alternative and could do a Munro/Corbett combo with Meallach Mhor.

[iain_atkinson_1986]

Just wait until the windfarms go in en masse. The one being installed across from Ben Klibreck at the moment looks like they're building an F1 track.



Was down Glen Etive last week and it's even more trashed than ever which is incredible when you think about it. It's become a complete dump. At least the hydro tracks might make getting in and out of the hills a bit easier...

The erosion scar on Beinn a' Ghlo, for example, is nothing compared to either of the above.

[Senja]

Beinn a' Ghlo has healed a fair bit, but the new path is horrible to descend. A lot of the erosion I encounter is caused by four wheel drive vehicles and deer. Cuaich seemed pretty OK a couple of years ago.

[NickyRannoch]

The hills are a fragile environment because of the practices of said estates.

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

[iain_atkinson_1986]

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

Not sure about that. Deforestation has been pretty steady since the Neolithic.

[al78]

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

Not sure about that. Deforestation has been pretty steady since the Neolithic.

Which ramped up significantly during the industrial revolution, to the point where there is very little original natural forest left. This is why it is a misnomer to describe the Scottish highlands as a wild and natural unspoilt landscape. It has been pretty much completely transformed (spoilt) by human activity over the centuries. What we see today is nothing like what it would look like without human activity.

[iain_atkinson_1986]

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

Not sure about that. Deforestation has been pretty steady since the Neolithic.

Which ramped up significantly during the industrial revolution, to the point where there is very little original natural forest left. This is why it is a misnomer to describe the Scottish highlands as a wild and natural unspoilt landscape. It has been pretty much completely transformed (spoilt) by human activity over the centuries. What we see today is nothing like what it would look like without human activity.

Would be nice to see a massive rewilding campaign in the Highlands and UK generally. It'd have huge ecological and employment benefits, especially in places like the Highlands where there are opportunities for it to be a centre of excellence. I don't really think the appetite at large is there for it, sadly.

A big bad estate owner putting forth the idea of reintroducing wolves and lynx which would help facilitate a rewilding project? Heresy! Some of us are yet to bag Carn Ban!

[Moriarty]

The hills are a fragile environment because of the practices of said estates.

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

In terms of the point in question, I don't think there's much historical evidence for thousands of Highlanders pulling on boots at the weekend in the 17th Century and slavishly following pre-defined routes up high Scottish Hills, so not really an exoneration.

If they'd been left in place? People being people it would be interesting to see how the Scottish environment would have been screwed up by an undisplaced population, I don't imagine Scots would have been the exception to the rule.

I do agree that the shameful overpopulation with deer and land management for the killing for fun industries almost certainly renders the ground more susceptible to erosion (and probably a lot easier to walk through).

[al78]

The hills are a fragile environment because of the practices of said estates.

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

In terms of the point in question, I don't think there's much historical evidence for thousands of Highlanders pulling on boots at the weekend in the 17th Century and slavishly following pre-defined routes up high Scottish Hills, so not really an exoneration.

If they'd been left in place? People being people it would be interesting to see how the Scottish environment would have been screwed up by an undisplaced population, I don't imagine Scots would have been the exception to the rule.

I do agree that the shameful overpopulation with deer and land management for the killing for fun industries almost certainly renders the ground more susceptible to erosion (and probably a lot easier to walk through).

I'd be interested in any theories as to how the population in the highlands would have developed if there had been no highland clearances. It is not obvious the area would be vastly more developed than now, the geography makes the area challenging to develop and the midges act as a deterrant for immigration.

[Skyelines]

The Scottish Highlands managed to sustain thousands of settlements for centuries with no issues.

Not sure about that. Deforestation has been pretty steady since the Neolithic.

Which ramped up significantly during the industrial revolution, to the point where there is very little original natural forest left. This is why it is a misnomer to describe the Scottish highlands as a wild and natural unspoilt landscape. It has been pretty much completely transformed (spoilt) by human activity over the centuries. What we see today is nothing like what it would look like without human activity.

By the time the Romans turned up and made a nuisance of themselves in the south of Scotland half of the forests had already been cleared. This was mainly due to the climate becoming wetter and cooler a few 1000 years BC and partly by clearance for agriculture.
By 1800 only about 13% of the forest remained ( about 8% of the land area) so most had gone before the Industrial Revolution. By 1900 only 6% of Scotland was wooded.

[Giant Stoneater]

Should be possible to cycle up glen Tromie and ascend Meall Chuaich from near Bhran cottage. The OS map shows a bridge over the river Tromie and a path from there to near the summit.

That's the way i tackled Meall Chuaich and to be honest there is a good bit of erosion.