dishdashdott wrote:This was the reply I got when I emailed earlier this year asking about any stalking going on over a weekend;
"We are not stalking this Saturday or Sunday. We are going to endeavour next week for the next 5 weeks.
But it does not matter when or how you walk, the overwhelming number we have to deal with all year round have destroyed our deer and wildlife management business. There is now a large area of my estate with no wildlife. Yours and the many other visitors do the same damage in May June and July, or any other month, as you do when we are on the ground trying to deliver to clients.
Its so unbalanced - its rather sad really and destructive."
It would be interesting to know how many people access the estate through out the year. I would imagine that most people walk at weekends and that during the summer it is busier than during the winter. Most people would also stick to the route over the 4 Munros and this would surely leave most of the estate unvisited by walkers. Whilst one can only applaud whatever the estate might be doing to encourage wildlife I think it is very unlikely that the presence of walkers has led to absence of wildlife from large areas of the estate. There are many places of the country that receive far higher numbers of visitors than this estate: one only has to think of our many country parks and nature reserves that are actively managed to encourage and conserve wildlife. They also encourage large numbers of visitors to enjoy the wildlife and the countryside as well and still seem to be successful in their aims.
I wonder what makes this area so sensitive to the detrimental effects of visitors. Furthermore, as other contributors have pointed out other states are much more friendly and co-operative towards walkers. With good will on all sides I think these problems can be resolved. But if negotiations are unsuccessful I think the law must be enforced. There is no point in having access legislation if the powers that be are just prepared to stand back and let it be flouted.