Access issues

Ben A'an car park closure dates

Posted on June 12, 2014 by Helen Webster

Forestry work will mean that the Ben A'an car park and footpath will be closed from 23-27 June for preparatory works for a tree-fellig programme which begins in full in September, but an alternative hill access car park and route will then be made available. Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) say that the essential improvement programme on Ben A’an in the Trossachs will conserve the landscape for walkers and other users for years to come. The main programme, due to get underway in September, includes essential felling of trees near the popular Ben A’an hill path as well as upgrading of…

Posted in Access issues, News

Scottish Government rejects call for more National Parks

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Helen Webster

At a time when Scotland is celebrating the contribution of a great Scot, John Muir, to the worldwide National Park movement over 100 years ago, the Scottish Government has been criticised by some conservation bodies for placing roadblocks in the way of the creation of more National Parks. In recent weeks the Scottish Campaign for National Parks (SCNP) and The Association for the Protection of Rural Scotland (APRS) have stepped up their calls for more National Parks to be considered as part of a push to protect more of Scotland’s outstanding landscapes and to provide an economic boost to some…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Lower ferry fares promised for Clyde and Hebrides routes

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Helen Webster

Lower ferry fares will be introduced on the remaining routes in the Clyde and Hebrides in October 2015. Road equivalent tariffs (RET) have been operational on routes to the Outer Hebrides, Coll and Tiree since 2008. Following the success of these routes, which coincided with a boom in tourism to the Outer Hebrides the scheme was rolled out to include Islay, Colonsay and Gigha in 2012 and Arran is set to be included later this year. Announcing the roll out to the remaining Clyde and Hebrides routes, Transport Minister Keith Brown said the roll out would involve a further 14…

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The rise and rise of the long distance trail

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Cameron McNeish

Apologies to those who have read the following story before but it does illustrate how times and attitudes have changed in Scotland. Back in the late seventies I was invited to attend a press conference in Glasgow to launch a guidebook to the West Highland Way. The route hadn’t been officially opened but the publishers Constable had produced a guidebook, written by a chap called Tom Hunter. The publishers also brought John Hillaby with them. Hillaby was a science writer-cum-long-distance-walker who had written Journey Through Britain, an excellent account of walking between Land’s End and John O’Groats, even though it…

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Meeting aims to safeguard dinosaur isle

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Helen Webster

Local people on Skye are being invited to become voluntary wardens to help safeguard vulnerable fossil sites in a bid to tackle the problem of reckless collecting. Skye is known as the ‘dinosaur isle’ due to its rich heritage of fossil sites, particularly from the Jurassic period, around 200 million years ago to 145 million years ago. And though most people follow Scotland’s Fossil Code, there are still examples of people damaging these sites by collecting fossils in an irresponsible and therefore unacceptable way. A public meeting tonight Tuesday (20 May) will be held at Tigh na Sgire, Portree, at…

Posted in Access issues, Nature

Sea Eagle chicks on view at Beinn Eighe visitor centre

Posted on May 13, 2014 by Helen Webster

Visitors to the Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve visitor centre in Wester Ross will be treated to fantastic close up views of sea eagle chicks this summer. Local staff have announced the successful hatching of a chick at the nest on Loch Maree Islands. It has been regularly used by the pair of eagles for the past 16 years, and last year Scottish Natural Heritage, which manages Britain’s oldest NNR, installed a remote camera which sends live footage via radio signals to the visitor centre in nearby Kinlochewe. Eoghain Maclean, the reserve mamager, spotted the fluffy chick poking out above…

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Ben Nevis bridges to be replaced

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Helen Webster

Signs are about to go up advising walkers to Ben Nevis that the two aluminium bridges on the main path up the mountain from the Glen Nevis Visitor Centre to the summit are to be replaced. Work is due to start on Monday 19 May to replace both footbridges and is estimated to take up to four weeks. Due to the nature of this essential work and to ensure the safety of the contractors and all other path users, everyone using this route is advised to follow the advisory signs on the hill and the on-site instructions. Restrictions and path…

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Griff Rhys Jones backs Scottish footpath appeal

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Helen Webster

TV presenter and outdoors devotee Griff Rhys Jones has urged lovers of the outdoors across the UK to help a Scottish mountain charity repair and maintain footpaths through some of the country’s most beautiful landscapes. The John Muir Trust looks after over 120km of footpaths from woodland and coastal trails to world famous mountain routes that provide access to seven Munros and five Corbetts. These include the final zigzag to the summit of Ben Nevis, the wild and rocky Steall Gorge path in Glen Nevis, the four mile trail to remote Sandwood Bay, the main route up stunning Bla Bheinn…

Posted in Access issues, Nature, News

Council urged to act over access on Glen Lyon estate

Posted on May 1, 2014 by Helen Webster

The Mountaineering Council of Scotland is to bring pressure on Perth and Kinross Council to take action over a ‘rogue’ estate where access rights seem to be ignored. North Chesthill Estate in Glen Lyon has been a regular source of complaint from walkers over a number of years. The estate contains a popular round of four Munros, Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg and Creag Mhor and despite the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which enshrined a statutory right of access, mountaineers still experience a range of problems. Despite repeated efforts over a number of years, little progress has been…

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Final stage of Loch Leven Heritage Trail now open

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Paul Webster

A final 6.5 kilometre section is now open which completes the Loch Leven Heritage Trail circuit around the loch near Kinross. The new section – which runs from the RSPB Nature reserve at Vane Farm to Kinross – includes the highest point on the trail, and gives some of the best views on the whole 21km route. The final section cost £800,000, and was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund with further contributions from Scottish Natural Heritage, The Arthur and Margaret Thompson Trust, The Gannochy Trust and Sustrans. A very valuable new donation was a bequest from the late Jean…

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