A landowner in the Cairngorms National Park has been ordered to remove a controversial vehicle track that is visible from miles around in scenic Glen Clova, Angus. Campaigners have welcomed Cairngorms National Park Authority’s enforcement notice against the ugly vehicle track, which appears to be used to support field sports. The landowner – registered to Pitlivie Farm in Carnoustie – has been given until October 2020 to restore the upper part of the track, which is 1.5km long and has created spoil mounds up to 10 metres wide. They have also been told to seek retrospective permission by 23 December…

With photos of campfire rings and damage left in the pinewoods circulating on social media, Adam Streeter-Smith, Access Officer for the Cairngorms National Park authority, takes on a hot topic, asking just what is responsible behaviour. Picture the scene – a starry night sky, crickets are chirping and the horses hobbled nearby are munching on the grass, the coffee pot perched on the edge of the fire starts to boil and the aroma mixes with the wild sage. You casually kick a log with your cowboy boot and sparks waft into the night sky…. Now transpose the romanticised notion of…

A coalition of ten conservation charities is calling on the Scottish Parliament to grasp a golden opportunity to introduce stronger controls over vehicle tracks in our hills. The Scottish Parliament is set to vote this week on Planning Bill amendments by Scottish Green Party MSP Andy Wightman, designed to close loopholes that allow landowners to build many of the controversial tracks without planning permission. Research by Scottish Environment LINK Hilltracks group has found that the tracks continue to creep further into wilder landscapes, and that planning loopholes can lead to them being badly-sited and designed. Some tracks have even been built over…