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 made in reconciling the interests of the estate and those wishing to take access.
A survey was undertaken by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland in early 2014 to identify access problems experienced by walkers on the North Chesthill Estate. In total there were 709 responses, with over 80% of respondents reporting that they had walked these Munros in the last 10 years. Of the remaining 19%, some attempted to walk on the Estate but were deterred.
In total, 611 problems were reported, including off-putting or misleading notices, locked gates, hostile responses to email or phone enquiries, or approaches by the landowner or his representatives. A handful of respondents did say they had received helpful advice from the Estate but, in general, there appears to be a poor attitude to access.
People accessing the hills have responsibilities as well as rights and 80% of those who took access during the stalking season sought information on where they could walk. This came from a variety of sources including the Heading for the Scottish Hills website, the Hillphones system and information direct from the Estate.
Andrea Partridge
MCofS Access Officer Andrea Partridge said: “Responsibility for enforcing compliance with the access legislation lies with the local authorities – and in this case Perth and Kinross Council is the relevant body.
“We will be asking them to use their statutory powers to ensure that there is open access on the North Chesthill Estate throughout the year along with appropriate signage during the stalking season that is updated on a daily basis. This will help not only walkers but also the Estate to manage the deer population and run their business without antagonizing those taking access”.