Hillwalkers wishing to take vehicles beyond the locked gate in Strathfarrar should be aware that the Estate has recently tightened up the criteria used to grant permission. The access arrangements were originally negotiated by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS) and during the winter (Nov-Mar) walkers who wanted to take vehicles up the glen had to phone the MCofS to request the combination for the padlock.
The MCofS says that following “recent incidents”, vehicular access will now only be given to MCofS members for the purpose of hillwalking or climbing and that walkers need to give details of their objectives for the day which will be passed onto the Glenavon and Braulen Estates who own the private road in Strathfarrar.
The MCofS has posted the following advice on its website, “The gate-keeper is not paid to manage the gate from the 1st November through to late March. Vehicle access for MCofS members only can be arranged through our Perth office. Please provide the following information to our staff: your name and membership number, your objectives for the day, date of your intended visit, registration number of your car, names of the occupants and a telephone contact number. You will be given the combination number for a lock on the gate, thereby enabling you to gain vehicular access to the glen. The combination number is changed regularly, so please call the MCofS office every time you plan to visit the glen in the winter season. Your details will be passed to the Estates so they can check that vehicles have permission to be there.
“Non-motorised access to the glen on foot, bicycle or horse is not affected by the gate arrangements.
“If you are NOT a member of the MCofS or want access for another reason during the winter then please contact Glenavon and Braulen Estates on 01463 761204 (during normal office hours) or email.
Every trip you plan to make through the gate under the winter arrangements has to be notified to the MCofS.
Phone: 01738 493 942″
The summer arrangements come into force on 1 April 2015 and are detailed on the MCofS website.
Strathfarrar lies within the Braulen Estate owned by Andras Ltd which is reputedly owned by a wealthy Malaysian. The company also owns the 42,000 Glenavon Estate near Tomintoul in the Cairngorms. Both are run as sporting estates.