A right of passage
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
IN many years of walking and climbing Scotland’s hills I’ve never had a bust-up with an estate worker or landowner about access, even in the days before the Scottish Outdoor Access Code came into being.
The closest I came was on a Mountain Leader Training Course in Moidart. A stalker who was coming up the hill with a client, as our party was descending Rois Bheinn after an overnight camp, decided we’d strayed into an area he’d asked us to not to enter. Even then there was no real acrimony.
The access code has been in existence for a decade now and has firmed up and clarified the statutory rights of outdoor folk going into the countryside.
At its core is the right of access over "most land and inland water, including mountains, moorlands, woods, forests, grassland, margins of fields in which crops are growing, paths and tracks, rivers and lochs, the coast and most parks and open spaces" – day or night.
But a key proviso is that the rights must be exercised "responsibly". Commonsense respect for the countryside, such as not leaving litter, keeping dogs under control in the presence of sheep or stock, closing gates and so on are all part of the interpretation of the word "responsible".
Stalking is potentially the top flashpoint. The Hillphones system operated by the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, together with its expanding online version, means checks can be made during the main stalking season – mid-August to February – on areas to be avoided.
Good examples of where this works are Glen Affric and Glen Strathfarrar, where walkers are asked to stick to ridges and keep away from corries and lower slopes where stalking is taking place.
But not all estates subscribe to the scheme. This can lead to difficulties finding out which areas are being stalked and involves calling an estate office or the keeper, causing frustration for walkers.
And it’s true to say that even after 10 years of the access code, there are some estates which would prefer those who seek recreation among Scotland’s wild places to stay away.
In recent months I’ve come across some archaic examples of signs that, in these supposedly enlightened days of free, responsible access, should simply not be there. And importantly, under the strict interpretation of the access code, they are illegal.
On a trip to Strathconon last summer I was walking along the road from Loch Beannacharain to climb the Corbett Bac an Eich when I came across a sign fixed to a gate that read: "Deer in these hills are shot from mid-August to February for sport, meat and government control policy. Walkers are therefore warned that rambling on high ground at this time can seriously upset large areas for deer stalking and can be dangerous." In other words: "Keep out!"
I later reported the sign to the appropriate access officer at Highland Council. He contacted the keeper, who agreed to take the sign down. Since then, however, I have come across the same sign in another part of Strathconon.
In another instance, heading through Langwell Estate in Caithness to cycle up the Langwell Water and climb Morven, two notices fixed to a gate were clearly meant to deter.
The first, in red capital letters, read: "BEWARE OF THE BULL". The second read: "For your own safety please contact the estate stalker before crossing the hills. Deer culling using rifles is in progress from August – February." Having reported these signs to the
access officer and brought them to the attention of both Ramblers Scotland and the Mountaineering Council of Scotland, I understand that progress is being made with
the estate to improve signage.
The point here is that the access code applies not just to seekers of recreation but also to estates and land managers. Under the section Deer Stalking on the Open Hill it exhorts land managers to: "Be aware of where recreational use is likely, such as along paths, popular routes and ridge lines.
"Tell people about where stalking is taking place by using a Hillphones service or by using signs and information boards to give on-the-day information on stalking and alternative routes."
In general terms the code urges: "Respect access rights in managing your land or water. You can do this by not purposefully or unreasonably preventing, hindering or deterring people from exercising access rights on or off paths and tracks.
"Use paths and tracks as a way of managing access across your land so that access is integrated with land management." There are references to not erecting signs, fences or walls or positioning large animals deliberately designed to deter access.
Local authorities have a duty to uphold access rights and have powers to remove prohibition signs, obstructions and dangerous impediments and to recover costs from the land manager responsible.
Now I readily admit that there can be guilty parties on both sides, but the vast majority of people who go into wild country do act responsibly.
Fortunately many estates have taken the access code’s principles on board and welcome those who seek recreation in the countryside. After ten years of a change in the law you’d think they’d all be doing that.
But the examples of signage I’ve come across prove that some still believe, either through accident or design, that they can carry on as before.That has to change and outdoor folk can play a significant part in reporting bad practice to local authorities and, like I did, the Ramblers and the MCofS.
You can obtain a free copy of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code by contacting Scottish Natural Heritage at: www.snh.gov.uk
