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Nicola Sturgeon warns: Stay local for exercise – or we'll make it law


By John Davidson

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Forests are open to local visitors in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and relevant Scottish Government guidance. Picture: FLS
Forests are open to local visitors in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and relevant Scottish Government guidance. Picture: FLS

People in the Highlands are being reminded that restrictions on travel mean outdoor activities are not yet back to normal.

It comes after the Scottish Government moved to phase one of its route map to relaxing the coronavirus lockdown on Friday.

Despite warnings that people should only travel short distances – defined as broadly speaking up to five miles – for exercise, some areas saw a sharp rise in traffic over the weekend.

It led the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, to warn the nation on Monday that unless everybody sticks to the guidelines, they may have to enforce the distance rules.

She said: "There were clearly cases where, despite the guidance we issued, people were driving more than five miles to beauty spots.

"On Saturday on the A82 by Loch Lomond traffic was around three times higher than it was the previous Saturday, and we saw a similar picture around Glencoe.

“Last week, we deliberately allowed some flexibility when we changed the lockdown restrictions – but if there is continued evidence of even a minority not abiding by these guidelines and travelling unnecessarily, and if they are making journeys which risk spreading the virus, we will have to put these restrictions into law."

Ahead of the weekend, Mountaineering Scotland described the move to phase one as more of an extension of the daily exercise guidance rather than a restarting of sport and recreational activity.

And Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) said its leisure and recreation facilities – including car parks, mountain bike trails and toilets – were unlikely to be fully open before the end of phase two, with visitor centres likely to open in phase three.

FLS chief executive Simon Hodgson said: “The recent restriction easing outlined in phase one of the Scottish Government’s route map through the current public health crisis are just the first steps on a long and carefully planned journey.

“With appropriate guidance in place, more FLS staff will be emerging from lockdown, which means that we can start work on our own phased recovery. However, we are in no doubt that it will yet be some time before we can fully open up our car parks, mountain bike trails and other visitor facilities to the public.

“We appreciate that some people might like things to move faster but we will not compromise the health or the safety of our staff, our visitors or of the communities that we work with.”

Meanwhile, Mountaineering Scotland published detailed guidelines for hill walkers and climbers, drawn up with the Mountain Safety Group last week.

Stuart Younie, chief executive officer of Mountaineering Scotland, said: “While welcoming this step forward, it must be stressed that an easing of lockdown does not mean a return to normal, and we urge everyone heading out to enjoy the outdoors to be mindful of how their individual actions reflect on the whole outdoor community.

“The key will be for individuals to take a sensible approach to their activities, use your judgment to manage the risks, and to consider the social responsibility we all have to each other, to protecting our emergency services and to minimise the transmission of Covid-19.”

For this stage, it added, walkers and climbers are reminded to stay local and follow the current public health guidance for Scotland.

Mr Younie added: “We are aware that many will feel frustrated that they are still not able to access the hills and crags they love, but it is the first step on a journey that, if we all do our part to keep it on course, will see wider access returning more quickly.

"At phase one the government has recognised the benefits hill walking, climbing and access to the outdoors have on our physical and mental health, and we will continue to press for as rapid a return to the hills for all as is safe and responsible in this pandemic.”


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