The Great Outdoors - UK (2021-08)

Peak– I think we’veseen an increase of cars,

with levels of inconsiderate parking not

previously seen.”

Toget an impression of whatthings have

been like north of theborder, I contacted

Davie Black, Access & Conservation

Officer for Mountaineering Scotland. He

said: “Overall wethink thatlast year there

wasn’tactually an overall surge in folk

taking to thehills, with the pressuredue

to the condensing of the timeframe for the

visitors to the latter half ofthe year, oen

doubling expected numbers fora month.

But it seems there was a significantnumber

of people new to hillwalking and camping

who weren’tsure of what to do, and once

rangers explained the Scottish Outdoor

Access Code most folkwere appreciative

and modified their behaviour.”

Engagement

How can we help guide this new generation

of hillwalkers? “e way to manage lack of

understandingis to provide countryside

rangers,”Davie said. “ey have been

reducingin number over the past years as

public funding has been squeezed, butit

was clear lastyear that theyare necessary

to assist people who maynot knowthe

right thing to do.”

Davie added that while some areas were

under pressure, once people moved away

from the main honeypots it was a different

story, with plenty ofspace fora quieter

experience. “ere are many people who

are new to the hills,”Davie said, “butgiven

the healthand welfare benefits, that is to

be encouraged, and whatis needed is a

way to reach these people with guidance

that willhelp them get the most out of

their experience without harming the

environment or disturbing others.”

Last year, Mountaineering Scotland

launched a Considerate Camping campaign

to tryto raise awareness of the key issues

of litter, loos, water and fires. is ran

alongside their existing TakItHame anti-

litter campaign. Newto this yearis their

free online course,Sofa 2 Summit, aimed

at helping people new to hillwalking,

explaining the basics forenjoying the hills

and exploring further.

So,despite ongoing challenges and the

oen alarming impact of isolated incidents,

we shouldn’tlet the posts that popup in our

feeds skewour sense of perspective – and I

think the big pictureis looking good. Let’s

not be afraid of more people heading to the

hills. Instead, we should help them to enjoy

our wild places responsibly.

Ph

oto

:^ Al

ex

Ro

dd

ie

Choppering in flagstones to repair the

path along the Great Ridge in early spring

A 'leave no trace' wild camp

on Kinder Scout

Ph

oto

:^ Pe

ter

Ju

dd

August 2021 The Great Outdoors 25