The unregulated spread of “ugly hill tracks springing up around Angus” is ruining beauty spots in the county, it has been claimed.
The Ramblers Association is campaigning to try to stop the unregulated construction of hill tracks in Scotland, and is calling on hillwalkers to send photos of them in time for the deadline of September 1.
Their response to the Scottish Government’s decision not to act on the hill tracks follows concern brought to The Courier’s attention by hillwalkers and tourists in the Angus glens.
Dr Peter McCue said a recent visit was slightly marred by what he regards as a modern phenomenon.
“I was appalled to see an ugly, bulldozed track running along the sides of the hills,” he wrote. “I noticed two earth moving appliances at work.
“Presumably, then, the track is being extended or developed, or maybe additional tracks are being created. At any rate, these developments are badly scarring this part of the South-East Highlands.”
Ramblers Scotland is working with eight other organisations, including the John Muir Trust and the National Trust for Scotland, on the Scottish Environment LINK’s Hill Tracks Campaign that is collecting evidence about the tracks.
The Scottish Government recently dropped its proposal to bring hill tracks with “agricultural or forestry purposes” into the planning system, but said that it would keep the situation under review.
The photographic evidence will be used to lobby the Government to change the law.
“Some of the examples we have seen amount to little more than vandalism” said Beryl Leatherland of the Scottish Wild Land Group.
“Tracks have been dug deep into peat, releasing large quantities of CO2 and destroying sensitive habitats, carved straight up steep hillsides and even over the summits of several hills, leaving erosion scars.
“While hill tracks can have legitimate purposes, we think that a minimum amount of regulation is essential and should be welcomed by all concerned.”
The group has invited planning minister Derek Mackay to join them and Ramblers Scotland vice-president Cameron McNeish to inspect a particular area.
Hill tracks can simply be bulldozed across the countryside and the Hill Tracks Campaign said they have caused “huge visual and environmental damage” in fine landscapes.