@nickkempe.bsky.social
The latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain Scotland show the amount of public money HIE continues to pour into its business but also that the new visitor attractions are failing to deliver & the current board doesn't know what is happening on the ground parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
The Public Audit Committee inquiry into the funicular and the latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain - parkswatchscotland
Last Monday, 17th November, the accounts for Highland and Island Enterprise (HIE)’s subsidiary which operates Cairngorm Mountain were published on Companies House (see here). The next day the Scottis...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 10:03 AM
The latest accounts for Cairngorm Mountain Scotland show the amount of public money HIE continues to pour into its business but also that the new visitor attractions are failing to deliver & the current board doesn't know what is happening on the ground parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/24/t...
The parallel between how the Code of Conduct for public life in Scotland is being used to punish and silence LLTNPA board members Sid Perrie and Cllr Fiona Higgins for questioning the actions of officials is striking parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/22/h...
How democracy in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park is being destroyed - the Sid Perrie story (2) - parkswatchscotland
As I demonstrated in my first post (see here), seven minutes after the locally elected board member for Balloch, Sid Perrie, sent an email to Park Convener, Heather Reid, and Board Members on 26th Au...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The parallel between how the Code of Conduct for public life in Scotland is being used to punish and silence LLTNPA board members Sid Perrie and Cllr Fiona Higgins for questioning the actions of officials is striking parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/22/h...
Scotland's framework for native woodland creation is unfit for purpose. Instead of planting trees we should control grazing, ban burning and leave the rest to nature parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/20/s...
Sheep grazing on Abrdn's Far Ralia estate - the Forestry Grants farce and woodland carbon bubble - parkswatchscotland
One wonders how much further the price of the Abrdn Property Income Trust (APIT) will drop from the current asking price of offers over £6.9m once prospective buyers become aware sheep are grazing amo...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Scotland's framework for native woodland creation is unfit for purpose. Instead of planting trees we should control grazing, ban burning and leave the rest to nature parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/20/s...
It's great that following his post on parkswatch Andy Amphlett has managed to persuade the public agencies responsible to change their systems to do more to protect twinflower. But it begs the question what else is being destroyed by commercial forestry? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/19/t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 2:16 PM
It's great that following his post on parkswatch Andy Amphlett has managed to persuade the public agencies responsible to change their systems to do more to protect twinflower. But it begs the question what else is being destroyed by commercial forestry? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/19/t...
David Balharry replies to Victor Clements criticisms of the John Muir Trust. It would be good if this exchange could prompt some serious debate about the direction of not just JMT but other voluntary sector landowners in Scotland parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/15/w...
Wild Places need the John Muir Trust more than ever - parkswatchscotland
In his article, “Does Scotland Need the John Muir Trust” (see here), Victor Clements asks: “if the John Muir Trust didn’t exist, would we miss them?” His existential question is relevant for any envir...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 2:52 PM
David Balharry replies to Victor Clements criticisms of the John Muir Trust. It would be good if this exchange could prompt some serious debate about the direction of not just JMT but other voluntary sector landowners in Scotland parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/15/w...
This post explains how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority tried to take out the locally elected member for Balloch for daring to raise questions about the Flamingo Land planning process. parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/13/h...
How democracy in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park is being destroyed - the Sid Perrie story (1) - parkswatchscotland
Introduction This is the first in a series of posts which will explain how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) has tried to silence the locally elected member for Balloch, S...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 3:46 PM
This post explains how the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority tried to take out the locally elected member for Balloch for daring to raise questions about the Flamingo Land planning process. parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/13/h...
It gives me no pleasure to publish this post, the first in a series of contributions I hope into what has gone wrong in the John Muir Trust (I have been a somewhat sceptical member for over 30 years) but I think it raises important issues parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/12/d...
Does Scotland need the John Muir Trust? - parkswatchscotland
(Ed. Note. At the end of last week I offered Jane Smallman, chair of the JMT, the opportunity to reply to this post at the same time it was published. I have had no reply but remain happy to publis...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 13, 2025 at 4:49 PM
It gives me no pleasure to publish this post, the first in a series of contributions I hope into what has gone wrong in the John Muir Trust (I have been a somewhat sceptical member for over 30 years) but I think it raises important issues parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/12/d...
Graham Garfoot explains how, for the repairs to the funicular to work, 4,868 pieces of metal studding currently holding the concrete structure together have to be maintained at the right tension. What that will cost? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/10/w...
Will the repairs to the Cairn Gorm funicular railway work (9)? - parkswatchscotland
This picture of two piers below the passing loop show just how bad things are. There are 47 brackets on the two “I” beams between those piers and the two insitu joints have been rebuilt. The beam in t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 11, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Graham Garfoot explains how, for the repairs to the funicular to work, 4,868 pieces of metal studding currently holding the concrete structure together have to be maintained at the right tension. What that will cost? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/10/w...
The asking price for Far Ralia in the Cairngorms National Park is now lower than what the abrdn Property Income Trust bought it for - a timely and welcome lesson for others speculating in land on the back of government grants and the Woodland Carbon Code parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/02/f...
Far Ralia - are Abrdn Property Income Trust now paying for their mistakes? - parkswatchscotland
The Abrdn Property Income Trust (APIT) is now marketing Far Ralia for offers over £6.9m (see here), which is less than the recent £8m valuation, less than the £7.5m they bought it for five years ago ...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 3, 2025 at 12:28 PM
The asking price for Far Ralia in the Cairngorms National Park is now lower than what the abrdn Property Income Trust bought it for - a timely and welcome lesson for others speculating in land on the back of government grants and the Woodland Carbon Code parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/02/f...
When HIE gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee in September they failed to explain why the repairs to the funicular themselves needed to be repaired. Graham Garfoot explains why we can now anticipate repairs to the repairs to the repairs....... parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/01/w...
Will the repairs to the Cairn Gorm funicular railway work (8)? - parkswatchscotland
Introduction to the current problems Prior to the funicular returning to service on 27th February (see here) Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) made this announcement on 5th February (see here):- ...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
November 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM
When HIE gave evidence to the Public Accounts Committee in September they failed to explain why the repairs to the funicular themselves needed to be repaired. Graham Garfoot explains why we can now anticipate repairs to the repairs to the repairs....... parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/11/01/w...
Prof Douglas MacMillan applies a little science to sporting landowners' claims that muirburn by reducing "fuel load" helps prevent wildfire by mapping the Dava Moor fires parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/30/t...
The Dava Moor mega-fire/s - did muirburn mitigate the damage? - parkswatchscotland
I thought we lived in a world where science guided our decisions about how best to protect nature and the planet. Sadly this would appear not to be the case. Vested interests and the voices of the pow...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Prof Douglas MacMillan applies a little science to sporting landowners' claims that muirburn by reducing "fuel load" helps prevent wildfire by mapping the Dava Moor fires parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/30/t...
If Flamingo Land are now offering to sell Drumkinnon Woods for £1 to local communities, why did the Scottish Government ever allowe Scottish Enterprise to offer FL the land in the fist place? The answer is it provided a means to approve the development. parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/27/w...
What happens when developers are put in control - Flamingo Land's planning obligations (1) - parkswatchscotland
Background After the Reporter appointed to hear Flamingo Land’s appeal, Mr Buylla, issued his Notice of Intention in May that their proposed development be approved (see here), the only option left t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 27, 2025 at 10:59 AM
If Flamingo Land are now offering to sell Drumkinnon Woods for £1 to local communities, why did the Scottish Government ever allowe Scottish Enterprise to offer FL the land in the fist place? The answer is it provided a means to approve the development. parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/27/w...
Victor Clements finds BrewDog's Lost Forest and explains why the site was a better option from a forestry, if not a marketing, perspective than the Kinrara estate they eventually bought parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/24/b...
BrewDog's original "Lost Forest" - parkswatchscotland
Introduction Two weeks ago (see here), I made the case that BrewDog’s 2020 PR shot of their soon- to- be Lost Forest was not on Speyside at all, but had a much more west coast feel about it. Feedback ...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Victor Clements finds BrewDog's Lost Forest and explains why the site was a better option from a forestry, if not a marketing, perspective than the Kinrara estate they eventually bought parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/24/b...
Why have Oxygen Conservation, BrewDog and Scottish Woodlands covered up that the Lost Forest was way behind schedule when BrewDog sold Kinrara last month? And what will Scottish Forestry now do? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/22/t...
The legacy of BrewDog and Scottish Woodlands at Kinrara (1) - an unfinished project - parkswatchscotland
A couple of weeks ago I e-biked with Dave Morris over to look at Phase 2 of BrewDog’s Lost Forest which I had not visited since planting started there in 2024 – the year after over 50% of the trees pl...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Why have Oxygen Conservation, BrewDog and Scottish Woodlands covered up that the Lost Forest was way behind schedule when BrewDog sold Kinrara last month? And what will Scottish Forestry now do? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/22/t...
While speculators drive land prices to record levels on the back of carbon markets, abrdn's asking price and valuation for Far Ralia has collapsed and rightly so. This chaos indicates the Woodland Carbon Code either needs scrapped or radical reform parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/20/a...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 10:51 AM
While speculators drive land prices to record levels on the back of carbon markets, abrdn's asking price and valuation for Far Ralia has collapsed and rightly so. This chaos indicates the Woodland Carbon Code either needs scrapped or radical reform parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/20/a...
Why can't the LLTNPA, which still pays for an access team, not quickly take down signs it agrees are contrary to Access Rights? Responsibilty, I believe, lies with the same unaccountable Chief Executive who prevents campaigners from talking to his staff parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/15/a...
Access rights, the Auchreoch sign & the Orwellian world of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority - parkswatchscotland
On 20th September I wrote about the sign above in a post on Scotland’s free trade in land & its consequences – Coille Coire Chuilc and Auchreoch. I reported the sign that same evening to the Access T...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Why can't the LLTNPA, which still pays for an access team, not quickly take down signs it agrees are contrary to Access Rights? Responsibilty, I believe, lies with the same unaccountable Chief Executive who prevents campaigners from talking to his staff parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/15/a...
The damaging impacts of muirburn and the issues that the wildfire summit in the Cairngorms National Park should have been addressing parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/12/c...
Culblean Hill, playing with fire in the Cairngorms National Park and the politics of muirburn - parkswatchscotland
On Thursday 9th October, the same day Jim Fairlie the Scottish Government minister responsible announced a further 9 month delay in the “watered down” – excuse the phrase – muirburn licensing scheme,...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 14, 2025 at 10:58 AM
The damaging impacts of muirburn and the issues that the wildfire summit in the Cairngorms National Park should have been addressing parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/12/c...
Andy Amphlett explains the system failure to protect an important population of twinflower in the Cairngorms - while the system needs fixing perhaps adding twinflower to the list of plants it's a criminal offence to destroy would help focus minds? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/10/t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 11, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Andy Amphlett explains the system failure to protect an important population of twinflower in the Cairngorms - while the system needs fixing perhaps adding twinflower to the list of plants it's a criminal offence to destroy would help focus minds? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/10/t...
Victor Clements, a woodlands adviser, takes a look from a professional perspective at why BrewDog's Lost Forest went so wrong parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/09/b...
BrewDog's Lost Forest - What if? - parkswatchscotland
Introduction It has been well covered in the media recently that the craft beer company BrewDog have sold on their “Lost Forest” at Kinrara Estate, which stretches from Speyside into the Monadliath, t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 10:28 AM
Victor Clements, a woodlands adviser, takes a look from a professional perspective at why BrewDog's Lost Forest went so wrong parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/09/b...
Prof Douglas MacMillan's post earlier this week on the cause of fires in the Cairngorms National Park shows the Scottish Government's sleekit announcement today that muirburn licensing will be delayed for another nine months is highly political parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/08/w...
Why the ban on camp fires in the Cairngorms National Park maybe political rather than sustainable..... - parkswatchscotland
NIMBYism’ and ‘Park politics’ rather than fire risk is probably behind the move to ban camp fires (see here). My bet is that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNP) has caved in to pressure from...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 9, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Prof Douglas MacMillan's post earlier this week on the cause of fires in the Cairngorms National Park shows the Scottish Government's sleekit announcement today that muirburn licensing will be delayed for another nine months is highly political parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/08/w...
If you believe what BrewDog did at Kinrara was bad, don't wait to see what is coming - take the time to understand what Oxygen Conservation stands for and protest parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/04/o...
October 4, 2025 at 1:15 PM
If you believe what BrewDog did at Kinrara was bad, don't wait to see what is coming - take the time to understand what Oxygen Conservation stands for and protest parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/10/04/o...
The Cairngorms National Park Authority has become a vehicle for sporting estates to divert attention from the destruction they do by blaming outdoor recreation parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/29/f...
Fire and fires - one law for the landowners, another for the rest of us - parkswatchscotland
Scottish Ministers last week approved byelaws (see here for the text) which will make it an offence, with a fine of up to £500, for a person “without lawful authority” to light a fire or barbecue or “...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
October 1, 2025 at 5:34 PM
The Cairngorms National Park Authority has become a vehicle for sporting estates to divert attention from the destruction they do by blaming outdoor recreation parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/29/f...
Andy Amphlett shows that rather than restoring montane woodland in Coire na Ciste, which was happening naturally anyway. the Cairngorms National Park Authority have ignored the scientific evidence and planted a mix of trees with no precedent in Scotland parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/28/t...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
September 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Andy Amphlett shows that rather than restoring montane woodland in Coire na Ciste, which was happening naturally anyway. the Cairngorms National Park Authority have ignored the scientific evidence and planted a mix of trees with no precedent in Scotland parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/28/t...
Before wasting money on tree nurseries and adding to market chaos the Scottish Government should have addressed the fundamental question, should we plant trees or would it be better to create the conditions where nature will do this for free? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/25/s...
Scottish Government funding of tree nurseries - all that's wrong with its approach to forestry in Scotland - parkswatchscotland
Eighteen months ago I wrote a critical post (see here) about how Scottish Forestry is not only funding companies like BrewDog (see here) and Abrdn (see here) to plant trees, they have also been subsi...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
September 25, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Before wasting money on tree nurseries and adding to market chaos the Scottish Government should have addressed the fundamental question, should we plant trees or would it be better to create the conditions where nature will do this for free? parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/25/s...
The National Park Authority could call the bluff of the new owner of Auchreoch & publicly call on them to put real conservation measures in place, like removing their sheep, instead of unlawfully trying to undermine access rights. The NPA could but won't parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/20/s...
parkswatchscotland.co.uk
September 22, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The National Park Authority could call the bluff of the new owner of Auchreoch & publicly call on them to put real conservation measures in place, like removing their sheep, instead of unlawfully trying to undermine access rights. The NPA could but won't parkswatchscotland.co.uk/2025/09/20/s...