A New National Park for Scotland?

I thought it was likely to be D&G, but you're right to be sceptical given the track record of the two NPs we already have.

IMHO, ‘national park’, just means somewhere you can’t build a house, unless you’re rich or well connected.

Until the planners can come up with a means to replace cars as a means of getting to the national park, then its all just bo””””cks.

Before the clearances, people lived fairly harmoniously with nature, as evidenced by their lack of toxic remnants.

The planners could be enticing the poorest in the cities to move to the ‘national park’, to cultivate hemp and initiate self-supporting communities.

Using the hemp to build houses, make clothes, and pretty much everything else that we use petrochemicals to manufacture nowadays.

National parks were an outdated idea from the off.

If we really want to save the planet we need to return people to the ‘coalface’ to embrace new forms of Gaian symbiosis.

National parks were an outdated idea from the off.

I’ve never really understood what the supposed benefits of a NP were in Scotland.   Are they intended to preserve nature in which case we should be discouraging visitors or to be nature theme parks which seems to be the approach.   I don’t actually think that sensible planning is any harder in the park than in picturesque areas outside the parks.  I don’t think there’s loads of extra funding around because you are in the park - but there is extra tourist traffic etc.

i did here a suggestion that it could be a marine NP which I thought was an interesting idea, but of course the fishing communities would probably not like such a plan and presumably fish farm lobby would hate it too.

We already had National Nature Reserves which seemed to be aimed at the "preserving nature" role. These could have been extended and duplicated in other areas but might have involved the acquisition of land. NPs seem constrained in their effectiveness by being too many things to too many folk.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, 'Noto Sans', sans-serif, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Apple Color Emoji', 'Segoe UI Emoji', 'Segoe UI Symbol', 'Noto Color Emoji'; background-color: #eeeeee;">i did here a suggestion that it could be a marine NP which I thought was an interesting idea, but of course the fishing communities would probably not like such a plan and presumably fish farm lobby would hate it too.</span>

See HPMA - Fish farms didn't like it, but it was the faces and voices of multiple local fishing communities which have driven the change of policy.

National Parks aren't really about nature. They're designated for their landscape character. Most of which in the UK comes from sheep farming with a few forest, lakes and rocky bits thrown in.

Their creation really just moves the planning decisions from a Local Authority to a dedicated National Park Authority, and they have a specific duty to have regard for the designation reasons.

Just another layer of gravy train local administration.

National Parks aren’t really about nature. They’re designated for their landscape character. Most of which in the UK comes from sheep farming with a few forest, lakes and rocky bits thrown in.

that might describe English national parks but there’s not that much sheep farming in the cairngorms and it’s definitely not the defining feature of the Loch Lommond and Trossachs.

In some ways I like them as they keep the hordes away from the best bits.

In some ways I like them as they keep the hordes away from the best bits.

A shame it doesn't work for the midges...

On the plus side, they give a nice sharp edge to the wind farms.

Windfarms - would be good to have a small protected area  in the Southern Uplands without them. Still possible.  Tweeddale would be a good candidate - OK there are a few small ones but not for much longer.

The Loch Limond & Trossachs np seems like a bit of a joke.

How do I travel from Glasgow with my bike to Aberfoyle or Callander?

Im sure there’s a pedestrian-only bus (change at Milngavie?)

Neither do I see much in the way of footpaths  on Loch Lomond’s east bank.

Do the parks authority expect us to tear down the fence at the north west corner if Balloch castle and then just stampede across any bird sanctuaries?

Some clarity and leadership, please.

As for a location for a new Scottish np, how about commandeering the banks of the Clyde, all the way from Govan/ Renfrew, all the way round to Weymss Bay?

Its within reach of the urban masses, has the potential to be wheelchair accessible too, and may require detoxification from Scotlands brief foray into industrialisation.

If it can be proven that the banks of the Clyde can be detoxified, that may persuade people to build on former brownfield sites.

In that respect, it can also be a test ground/ SSSI.

People (cyclists) need a way to get from Glasgow to Greenock, etc, without being run over.

The current main road between Glasgow Airport and Greenock is still a motorway in everything but name.

The Loch Limond & Trossachs np seems like a bit of a joke.

How do I travel from Glasgow with my bike to Aberfoyle or Callander?

Im sure there’s a pedestrian-only bus (change at Milngavie?)

Now don't get me wrong, there is a lot not right about LL&TNP but I'm not sure why there should be an easy way to travel to any particular town in a NP from any particular city in Scotland.  However with a bike the obvious answer would be via NCN Route 7 - its not the most direct route buy you could hop on a train to Balloch to save some time.

Neither do I see much in the way of footpaths  on Loch Lomond’s east bank.

Except for the most famous long distance footpath in the whole country?

As for a location for a new Scottish np, how about commandeering the banks of the Clyde, all the way from Govan/ Renfrew, all the way round to Weymss Bay?

NP's in the UK don't commandeer land, they provide rules or possibly support for others to work within.

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I thought that then I remembered visiting the east side south of Balmaha a few weeks back.  It is blocked off from Balmaha but I had come down the Endrick on a packraft and waded the shallows at Endrick Mouth and walked the shore in very low water.  (I expect that section is quite paddleable now) Was inflating  for the last bit into Balmaha by using the loch to get around the boatyard etc when I got pestered by an unpleasant shouty man moaning about crossing his boatyard.  The concept of a boat in a rucksac  or alternative routes appeared to be beyond him.

People (cyclists) need a way to get from Glasgow to Greenock, etc, without being run over.

Route 7/75 literally goes from Glasgow to Greenock vast majority of road

Some more consultation on a Tay National Park

https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/communities/tay-forest-national-park-consultation/

An odd boundary that cuts out Glen Lochay and the hills to the east of Glen Dochart....