From this Friday (1 April 2022) people visiting the Highlands may have the chance to meet Highland Council’s Seasonal Outdoor Access Rangers who begin patrols and visitor engagement across Lochaber, Skye, Loch Ness, Wester Ross and the North West.
As visitor numbers increase throughout the Spring and Summer months, so will the number of Rangers who will be out-and-about on their patrols. Highland Council plans to build up to a team of at least seventeen Rangers by June, working through the high season and into early Autumn.
The Rangers will offer a friendly and welcoming approach to engaging with the public to inform and educate people about access rights, wild camping, overcrowding, parking – including overnight parking in motorhomes, littering, fires, damage to trees and outdoor toileting. They will also collect data on visitor numbers and capacity issues especially at popular sites.
Informal camping will be one aspect that the Rangers will be addressing this year and they will be advising people to adhere to the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, which accepts only lightweight tents in small numbers for a very short time. There are certain places where it is not acceptable such as close to roads, buildings and enclosed fields. Sleeping in a vehicle, or very close to one is not considered as ‘wild camping’. If places become overwhelmed and show damage, then local restriction signs may be in place, please respect these signs as they aim to protect the area and allow camping in future years.
The Rangers will also be encouraging the safer use of camping stoves as opposed to open fires which can cause damage to the surroundings. Recent prolonged dry spells have created high fire risk conditions in many places and a number of places in Highland have seen fire damage this spring so the best rule of thumb is ‘If you can’t leave no trace, don’t start an open fire’.
The Rangers will also remind people to park considerately, take litter home and remove all human waste.
In between patrols the Rangers will liaise with communities and landowners when issues arise, working together on solutions. The Council also hopes to recruit some local volunteer Rangers to assist in busy periods.
Anyone interested in volunteering to work alongside the community Access Rangers in their area for the 2022 Spring/Summer season, can contact the team by email at accessrangers@highland.gov.uk or by phoning the Senior Ranger on 07909 051223
To find out more information about the Scottish Outdoor Access Code click here .
The Highland Council’s website has a dedicated section on tourism, where there are useful guides and links for visiting the Highlands, including public amenities, walks, journey planners, motorhome and campervan guidance.
The Access Rangers will be supporting Location Action Plans (LAP’s) for three key tourist ‘hotspot’ destinations in:
- Road to the Isles – Arisaig/Morar,
- Durness, North West Sutherland and
- Glen Brittle – Isle of Skye.
The LAPs amalgamate stakeholders’ and community objectives and aim to improve and manage the visitor experience; highlight and detail unique challenges for individual areas; provide suggested actions, options, timescales and proposed multi-agency approaches.
The three plans are available here