成人快手 Scotland - 成人快手 Scotland - 5 controversial flashpoints in the centuries-long battle for access to Scotland鈥檚 spectacular countryside

5 controversial flashpoints in the centuries-long battle for access to Scotland鈥檚 spectacular countryside

14 March 2018

Scotland’s wide open spaces and breathtaking views are irresistible. But with much of the country in the control of private landowners, access to that land hasn’t always been straightforward. On , actor David Hayman discovered five key incidents in the fight for the freedom to roam.

In 1847, Queen Victoria’s botanist, Professor John Balfour, attempted to take a group of his students on the long walk from Braemar to Blair Atholl.

But when the path took the party into the sprawling Atholl Estate, the 6th Duke of Atholl sent a mob to remove them from his land.

When wealthy sheep farmer Duncan Macpherson bought the Glen Doll estate he had no intention of allowing the public onto the land. This was contested by the Scottish Rights of Way Society, which claimed that an old drover’s path on the estate, known as Jock’s Road, was a public right of way.

In 1887 Macpherson took the Society to court, but the testimony of numerous elderly shepherds who had driven sheep across the route for years beforehand led to the laird losing the case and resulted in his bankruptcy.

In 2005 the Land Reform (Scotland) Act came into force, giving everyone the right of access to land. The first serious test came a year later when millionaire businesswoman Ann Gloag challenged the law in court.

Mrs Gloag believed moving a perimeter fence beside her home would be a security risk, while the Ramblers’ Association and Stirling Council claimed that the fence was, in places, too far from the building. The court found in Mrs Gloag’s favour and the fence remains.

Less than an hour’s drive from Glasgow, the shores of Loch Lomond are a popular attraction. But in recent years the sheer volume of visitors, and the disregard for the environment displayed by some campers, has led to the introduction of by-laws.

Now, to wild camp in summer, visitors must buy a £3.00 permit. But, on principle, this move has proved hugely controversial, with some believing it flouts the right to roam freely.

An ambitious plan to create a game reserve in Sutherland has prompted controversy, not least because it involves .

A 50 mile long, nine foot high fence would be installed but while this would prevent the wolves from escaping, it would also stop the public from entering.

Fifteen years after the passing of Scotland鈥檚 historic Land Reform Act, actor David Hayman presents a personal view of the battle for access to Scotland鈥檚 countryside.

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