Anglers say they too would suffer from a ban on bivvying on Loch Lomond's banks
Anglers have backed walkers who have voiced their opposition to a ban on wild camping along Loch Lomond’s shores.
The Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain said the proposed bylaw banning ‘informal camping’ on the famous loch’s banks would deny fishermen the enjoyment they have enjoyed for decades. The group has written to Ramblers Scotland to support the organisation in its campaign against the plans.
The Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority said the change in law is necessary to control the antisocial behaviour and damage to the environment by visitors who are not obeying the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
The anglers’ organisation said its members would face the same ban on divvying as walkers on the West Highland Way.
PAC secretary Graham Slater said: “The bylaws would deny us the right to enjoy the countryside, as our members have for generations. It’s wrong to punish the majority because a minority offend.”
The club is seeking urgent talks with the park authority.
Fife-based Mr Slater said: “What these proposed bylaws fail to do is draw a line between the responsible behaviour of a group of anglers divvied up around a loch, enjoying a pastime which is completely in tune with the philosophy of the national park, and those who leave litter, light fires and behave like hooligans.
“A blanket ban makes as much sense as banning driving because a minority of motorists speed, drink drive or cause crashes.”
The PAC said Loch Lomond is one of Scotland’s most historically important pike fisheries, and has been enjoyed by pike anglers from both sides of the border since Victorian times. Tommy Morgan’s 21.6kg (47lbs 11oz) pike, landed from the loch in 1945, still holds the Scottish record.
The largest pike ever to be found in the British Isles was discovered dead on its banks, near the River Endrick, in 1934. The head of the monster, estimated to weigh 31.75kg (70lbs), is now in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum.
The PAC also expressed dismay at the suggestion of Tory MSP Murdo Fraser to extend the wild-camping ban to other lochs in Highland Perthshire. The club’s 2,500 members say such bans are against the spirit of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act, which enshrined the rights of outdoor enthusiasts in Scotland’s countryside.
Peter Evans
03 March 2010The problem here is how to police the impact caused by litter-louts and hooligans while at the same time giving responsible users the freedom to pursue their rights under the Land Reform Act. There's no easy answer, and if you were a loch Lomond ranger finding human faeces under every rock when you were trying to maintain the West Highland Way path, I'm sure you'd be just as keen to do something about the problem.
It seems, on the face of it at least, to be specific to Loch Lomond, and Murdo Fraser's call for it to be extended to other lochs is typical of the 'keep off my land' syndrome that still exists south of the Border and on some estates in Scotland prior to the new Land Reform legislation. It's not on.
big brian
03 March 2010ive been wild camping for over 30 years and never been asked to move because, i act responsively. i also know of other peole who bivvy out and dont attract any attention . it would be a great shame if the muppets who fall out of their cars onto loch lomond for a night of drugs and drink waste the great outdoors for everyone. ive seen first hand the mess that is left at the side of the loch, surely the police should decide what offenders are causing the bother ?" no one knows you are there, until you tell them you are there" thats my philosiphy. i hope this bye law doesn,t get passed as it will lead to other laws being implemented.