Hills and mountains will come under scrutiny

Outdoor experts will gather this week at a conference looking at recreation and conservation in Britain’s mountains and hills.

The event has been organised by the British Mountaineering Council and is aimed at agencies and policy makers with a stake in access and conservation in the uplands of the UK. The one-day gathering takes place on Thursday at Losehill Hall in the Peak District.

Topics under the microscope include the mass-participation events; balancing farming and conservation; the impact of climate change on the uplands; the value of our hills and mountains as a recreational resource, and resolving the needs of nesting birds and climbers.

Speakers will include Sheffield MP Angela Smith, BMC chief executive Dave Turnbull, Snowdonia Society chair Alun Pugh and Terry Robinson of Natural England.

Further details are on the BMC website.

A two-day conference in May will also examine wild landscapes and the pressures they face – this time north of the border.

The event, at Battleby near Perth, will look at whether areas should be ‘rewilded’, policy on wild landscapes and, again, the impact of climate change on the country’s wildernesses.

The conference and discussion will take place on 13 and 14 May and has been organised by the Centre for Mountain Studies at Perth College. Also involved are the John Muir Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, Lochaber College, the Scottish Wild Land Group, Cairngorms National Park Authority and Leeds University’s Wild Land Research Institute.

Details are on the John Muir Trust website.