Issue 8 June 2001
ACCESS AND CONSERVATIONDraft Access Legislationby Mike Dales deadline on June 30th A Government pledge to increase opportunities for access to the Scottish countryside has led to the production of the draft Land Reform Bill and draft Scottish Outdoor Access Code. The wording of the draft Bill is of great concern however, and if the current version were to become law the result would be far less access opportunities than currently exist. Most alarmingly, the draft Bill contains a proposal for a new criminal offence that those taking recreation can be charged. It proposes that it be a criminal offence to abuse or insult a landowner, whilst there is a noticeable lack of a similar offence for landowners who abuse or insult a member of the public, or for that matter, persistently block a path. The MCofS believes this document is divisive and unworkable and must be solidly opposed during the current public consultation period. The MCofS is urging all those who enjoy recreation in the countryside, from climbers to dog walkers, to make their views known to the Scottish Executive. After years of campaigning by the MCofS for a modern and equitable law of access in Scotland, it appeared that the political debate was heading in a reasonable direction. Discussions between recreational bodies, landowning representatives and public agencies on the National Access Forum produced proposals for a general right of responsible access that would be backed up by a programme of education. Sadly, we are now faced with proposals that ignore that consensus and which are blatantly biased in the landowners' favour. Here are a few examples of what else you can expect from this Bill if you don't make your views known to the Scottish Executive before June 30th:
It is up to all of us who enjoy mountaineering activities to take part in the written consultation and express our views. Don't just expect others to write and do this for you. Bear in mind that whilst this draft Bill could be improved, it could also be subject to changes that would make it even worse. Landowning bodies want the right of access to be for daylight hours only. In other words, for there to be a night-time curfew. The last thing we need when coming off the hill after a long day is to be treated like a criminal. The economic value of outdoor recreation has just been demonstrated during the recent foot and mouth crisis. The clear message has been that the tourism industry is dependent on people's ability to take access to the countryside. The arguments in favour of a modern access system go far beyond the economic considerations though. There are the health benefits to a nation that takes regular exercise and the human rights issue of an individual's right to be somewhere if they are not causing damage. Scottish Executive Ministers have accepted that this draft is not the finished article and that changes are needed. The Scottish Executive will be influenced by the volume and weight of representation received. It is vital therefore that clubs and individual mountaineers write to the Executive expressing opposition to the sections of this draft Bill that limit and diminish our rights of access, rather than enhancing and protecting them. Individual letters are better than standardised or duplicated proformas. The MCofS web site is carrying further details of this consultation and we would recommend all with an interest in this issue to visit this site when considering their response.
This is a historic and vitally important consultation.
To obtain a copy of the draft Land Reform Bill and Scottish Outdoor Access Code: Completed responses should be sent to: Andrew Taylor, Scottish Executive Rural Affairs Department, Land Reform Branch, Room 106, Pentland House, 47 Robb's Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY, or they can be e-mailed to: Andrew.taylor@scotland.gsi.gov.uk. |
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Thick Mist on the Coruisk Cuillinsby Alan Blackshaw Over a year ago John MacLeod of MacLeod proposed to sell the Cuillins of Skye for £10 million to raise the necessary monies to restore Dunvegan Castle's crumbling roof. There was outright condemnation from access and conservation bodies and local people alike. The Western Isles MP, Calum Macdonald, protested that 'MacLeod should hang his head in shame for trying to exploit what God has given the people of Skye'. Alasdair Morrison MSP, Minister for the Highlands, then challenged Mr MacLeod to produce title deeds proving he owned the Cuillins and the Crown Estates Commissioner's were asked to investigate. Their decision not to challenge his ownership despite MacLeod Estates not having produced any registered title deed mentioning the Cuillins has angered many. Mountaineer Alan Blackshaw did the initial research on the MacLeod title and was commissioned by The Ramblers Association to investigate further: The Crown Commissioners' ruling is based on the MacLeod Crown Charter of 1611, which granted lands in Barcadale and Minginish, and their belief that 'the Cuillins lie within the Parish of Bracadale and within the areas generally known as Bracadale and Minginish'. However, research indicates that both Bracadale and Minginish do not include the main part of the hills at all. The evidence for this lies in several anomalies. MacLeod commissioned a report in 1810 which showed the eastern boundary running along the River Sligachan, through Harta Coire and Loch Coruisk. One might have expected the estate to lodge this Plan with the Register of Sasines at the time, or with one of the subsequent deeds, so as to define the position beyond doubt but this never happened. A mortgage deed of 31 October 1843, seems effectively to have set the MacLeod Estate eastern boundary on the Glen Brittle side of the Cuillins, and not on the Coruisk side. The MacLeods had sold off large parts of the family estate in the late 1700's. In 1830 & 1843 the remainder was mortgaged. Their mortgage deed makes reference to the lands of Bracadale and Minginish from the Charter of 1611. It records various lands in and around Glen Brittle, plus 21 other small settlements to the west and north, between there and Loch Bracadale, but with nothing on the Coruisk side. Effectively the MacLeod Estate recorded in the Register of Sasines their limited interpretation of the eastward extent of the Charter of 1611. As regards the Parish of 'Bracadale', according to the Church of Scotland, the first Minister was not appointed until after the Charter, in 1614. In 1749 he siad 'My Parish is 14 miles in length', some 6 miles less than the present length, suggesting that the boundary of the Parish was not beyond the habitations of Glen Brittle. It seems the present boundary extending to Loch Coruisk did not happen until well into the nineteenth century. The Topographical, Statistical and Historical Gazetteer of Scotland in 1842 says 'There are no remarkable mountains within the Parish; but a considerable ridge of very high and lofty hills runs betwixt this Parish and the Parish of Strath. They are commonly called the Culinn or Coolin hills - a name conjectured by some to be derived from the famous Cuchulinn, so often mentioned in Ossian's poems'. This was based on a similar statement in the First Statistical Account of 1797, written by the Bracadale Minister of the time. It thus seems clear that 'the Parish of Bracadale' in the mortgage deeds of 1830 & 1843, were referring to a territory which, as indicated in this Gazetteer, excluded the Cuillins. As the MacLeod grant was limited to Minginish, it follows that it did not extend to the lands outside Bracadale and Minginish on the eastern and Coruisk side of the Cuillin. The early 6-inch Ordnance surveys (eg Second Edition 1903, surveyed in 1873-75), showed 'Minginish' as being on the moorland at the north end of Glen Brittle and to the north and west of the north Cuillins (Sgurr Thuilm, Bruach na Frithe and Sgurr nan Gillean). The formal title to the Coruisk side of the Cuillins might still rest with the Crown, subject to whatever are the MacLeod rights of grazing, stalking, fishing, etc, and the customary rights and freedoms of public access. Even now a sale without valid title of ownership might be challenged for up to 10 or 20 years afterwards. These are all issues still requiring clarification, perhaps by the MacLeod Estate (who have refused research information), the Crown Estate or the Government. Write to the Ramblers' Association Scotland for more information on this research (Kingfisher House, Auld Mart Business Park, Milnathort, Kinross Fife KY13)
Postscript
SnippetsHillphones 2001
International Year of the Mountains – 2002 Proposed Shieldaig Hydro Scheme Stirling's Biodiversity
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