A MUCH‑LOVED Scottish beauty spot is coming under increasing pressure from irresponsible ‘wild campers’, with conservation staff warning that parts of the landscape are at risk of being destroyed.
The National Trust for Scotland (NTS) has raised concerns about Coire Gabhail in Glencoe. Better known as ‘The Lost Valley‘, the dramatic hanging glen hidden between steep mountain walls is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its unusually rich plant life and fragile upland habitats.
Around 100,000 people visit The Lost Valley each year, but rangers say a minority are causing significant damage by lighting fires on shallow mountain soils and cutting live or ancient trees for firewood.
Earlier this month, staff discovered a 300‑year‑old willow with a branch sawn off, the remains of which were later found in a fire pit. Rangers have also reported piles of rubbish left in the 1,500‑ft gorge, along with evidence of vandalism to veteran trees and deadwood habitats.
“Coire Gabhail is one of our team’s favourite spots in Glencoe National Nature Reserve but sadly its specialness is at risk of being destroyed by campers and walkers who don’t realise the impact their actions have,” a National Trust for Scotland statement read.
“Wild campers making fires leave a long-lasting scar on Coire Gabhail’s shallow, fragile mountain soils. Please don’t do it.
“Worse still, fire-makers are cutting and burning ancient trees and precious deadwood up in the coire. Please don’t do it.
“Making a fire from damp or green (living) wood is a waste of time – it does not burn well. It’s not bush craft, it’s not survival skills, it’s vandalism.
“What most people don’t realise is that cutting or disturbing deadwood can be even worse as it can support even more rare biodiversity than living trees.
“We can’t be here all the time and it’s soul-destroying to see what happens between our visits.
“If you love this special place, please treat it with the care and respect it deserves. Tiny careless actions x 100,000 people a year have a massive cumulative effect and will ruin what makes it so special.”
The vast majority of wild campers follow a strict unwritten code of conduct which ultimately means they leave no trace of their presence after a camp. They enjoy a particular freedom to do so in Scotland where wild camping is widely permitted. The problem-causing minority, which is given the pastime a bad name, are often referred to as ‘fly campers’.
To help protect the glen, NTS rangers and volunteers will be patrolling throughout the summer to speak with campers, remove litter, and discourage fire‑lighting. The charity is also asking visitors to carry a spare bag to collect rubbish and to report anyone seen carrying an axe.
Coire Gabhail’s dramatic entrance was formed during the end of the last Ice Age which left boulders the size of houses scattered across the valley floor.
Its sheltered, humid microclimate supports one of the richest assemblages of mosses, liverworts, lichens, fungi, insects and small mammals anywhere in Europe, much of it dependent on slow‑growing veteran trees and rotting deadwood.
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