THE second season of camping management bye-laws around Loch Lomond began this week.

The seasonal byelaws, overseen by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, cover certain parts of the National Park between March 1 and September 30.

The byelaws were introduced in 2017 in order to protect some of the area’s most popular shores from environmental damage caused by the high volume of visitors and issues with antisocial behaviour from some campers going back a number of years.

The byelaws create “camping management zones”, covering less than 4 per cent of the National Park, where, between March and September, campers need to camp in a designated camping permit area or a campsite.

In 2017, more than 16,000 people camped in the new permit area.

The National Park Authority is reminding anyone coming to camp this season to be aware of the byelaws and plan their trip in advance.

Gordon Watson, chief executive of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, said: “Camping is a great way to enjoy the National Park and we’re pleased with how things went last summer.

“The feedback we received through our online surveys and what the Rangers experienced from speaking to people face to face was overall very positive.

“But we know that the camping byelaws are still relatively new so it’s important that we continue to make people aware of how they work and encourage them to plan ahead.”

Feedback gathered throughout last season was used to fine-tune how the byelaws operated and that has continued over the winter months with changes being made on the ground and behind the scenes to further improve the experience for campers in 2018.

Mr Watson added: “We have continued to gather feedback from a broad range of people over the winter, including visitors, communities and partner organisations and are using that to inform how things work for 2018.

“There will be some visible changes this year such as new pitch surfaces, better water facilities, and connectivity for online bookings at Loch Chon campsite. There will also be some additional signage in places where people told us it was needed to make the Camping Management Zones clearer.”

Find out more and book a permit at www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/camping