Fury over lochside campers' wrecking spree

by Sharon Dunbar • Published 15 Apr 2010 11:12 0 Comments

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ANGRY: Nicol Slee points to some of the debris left by rogue campers.

THOUGHTLESS campers have embarked on a wrecking spree on Loch Long-side, leaving litter, tents and even excrement behind.

Rogue campers have shown no mercy for the numerous beauty-spots, destroying trees for campfires and leaving a trail of devastation up the lochside.

Local businessman Nicol Slee has travelled the area for work for years, and told the Advertiser this week he has never seen anything like it before.

"People come every year, and the lager louts just set up camp anywhere they want.

"There are camp sites set up in lay-bys up and down the lochside, probably around 12 before you even reach Arrochar.

"They [the campers] just take off and leave everything at their backsides, including broken alcohol bottles, discarded tents and sleeping bags.

"They just do the toilet anywhere and leave it lying as well."

Nicol, who recently had friends over from Germany to enjoy a hunting trip, said it was embarrassing for them to see the mess.

"You can drive by and see it from the road, it looks a state.

"I've never seen it this bad. It's messy every year but it's never been like this before, it's just years and years of built up rubbish.

"The wind blows it around and people just keep adding to it, there's fresh cardboard boxes up there and even discarded underwear and socks.

"Everyone is talking about it but no-one seems to be doing anything."

He said it creates a bad impression of the area, especially to the many tourist-filled buses which travel up and down the popular road.

"All they can see out of the window is rubbish - it looks as though someone has just opened bin bags and tipped the contents everywhere."

He added: "We were travelling on the road yesterday and we met two guys from Glasgow who were collecting shellfish.

"They have been coming here for 24 years but they won't camp anymore because they don't want to be tarnished with the same brush as the louts."

Bridget Jones is the visitor experience manager for Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

She said: "At the moment our focus is on east Loch Lomond as this is one of the most popular places in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park for outdoor recreation.

"However our Ranger Service is monitoring informal camping across the park to assess its impact, and our Rangers are actively engaging the public to encourage responsible behaviour."

This article appeared in Helensburgh Advertiser 15 Apr 10

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