THE first weekend of Scotland’s eased travel restrictions appears to have passed relatively smoothly in visitor hotspots around Loch Lomond.

Following Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement last week that people in Scotland would be able to travel freely around the mainland for day trips and other non-essential reasons from April 16 onwards, communities in the National Park were braced for a large influx of visitors at the weekend.

The Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority urged people to plan ahead and to check for live updates on car park capacity around the area.

But there were no reports of any major problems, and James Fraser, from the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs conservation charity, said the weekend, while busy, had been free of incident.

That was in stark contrast to the first weekend after the initial lockdown limits were eased in May of last year, when thousands of people flocked to the bonnie banks sparking concern from residents at the risk of spreading the disease.

“The area was very busy as anticipated on Friday and Saturday,” Mr Fraser said, “but slightly quieter on Sunday due to the change in the weather.

READ MORE: The key things you need to know as Scotland gets set to enter level 3 lockdown

“All arrangements with extra temporary toilets provided by the park authority at some of the hotspots worked well.

“We are well advanced with much needed plans for temporary toilets at the popular Duck Bay picnic area.

“We hope to have the temporary toilets in place for this weekend in the Duck Bay car park and they will remain there right through until the end of October.”

The focus now is on Monday, April 26, after Ms Sturgeon confirmed on Tuesday that the whole country will move into Level 3 of the Scottish Government’s route map out of lockdown.

That date will see hospitality premises and accommodation providers allowed to reopen along with all retailers, though social distancing measures will remain in place.

Mr Fraser added: "Many communities are better prepared with more support from public agencies this time around and more litter and traffic wardens and rangers on the ground.”

Keep up with all the latest Helensburgh and Lomond headlines here