By Tom Leaning
From March 2017 new rules will require those planning to wild camp in their campervans or motorhomes in certain areas of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to obtain a permit in advance.
According to the Scottish National Park, the new permits will be available online, over the phone and from National Park buildings. If you wild camp in the new Camping Management Zones without a permit between 1 March and 30 September each year, you risk a £500 fine.
The rules, which were approved were by Scottish ministers and the Park Authority in late 2015, are aimed at managing the number of people wild camping in certain areas of the park. The four areas covered by the new Camping Management Zones are along the loch shores in west Loch Lomond, east Loch Lomond and north and west Trossachs.
If you want to camp in these areas you will need to stay at a designated campsite or, if you prefer to wild camp, you will need to buy a permit in advance.
The Park Authority confirmed the permits will cost £3 per motorthome/campervan (the same as camping in a tent). It has not confirmed how many permits will be issued each year.
However it did say that, “The Park Authority will provide low-cost, informal opportunities to camp through a mix of informal campsites and by issuing camping permits. Some of these permit areas will have access to basic services like toilets and parking and, where possible, we want to offer places for motorhomes to stop off too.
“Certain sites within the Camping Management Zones are well suited to providing places for visitors in motorhomes to stop overnight. There are both campsite locations and permit areas within the Trossachs North and West Loch Lomond Camping Management Zones, with suitable off-road locations to accommodate motorhomes.
“We’re keen to make sure that motorhome and campervan users have all the information they need to make sure they know what the plans will mean and how they will benefit all visitors to the park.”
It added that the informal campsites will have basic facilities and allocated parking with each pitch booked. Meanwhile those who obtain a permit to wild camp will be able to make use of the “wild loch shore experience with no facilities on site”.
In its development strategy document, the Park Authority added that all those planning to wild camp must always follow the ‘leave no trace’ principles, in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
It also stressed that the new rules cover less than 4 per cent of the park’s 720 square miles, so camping in most areas of the park is unaffected by these new camping management zones.
“The sheer number of visitors to our most easily accessible, popular loch shore areas, combined with impacts from antisocial behaviour, is causing significant damage to both the environment and to the local communities whose local economies rely heavily on tourism,” a spokesman said. “The plans will help us to both protect these parts of the National Park from environmental damage and vastly improve the experience for visitors, including for those who come to camp.”
You can find more information about the new motorhome wild camping rules here.
