Core Path Report for C212 Port Lamont to ,

1. Proposed Core Path

Page 1 of 28 2. Summary of Representations Received Representation Respondent Organisation/ Objection Respondents Respondent Objection Name Group Summery proposed Ref No. withdrawn action Objection Michael Strutt & Parker Irresponsible Delete P028 Laing on behalf of Access / Glenstriven Business / Estate Maintenance Support Nicholas Representative P069 Halls of Mountaineering Support Frieda Bos About P166 Walking Holidays Support Ben E068 Mitchell

3. History of Access i. Right of Way Status – ROW SA36 see Appendix IV ii. Recorded Access Issues: The ScotWays report notes that a succession of land owners have sought to deter public access or discourage use of the route. Previous owners of Glenstriven Estate have been unhappy that there is a sign at the southern end which encouraged use of the route which they considered dangerous.

4. Site Visit Photographs of the path and surroundings with comments

ScotWays sign on the B836 indicating Start of the path on to Ardtaraig Estate path to Glenstriven

The path turns to the left just before the barn with the green doors and does not Path descending to the Glentarsan Burn get any closer to Ardtaraig House.

Page 2 of 28 Better signs could reduce the likelihood of Route to the east of the buildings people walking past the house

Path past Boathouse Cottages note well Path to the south of the main house defined gardens following estate track

Gate and stile at entry to the woodlands View north along the path past the slipway for the Mussel Farm

Path deteriorates as it leaves the estate road just before a house called “Tigh Na Pheasant release pens beside the path Mara” and continues to be rough going for 3km

Page 3 of 28 The path deteriorates and at the time of Path sign and gate at the boundary of the the site visit at the end of a period of wet native woodland area weather was very wet in places

The path is visible on the ground but can Old gate in the dyke be rough going in many areas

The route often follows a terrace on the Fallen trees need to be cleared hillside which may be quite ancient

Several streams have to be forded The path climbs in some places giving occasional views of the loch

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The path can be indistinct in places, way The abandoned farmstead at Bot nan marking could assist users significantly Creagan adds interest to the route

Spectacular view towards the Kyles of View north along Loch Striven, used Bute from Bot nan Creagan during WWII to test Bouncing Bombs

Boundary with Glenstriven Estate Junction of the path with the estate track 500metres from the estate road

Track leading off to “The Point” an estate Note pheasant feeders beside the track cottage which is used to manage a very high density of Pheasants

Page 5 of 28 Estate track through Glenstriven Estate View of Invervegan house from the path

View of Burnfoot Cottage from the track Highfield Cottage a holiday cottage on the estate from the path 100metres away

View of Pier House a holiday cottage beside the path (See Appendix IV) Approach to Glenstriven Lodge

Glenstriven Lodge Junction between the estate road and the public road

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Section of this path on the public road looking north

5. Alternative Route/s The existing path occupies part of a narrow strip of land between Loch Striven and the high hills which rise to around 500 metres immediately to the east. Therefore there is no scope for the provision of an alternative route.

6. Consultation with Objectors & Other Interested Parties The finalised plan is sufficient without the inclusion of non core paths generally and specifically within Glen Striven Estate.

The inclusion of non core paths imposes liabilities and restrictions on the owners of the land which were not within the contemplation of the Act

In this instance our client has expended significant sums of money creating and improving path and tracks for estate management purposes.

As non core paths there is no guarantee that these paths are routes over which the public would be entitled to take access, that the routes currently exist or will be maintained or available for use by the public and accordingly the inclusion of such routes is likely to mislead and potentially endanger the public as well as having detrimental effects for our client.

During a discussion with the Head Keeper during the site visit raised a number of issues. These included disturbance of wildlife in the area, the use of the southern part of the track for feeding pheasants and other game birds and the presence of release pens close to the route. He also reported that at least one walker has become seriously lost whilst using the route and only found his way to the keeper’s house in the early hours of the morning.

7. Access Officer’s Initial Comments C212 is a claimed Right of Way and recorded by ScotWays as a Heritage Path known as “Old road along Loch Striven” and is described as a very old packhorse and possibly cart track that passes ruined settlements. See Appendix IV for more information on this Heritage Path. In the same appendix there is a copy from the pages of “25 Walks Arrochar, and Bute” which describes this walk.

One supporter of the route has pointed out that a bus service (482) runs between Port Lamont (the southern end of C212) and Dunoon. There is another bus service (477/478/479) on the B836 (the northern end of C212) that runs between Dunoon and Portavadie making the route accessible by public transport at both ends which is uncommon in Argyll & Bute.

A substantial part of the path is in a poor condition but it is of historical interest and offers good views over Loch Striven and the Kyles of Bute. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and

Page 7 of 28 Historical Monuments of includes information on a number of sites including abandoned settlements, farms and standing stones along this path on their website www.canmoremapping.rcahms.gov.uk. Loch Striven itself was used to test a version of the Barnes Wallis “” during the Second World War. The path passes through an area of attractive semi natural woodland and despite being a difficult walk, many of those who have walked the path report having enjoyed it.

The path has a total length of fourteen kilometres. The northern section of four kilometres is on Ardtaraig Estate, then a further three and a half kilometres to the south is on Glenstriven Estate and the subject of an Objection. The remaining seven kilometres is on the public road between Glenstriven Estate and Port Lamont.

The first kilometre on Ardtaraig Estate is on well maintained estate tracks, apart from a poor surface on one of the steeper slopes. After passing the house called Tigh Na Mara the path is in a poor condition for three kilometres until it joins estate road on Glenstriven Estate. Only the last five hundred meters of this section of poor path is on Glenstriven Estate. It may be difficult to follow particularly in summer when bracken will obstruct the route and in many areas the path is rough and poorly drained. However in most places it is still apparent that there was once a track or a minor road linking some isolated farms or settlements along the route. In one or two locations it is still possible to see that the path was constructed with stone along one edge of the path and that there were once culverts in some areas although most of the streams are crossed at fords.

The bulk of the path on Glenstriven Estate follows the main estate track for just under 3 kilometres and is in excellent condition. This part of the estate is intensively used for pheasant rearing and there are numerous feeders along the path and there are release pens in the adjacent woodlands. Glenstriven estate derives a substantial part of its income from shooting and the main house is marketed to shooting parties. It is interesting to note that Ardtaraig Estate has not objected to the designation of this path although it is also managed for shooting and there are two release pens beside the path.

The following are responses to the objector’s case.

Sufficiency: The Access Officers are of the view that without the inclusion of this path the Core Path Network will be insufficient in this part of the Cowal. This is the only long low level path giving access to areas of semi-natural woodland in an extensive area of wild land. The Argyll & Bute Access Forum has a statutory role to advise the Council on access rights and the sufficiency of the Core Paths Plan.

Designating Core Paths: The Local Authority has a duty under Section 17 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 to designate a network of Core Paths which may include any path whether or not it is a Public Right of Way. Since this is the first time that this Authority has produced a Core Paths Plan it would not be possible to designate paths that are already Core Paths since there are none. Any Objector to an element of the Core Paths Plan has a right to have their objection considered by a Reporter acting on behalf of the Scottish Ministers, it is anticipated that this objection will be considered in this manner.

Liability - The Land Reform Scotland Act does not extend the duty of care owed by the land manager/ land owner to another person exercising their access rights. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code and the Act also stress that the access taker is responsible for their own safety. The Land Reform Scotland Act “establishes statutory public rights of access to land for recreational purposes” and imposes some duties and responsibilities on land owners and managers.

Page 8 of 28 Creation of new tracks and paths; The majority of the land on this estate will fall within Access Rights under the Land Reform Scotland Act. By creating new tracks and paths the land owner is simply making it easier for people to explore the area and exercise their access rights than would be the case in the absence of the paths.

Access Rights; One reason that this path is being proposed as a Core Path is that it is considered to be a Public Right of Way by the Scottish Rights of Way Society. Neither a Core Path nor for that matter a Public Right of Way has to pass exclusively through areas where access rights can be exercised. The majority of the route in my opinion passes through areas where there are public rights of access. Only two properties are so close to the proposed Core Path that I would consider it as having a significant impact upon the privacy of the occupants.

Privacy

The Point; This cottage at right is located over 50 metres off the path and at such a distance the impact on privacy is considered reasonable.

Invervegan House at left, although a much larger property it is over 60 metres off the path and is only visible from a distance because it is located on a rise several metres above the path. Again the impact of the path on the privacy of the occupants is not unreasonable.

Burnfoot Cottage – This is only four or five metres off the path but is well screened by the trees and shrubs around it. The character of this cottage is such that it is close to an existing track serving a large estate and the path is unlikely to significantly disturb the enjoyment of the house.

Pier Cottage; at left, this house is immediately beside and below the path which serves the estate and at least four other houses beyond it. The house is currently used as a holiday let, see appendix IV. Although close to the track anyone passing the house will only be visible for a minute or two as they pass. The main views from the house are of the loch on the opposite side of the property. Although there is likely to be a small reduction in the privacy enjoyed by this property it not considered to be significant. It should be remembered that a Core Path can be designated in an area where access rights do not apply.

Glenstriven Lodge; This is a lodge house beside the path and is designed to overlook the entrance to the estate. As a consequence this is the house which will be most disturbed by people using the path. The estate road at this point serves

Page 9 of 28 Damage to the Track – It is unlikely that walkers or cyclists would cause significant damage to the track in comparison with cars and agricultural vehicles. Equestrian users could cause some damage however this is likely to be less than the existing vehicular use. In this case the path may be used along its whole length by walkers; however cyclists and horse riders would be restricted to those sections on the public road or estate track by the poor condition of the path.

Impact on Land Management; The designation of the Core Path should make it easier for the estate to inform the public about land management operations including shooting i.e. by erecting signs at the lodge house. This is because it will be much clearer where most members of the public are likely to enter and leave an area. The Access Authority has already produced signs that are used by land managers elsewhere to direct the public when shooting is happening.

Access Issues; There has been at least one instance where a member of the public reported being deterred from using the proposed Core Path . The path has been considered a Public Right of Way by the Scottish Rights of Way Society since 1948 when the then land owner gave permission for the erection of direction signs, one of which has since disappeared.

Summary; In summary there would appear to have been an ongoing issue with a succession of the owners of Glenstriven Estate , which is advertised for sale at present (December 2011) trying to deter or block public access along this path. Although the path is not in a good condition for a significant portion of its length, if this path is not designated and the additional powers that this will give the Access Authority to monitor the path and ensure that it remains available to the public it may be lost. It may also be increasingly difficult for the Access Authority to assert and protect public rights of access without resorting to expensive and risky legal action.

The path is already promoted in at least one guidebook, on one website and is sign posted at one end.

Designating this path as a Core Path will enable the Council, the local community or the land owner to begin to improve this route. Even a simple action such as installing way markers along the poorest sections of the path will make it less likely that the user will get lost. Additional work such as removing fallen branches could be undertaken by volunteers and repairs to the drainage would soon make following this path much easier. The intention would not be to make a major improvement to this path because of its setting and historical interest.

Therefore I am recommending that this path is included in the Core Paths Plan to ensure that it continues to be available for walkers and to ensure that a sufficient network of Core Paths is provided in this area of the Cowal Peninsula.

Page 10 of 28 8. Advice received from the Access Forum

9. Access Officer’s Final Recommendations

10. Appendices

Appendix I. Copies of the representations received during the formal consultation

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Paragraph 11.5.11 from 2010 Core Paths Plan Finalised Draft document

11.5.11

Core Path No. C212 - Port Lamont To Ardtariag, Loch Striven

Path length in meters - 14703 Surface Types - Sealed, unbound aggregate, trod earth Gradient - Steep Sign Posts - Yes Bridges - No Gates less than 1.2 meters - None Kissing Gates - None Stiles - None Other Information - Gates>1.2m Potential obstacles and notes - Sections on public road

Appendix II. Copies of relevant correspondence

Appendix III. Copies of responses additional consultations

Page 17 of 28 Appendix IV. Additional supporting documents Copy of the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society’s Catalogue of Public Rights of Way entry regarding this path

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Page 19 of 28 Copies of Correspondence with ScotWays regarding an Access Issue on this Path

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Page 24 of 28 Extract from the Scottish Rights of Way Society – Heritage Paths Website

http://www.heritagepaths.co.uk/pathdetails.php?path=132

Page 25 of 28 Copy of Web Page advertising Pier Cottage one of two holiday homes on Glenstriven Estate http://www.holidayhomerental.co.uk/Listings/Scotland/Strathclyde/Argyll_and_Bute/Toward/493fe501fbe44aa 9870904850f4a770d.htm

NB Walking and Horse riding are amongst the activities recommended for guests

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Page 27 of 28 Extract from “25 Walks Arrochar, Cowal and Bute” Alan Forbes 1997

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