Climbers angered by batty move to keep them off rockface

A LAIRD and descendant of Robert the Bruce is embroiled in a row with climbers who say his estate has tried to block their access rights by installing bat boxes on the rockfaces.

Mountaineers who have visited a popular climbing crag in Fife for generations accused the landowner – the 11th Earl of Elgin – of trying to curb their pastime.

Some climbers fear that if the animals roost at the boxes in Limekilns, near Rosyth, the site will gain legal protection.

The move would ban people from scaling the former limestone quarry because it is an offence to disturb the bats, a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

The row is the latest in a series of disputes that has stretched back decades over access to Lord Elgin's Broomhall estate.

According to the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCS), its local representative has been "keeping a lid on ongoing rumblings for many years".

At one point in the late 1980s, abusive remarks about the peer were painted on a rock. Representatives of the landowner then greased hand and footholds, climbers say.

About ten boxes are understood to have been installed throughout the course earlier this week.

They were screwed into the rock in places obstructing many of the lines used by climbing enthusiasts.

Climbers insist they have a right of access to the site under land reform legislation, but it is thought the 85-year-old laird's estate has been subject to some minor damage as a result of wild camping and unauthorised fires.

The MCS has warned against people taking direct action, including vandalism, in the latest dispute.

After negotiations throughout the week with the estate office it emerged yesterday that the bat boxes had been removed.

However, some climbers believe the matter is not over, and are keen to find out what future plans the estate's management has for the area.

Hebe Carus, MCS access and conservation officer, said climbers had been blamed for recent anti-social behaviour and expressed hope that the community would be able to build a relationship with Lord Elgin.

She said: "I understand there's been problems during the good weather we've been having with youths leaving litter, setting fires, and causing noise, and that might have been blamed on climbers.

"It's unfortunate. We don't want to upset anyone, and we've tried to promote responsible climbing. That's why there was such horror when the boxes went up.

"There hasn't really been a relationship with Lord Elgin, who doesn't really engage with any part of the community.

"We haven't been able to speak to anyone with any degree of responsibility at the estate. We can't even confirm it was someone there who put up the boxes or took them down.

"We would encourage the estate to put up bat boxes and encourage biodiversity, but I have to question whether the crag would be the most appropriate place for them."

Davidson & Robertson Rural, estate managers for Broomhall, were not available to comment.