It's right to keep loch's banks bonnie

IN ANOTHER era, camping out as the mood took you along the bonnie banks and braes of Loch Lomond was an idyllic summer pastime. Sadly, however, that notion of healthy outdoor living has too often recently given way to sprawling litter, charred wood, alcohol-fuelled damage and human debris scattered around. It is an appalling spoliation left for visitors to Scotland to despair at and a dedicated few to clean up.

The east shore of Loch Lomond, one of the world's best-known beauty spots and long a tourist magnet for Scotland, has fallen victim to thoughtless mess and all too often wilful damage that has become the despair of local communities and visitors alike. Now the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority is taking action. It is holding consultations on new by-laws that will restrict camping to designated sites and impose hefty fines for those who flout the new "tidy up" regime.

Right to Roam legislation gave us unprecedented access to the countryside. But that was never intended to be a charter to disfigure and despoil. The authority has been moved to action by a rising volume of complaints from local communities and from visitors, and is fully right to take the steps it proposes. It is after all one of the core functions of the National Park to protect and preserve an area of outstanding natural beauty and it is a park of which we should be proud. This is the face of Scotland we wish to present to the world. It needs vigilant care – and full legal protection.