19 Oct Why it should be celebrated that more Scots than ever before are accessing the outdoors

It is undeniable that the summer just passed (yep, sorry to confirm it’s definitely over!) saw a noticeable spike in Scots exploring the outdoors. You only needed to take a drive through the likes of Glencoe or Glenmore or around Loch Lomond on a weekend to see the unprecedented numbers of people, caravans, tents, and cars in our most popular outdoor areas.

After a Spring where we had all been cooped up at home for months, when travelling restrictions were finally lifted, Scots descended on our beauty spots like an enormous river bursting from its banks.

It inevitably led to the numerous news stories we have all read in recent months about ‘dirty camping’, and similar stories of those acting completely irresponsibly in our cherished countryside. Something politicians on all sides have united to condemn.

But beyond the minority whose actions attracted all the headlines, it should be celebrated that more people in Scotland than ever before are accessing the outdoors.

I’m someone who spends my weekends climbing the mountains of The Highlands or hiking the hills or coastal paths in my native Fife. And I couldn’t help but notice, out on the hills or via social media pages, the enormous rise in people taking up hillwalking. I’ve never seen the laybys and car parks by our many Bens so stowed with people desperate for a day in the hills.

And while we need to remain cautious and refrain from having large numbers of people in the same places – even when outdoors – due to the pandemic, it is encouraging that many Scots have really caught the hillwalking bug.

There are several reasons why this is a good thing:

In Scotland, two thirds of adults are overweight and one in three are obese. Encouraging more people to take up physical exercise can be a real game changer for Scotland in our fight against obesity and to promote healthier lifestyles. There are not many countries in the world with the wealth of beautiful places we have in our country and within reasonable driving distances for most of the population.

There is also considerable evidence to highlight the mental health benefits of being outdoors – people feel more calm, there’s that opportunity to mentally ‘switch off’ from the outside world, the feeling of achievement of reaching the top of a hill or mountain, and endorphins are released during exercise which make you feel happier.

Psychologists also say that being outdoors walking side by side encourages people to open up when talking to their friends about how they’re feeling. With 1 in 4 Scots experiencing ill mental health during their lifetime, activities like hillwalking can promote good mental wellbeing during a time when taking care of Scotland’s mental health has never been more important.

And on top of that, hillwalking is an incredible way to discover the beauty of Scotland.

I really liked how Minister Mairi Gougeon described it during a debate last year to mark the anniversary of the death of Sir Hugh Munro, when she said:

“Some of the most special and memorable moments of my life have been the days when I have been up climbing the hills … that is when you can see the whole of Scotland laid out before you. It really makes your heart swell when you see what a fantastic and incredible landscape you live in.”

And as we see more people access the outdoors, the continued investment in parking or transport links to these beauty spots and hillwalking routes is of greater importance.

It is an issue the Scottish Government takes very seriously. In particular the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in 2017, has done a lot to support villages and towns close to beauty spots.

This fund is for communities which at certain times of the year experience pressure on infrastructure due to the sheer number of visitors to the area. Initially £6m was allocated to this fund when it was announced and since then a further £3m has been made available for projects to apply for this year.

The funding has already been allocated to support accessibility to some of our most iconic places – from the hills of Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders, to the Old Man of Storr and Bla Bheinn on Skye, to the Steall Waterfalls in Glen Nevis.

But there are many more areas in need of funding to cope with a rise in visitor numbers – not least walks I know well close to home in Fife such as John Knox’s Pulpit and the ascent of West Lomond Hill via the Bunnet Stane. Both had nowhere near the parking capacity required to meet the demand last summer – and visitors would either leave Glen Lomond disappointed at not being able to find a space or irresponsibly parked on verges or unacceptably blocking farmers’ access to fields.

We have a lot to be grateful for in Scotland in terms of our access rights to our countryside and to have so many accessible outdoor spaces. But if we want more people to reap the physical and mental health benefits of hiking – and to encourage Scots to continue to have ‘staycations’ post-pandemic – funding to improve facilities, transport links and paths to access our best outdoor locations must remain a priority.