Camping in the National Park update: September 2018
With a particularly sunny summer, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park has been busy and camping has been a popular way for people to enjoy the National Park. Loch Chon campsite has proven particularly popular this season with bookings up more than 50% versus 2017. Feedback from campers who’ve stayed at Loch Chon campsite remains consistently positive with 96% of survey respondents saying they would recommend camping at Loch Chon.
This month, the new campsite at Loch Achray on the Three Lochs Forest Drive was due to open to the public. However, this week, the National Park Authority has made the difficult decision not to open the new campsite this season. Unfortunately over the course of the construction period a number of unforeseen challenges have affected the completion of the site, namely:
- Adverse weather in the early part of the season causing delays to the original construction period.
- Additional construction works required on drainage and foundation works
- Delays in the supply of prefabricated buildings
- Delayed completion of works by the contractor
- A fault in the off grid electrical communication system resulting in there being problems with the operation of the power supply on site.
The electrical communication system fault has resulted in problems with the operation of the power supply on site. This is the most significant issue as the current lack of power has a knock-on effect on the operation of the electronic flood and fire alarm systems for the site and also means staff are unable to quickly communicate with others in the event of an emergency.
The health and safety of our staff and visitors is paramount and these are risks we are not willing to take.
Considerable efforts are being put into investigating and resolving these issues over recent weeks and while the site will not be opening to the public this year, those efforts will continue so that these are resolved as soon as possible and the site is complete and ready to open to visitors next season.
The site is in a fantastic location and we feel it’s worth taking the extra time to make sure we are ready to offer an excellent visitor experience to match that.
Gordon Watson, Chief Executive of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park said: “While we are extremely disappointed not to have the new campsite open this season, the potential health and safety risks posed mean that delaying the opening is absolutely the right thing to do.
“Despite our frustrations over the delays to Loch Achray campsite, so far this season has been busy with numbers of people camping in the National Park increasing compared with the same period last year. At the same time feedback from campers remains positive with 88% of survey respondents saying they would recommend camping in our permit areas.
“The particularly warm weather in the summer has encouraged many people to go camping in the National Park, and we are glad to receive such positive feedback on their experiences.
“We are committed to providing great camping experiences for everyone and look forward to welcoming people to Loch Achray campsite next season to enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the National Park.”
National Park staff are working closely with contractors to resolve the issues at the site so it will be ready to open to visitors next year. A full review of how this season has gone will also be carried out and reported to National Park Board members and to Scottish Ministers in an annual update later this year.
To find out more about camping in the National Park, please visit – www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/camping