Updates for Businesses – June

10 Years of Peatland ACTION in the National Park

Across Scotland, peatlands play a vital role in tackling the climate and nature crises. These ancient, waterlogged habitats act as powerful carbon stores, rich ecosystems, and are a key feature of our iconic landscape. Yet when damaged or degraded, they release carbon into the atmosphere, in fact given the current poor state of much of Scotland’s peatlands – they are Scotland’s second-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after transport.

That’s why, earlier this week we marked #WorldPeatlandsDay by celebrating a decade of the Peatland ACTION programme in the National Park, and the huge impact our team, local landowners, estates and communities who have made in restoring this vital habitat.

Since the first Peatland ACTION project began here in 2015, the National Park Authority has restored more than 2,580 hectares of degraded peatland across 29 sites – an area larger roughly the size of 500 Hampden Parks combined. Each of these hectares represents a win for biodiversity, climate action, and water quality, and takes us a step closer to our vision of a National Park that is nature positive and carbon negative by 2045.

Read more about 10 years of Peatland ACTION in the National Park.

The Trossachs Explorer returns!

Following a successful pilot in 2024, we’re delighted to confirm the Trossachs Explorer shuttle bus will return for a second summer.

About the Pilot
The Trossachs Explorer was introduced in 2024 as a seasonal shuttle service from July to September, connecting Callander and Aberfoyle with remote destinations within Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park. Designed to provide a sustainable transport alternative, the pilot aimed to reduce car dependency, improve accessibility for visitors and residents, and support local businesses – and forms a key strand of our National Park Partnership Plan, specifically within the Transport and Travel category.

2025 Pilot
Having exceeded expectations last year, we have been able to secure appropriate funding and a bus operator to build on its success.

This year, the Trossachs Explorer will operate 7 days a week between Monday 7th July and Sunday 5th October 2025 by local bus operator McColls.

As well as continuing to connect Callander with Aberfoyle, the route will extend to Drymen, stopping at a number of popular locations: The Lodge (Queen Elizabeth Forest Park), Ben Venue, Loch Katrine, Ben A’an, Brig o’ Turk and Kilmahog for access to Ben Ledi.

Where possible, the timetable will link with onward journeys to Alexandria/Balloch, Glasgow and Stirling as well as cruises on Loch Katrine. Two modern buses will operate the route, each with capacity for 18 seated passengers and a third bus will be available to improve reliability and boost capacity on busy days.

Further information
As soon as the timetable has been registered with the Traffic Commissioner, more details will follow. More information on the success of last year’s pilot including the evaluation findings is available to view on our website and you can enjoy highlights from last year’s service in the video below.

If you have any queries or ideas about the Trossachs Explorer service then direct them to Emily Davie.

Lomond Banks

Following Gordon’s recent update to staff on the Scottish Government Reporter’s decision to overturn the National Park Authority’s refusal of Planning Permission in Principle for the proposed West Riverside and Woodbank House (Lomond Banks) in Balloch, we would like to direct you to the updated Lomond Banks webpage.

A Board Report relating to the handling of the appeal has been prepared by Officers and will be considered for noting by the National Park Authority Board at its meeting on Monday (9th June).

There is understandably a lot of discussion around this planning application in the media and on social media, and the webpage above will be where people can access accurate and up to date information on the process.

If you get any enquiries about the Lomond Banks appeal please refer them to the updated Lomond Banks page on our website. That has the most up to date information. Any media enquiries should be directed to pr&media@lochlomond-trossachs.org.

SEPA – Water Scarcity

Last month SEPA reported that due to prolonged dry conditions, many river catchments had reached Moderate Scarcity, with some rivers at their lowest flow in 34 years. And while recent rainfall has partially improved the water scarcity situation, some catchments remain at Moderate Scarcity and much of Scotland continues to be at Alert level, meaning ongoing careful water management is essential.

What do Scotland’s water scarcity levels mean?

• Early Warning: conditions are drying but no action is currently required. Abstractors should begin preparing for potential action.
• Alert: water levels are falling, and SEPA advises voluntary reductions in non-essential water use.
• Moderate Scarcity:  there is clear environmental impact, and action is expected from abstractors to protect rivers and the species that rely on them.

May 2025 was the warmest May on record for Scotland, and it not only resulted in water scarcity warnings from SEPA, but several wildfire warnings too. And if we look at the damage caused by Storm Ewoyn earlier in the year, it’s clear that climate change is having an impact on our weather and every fraction of a degree of warming intensifies the frequency and severity of such extreme weather events.

SEPA work closely with sectors that rely on Scotland’s rivers, including agriculture, hydropower and industry, to help them respond to the challenges of this water scarcity season with regular updates, advice and water scarcity reports, but we can all take steps to use water more efficiently and help alleviate the pressure climate change is having on our planet.

Volunteers’ Week 2025

From the 1st April 2024 until 30th March 2025, our amazing National Park volunteers invested 11,743 hours of their time, contributing the equivalent of 1,678 working days to conservation and visitor management in the National Park.

To mark #VolunteersWeek 2025, we asked some of them, what drives them to do this, and from learning about nature to meeting new people, their reasons for volunteering are broad.

Whatever their motivation, we are truly grateful for their efforts!

Find out more about Volunteering in the National Park here.

Visitor Management update

Camping
The outstanding weather this Spring has allowed campers the opportunity to enjoy the National Park in warm sunshine, resulting in the busiest April we have ever experienced. And feedback from this period has been strong with 100% of completed surveys from our campsites saying they would be very likely or quite likely to recommend their stay to others, and from our surveyed permit bookings, 90% had the same sentiment.

Responsible visiting
This spell of warm and dry weather did bring its own challenges, including several weeks of Extreme and Very High wildfire warnings during which time we aligned with Scottish Fire and Rescue advice and asked visitors not to light outside fires or barbeques when visiting the National Park.

As well as fire safety advice, we have also been asking visitors to have a plan-b if car parks are full, to take their rubbish home if there are no bins or bins are full and following some aggressive behaviour – to please treat our staff with respect.

Ranger Service
Our new Seasonal Rangers have had a great start to the season, being out on patrol, engaging with thousands of people across the National Park on responsible visiting, and enforcing byelaws.

As always, water safety is a key focus, and Rangers have already chatted with over 350 people at our regular water safety events. These events include important information on who to call in an emergency, throwline techniques, hidden hazards training, lifejacket clinic, and General safety advice. Look out for details of future water safety events on our social media.

The Boat Team have installed the new 6kph buoys at Luss Bay and they will continue to install new buoys at the remaining sites.

The Ranger Service along with Environment Officer colleagues removed over 2 tonnes of litter from the National Park. The level of litter that has been experienced also brings other pressures, such as bin fires, with three incidents of bins catching fire due to a disposable BBQ.

More opportunities for businesses in the National Park

Sustainable Tourism Manager Appointment
We’re pleased to welcome Anne Massey as the new Sustainable Tourism Manager for Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park.

Anne brings a wealth of experience to the role, having spent over 20 years with VisitScotland supporting tourism businesses through business development, engagement and advice. Leading a team across the Central belt, West and South of Scotland, she developed a strong understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the sector, particularly in rural and protected landscapes. While Anne is already familiar with a number of businesses in and around the Park, she is equally keen to build new relationships and engage with the wider business community.

Her appointment comes at a key moment, as the National Park moves forward with the delivery of its Partnership Plan. Anne will lead the Tourism Team as it evolves to support the Park’s long-term ambition to become a thriving, carbon negative, nature positive destination. Her focus will be on shaping and delivering a Sustainable Tourism Plan that reflects this vision and is informed by the voices and needs of the local business community. Anne’s experience and practical approach will be a valuable asset as we work together to ensure tourism continues to benefit the people, environment and communities of the National Park.

Serving The Future Project
The Tourism and Hospitality Toolkit is designed to support employers and employees across Scotland’s dynamic tourism and hospitality sector. This toolkit provides you with practical resources, guidance, and tools to help you navigate the challenges and opportunities in the industry, and has been developed in partnership with Skills Development Scotland and Springboard, and with support from the Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group.

Driving on the left – advice for visitors to Scotland
Tourism and hospitality sector businesses and organisations are being urged to support a campaign from The Scottish Government and Road Safety Scotland reminding overseas drivers to drive on the left,  asking hotels, attractions and other businesses to help spread the important safety message among their guests and visitors.
Businesses can get involved by:

• Downloading and displaying posters which reinforce the message and direct visitors to resources and tips
• Sharing the information leaflet with guests
• Distributing Drive on the Left wristbands to their customers
• Directing their guests to the campaign URL directly, where assets and the video are available in different languages
• Sharing a range of digital assets on their social media channel