Secret Scotland

Your scribe doesn’t hide the fact that he likes to feature news stories that warn about the once unstoppable march of the Wind Farm across the country, ruining the land and the view, both irreplaceable assets that the country has become dependent on to attract tourists and their wallets.

It seems that the Scottish countryside is under threat from another quarter, namely the boom in adventure pursuits, which is now booming in the north, and said to be worth some £187 million per annum, and more than £25 million to the economy of the Highlands and Islands. Organisations such as VisitScotland are actively promoting events, and activities such as mountain-biking, together with public access events, intended to bring in spectators, with crowds of perhaps 40,000 attending. One project mentioned is the Wilderness Adventure Racing Championship, missing from Scotland last year, it looks set to return to Lochaber in 2008, bringing 60 teams from 22 countries. Organisers allocate funds to clear up litter, with budgets of £5,000 being typical.

Erosion and Waste

The upsurge in activities may be a cause for concern, while conservationists are busy maintaining the flora and fauna, and the land they depend on, growing numbers of visitor’s feet are straying from the paths provided, and damaging the softer, natural ground.

Human waste, as opposed to simple litter, also become a significant problem as visitor numbers increase. Ben Nevis is quoted as one example, where such waste can remain frozen for years if left there, rather than being broken down naturally. Already implemented in the Cairngorms are so-called Poo Chutes in car parking areas, where visitors are encouraged to deposit bagged and bottled ‘waste’.

Used with care, the Scottish countryside can be enjoyed by all (even if that means it gets busy, and loses the ‘isolation’ factor), and visitors can do worse than take a moment to familiarise themselves with both the Rights, and the Responsibilities, that the Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides.

Although he was eventually caught, an Ayrshire man has proven your scribe’s theory that the best way to circumvent ‘The System’ is to be part of ‘The System’, whatever system we may be talking about.

The news reports that a company boss swindled the Ministry of Defence (MoD) out of nearly £425,000 by inventing staff he claimed were working at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth. He used a simple clocking-in scam and bribes to systematically milk sums during the upgrading of the nuclear submarine repair and refuelling facility for Royal Navy Trident submarines. In reality, up to 58 ‘ghost’ staff were either at home, in the pub, no longer worked there, never had, or did not exist. In other cases, unsuspecting genuine workers had their hours inflated. The court heard the scam was so blatant that even when everyone went on strike, many of his staff still managed to put in a full day’s work on paper, and non-existent scaffolders being paid a total of £27,000 a week.

The MoD police case officer involved force was pleased with the outcome after it held a “long and complex inquiry“, and added that the convictions “should act as a warning“, and that confiscation proceedings would be held later.

Although this group was caught and convicted, and we don’t know the full details of how long they were under investigation, one has to wonder about the system used to monitor the accounts and activities involved, and vet the contractors working on what should be an extremely secure facility.

It’s not as if such places aren’t secure against strangers - Yours Truly almost had a day at Faslane aborted when a pair of fools, arriving there at the same time, mislaid their passes between being issued with them, and arriving at the gatehouse. Not only were they not going to get through the door, but the security staff were going to throw out everyone that arrived at the same time, just to be sure there was nothing going on. But this case arose from someone who had a foot in the door, and past experience tells me that that’s the most dangerous situation, when assumptions are made, and defences lowered without thinking.

It seems the subject of closure of facilities is making more appearances than one might like, and this week saw the announcement for sale of the Glen Kin Outdoor Centre near Dunoon.

The centre dates back to 1978, when Glen Kin Farm was acquired by the Glen Kin Trust, and had the stated aim to “provide for young people a centre for outdoor recreation, occupation or other leisure activities where they may apply their practical skills and find comradeship and joy, all to the improvement of their conditions of life.” Since then, it has become a popular destination for school trips, and venue for Guide and Scout activities.

Able to sleep 24, with additional facilities for catering etc, the centre has seen a fall in numbers, with only three bookings recorded for this year. Increasing operational costs, combined with the seemingly endless onslaught of increasing Health & Safety demands, have led to reviews, and the final decision to sell.

Although the decision is sad, and has attracted negative criticism of the centre’s management - with regard to promotion, publicity and facilities - it seems that there is a general pattern developing, and those that are charged with managing such facilities are growing increasingly worried about litigation and claims made by those who attend them, with the upsurge in ambulance chasing organisations with finds to pursue them on behalf of clients, and act on a “No Win, No Fee” basis, meaning there is no reason not to raise an action, no matter how friviolous, as the only party that will suffer is the defender.

Like many such centres, it seems that Glen Kin was dependent on the goodwill of volunteers to maintain its operation, and that while improving the facilities and services offered might be covered by one-time grants, the ultimate result would be increased costs, which could prove to be unsustainable without additional resources or subsidies being available.

The trust’s chairman, Scott Bryson, said  “The aim is to sell the premises, continue the trust and set up a foundation through investment of the assets in a trust fund. The interest could provide support for travel, scholarships, courses, training, equipment and other facilities - this would enable groups and individuals to develop a wider range of skills and experience on a continuing basis.”