With Linda Mellor

The seasonal wheel continues to turn and edge us closer to the cooler months, and I’m delighted! Honestly, I am. I have always considered my love of the winter months was due to a birthday in mid-January. I love the snow, frost, and low temperatures. The baking heat in July was no fun at all, but one insect loved it – Clegs. Everyone talked about Clegs, also known as Horseflies, and how numbers had doubled. I was able to verify this on a trip up to a hill loch one fine sunny day, and gained firsthand experience of the biting menace. Summer in Scotland generally means the beasties are out, with the number one terror being the midge. This year’s long dry spell didn’t agree so well with the midge as it loves cooler, cloudy and humid weather but the clegs thrived in the July high temperatures. Of course, when it’s hot we wear less clothing, exposing more skin and creating an easy-accessible feasting buffet for the biting female cleg. As many discovered, the clegs didn’t need exposed skin, and happily took a bite through clothing too. It’s no wonder the red deer herds head up to the high tops when the weather is hot and sunny to escape the beasties.

The weather is a topic we always discuss because it impacts our daily lives, especially so if you work outdoors, and need to know what the weather is doing, especially during the extremes – the freezing temperatures, and snow blizzards in winter, and the high temperatures of the summer. There are risks to life involved with both extremes. Sadly, this summer, there were a number of tragic deaths as people took to the water during the heatwave in July.

Each year, the Scottish countryside populations goes through a transformation, more so during the summer months and into early autumn as road traffic increases when people flock to the open spaces to walk, explore and camp. It’s wonderful for people to explore the outdoors but there’s a worrying lack of responsibility (this was compounded by the lockdown restrictions and people desperate to get away). Of course, many people embrace the ‘leave no trace’ approach but, from what I have seen, they are in the minority. People seek out a countryside experience, wishing to connect with the outdoors, but many just use and abuse this access. If the wave of countryside disrespect continues, the very things Scotland is famed for, our wildlife, remote bothies, vast open spaces, and scenery, will suffer from damage and may never recover. In some areas, campers cleared up their mess when they left. Positive points for doing so... however… instead of taking all their rubbish home, they dumped it in residential bins at the bottom of rural driveways, and if their rubbish: tents, seats, bin bags full of rubbish, mattresses (not your inflatable camping ones, the kind you have on your bed at home), and tables didn’t fit inside the bins (no surprise there!), it was piled high on the verge. Roadside free-range eggs, plants and jams for sale disappeared and takings boxes were stolen.

What can be done to transform the lack of respect and antisocial behaviour into thoughtful, appreciative, and respectful conduct?

In Perthshire, the county has Visitor Rangers watch over the countryside and temporary toilets have been installed in busy areas. The rangers patrol the popular beauty spots to advise campers, prevent parked cars damaging verges and blocking roads. Car parking numbers are monitored, and cars are turned away if there are no spaces available, wildfire risks are promoted on social media in an attempt to stop visitors lighting campfires and BBQs. As the World warms up, we need to adapt our behaviour because we are going to see more and more incidents directly and indirectly related to climate change. Warmer weather means more people outdoors, and more vehicles travelling around rural Scotland. Scotland’s countryside needs help now before it’s too late.

People fail to understand the impact of a tinder-dry, sun scorched landscape and the risks of lighting a campfire, and why parking on a verge on a tight corner of a narrow country road is not only dangerous, but also blocks the route for emergency vehicles. Rural fire stations are usually understaffed and over-stretched and, during the summer months they are on high alert due to the large influx of people visiting rural spots.

There are many ways to support your local fire service, volunteering (it’s paid) is one way, and attending a fundraising open day is another.

https://www.firescotland. gov.uk/work-with-us.aspx

by Linda Mellor

SCOTTISH COUNTRY LIFE