The Geographer: Transport (Spring 2010) by Royal Scottish Geographical Society

The

Geographer Spring 2010

The newsletter of the

The transport issue which direction now?

Royal Scottish Geographical Society

In This Edition... •C ountry in Focus: Haiti •O ff the Beaten Track: To Russia by Rail..! •O n the Map: The Arctic Ocean •E xpert Views and Opinions on: Transport and High Speed Rail • I nside the RSGS: Joseph Thomson •A n Expert View: Perth’s City Status •R eader Offer: Stuffed

“ Chi va piano va sano, Chi va sano va lontano” “ He who goes softly goes safely, he who goes safely goes far.” I talian motto adopted by Joseph Thomson, African Explorer, RSGS Honorary Member & RSGS Silver Medallist 1892

plus other news, comments, books...

RSGS – Making Connections between People, Places & the Planet

The

Geographer T

he RSGS has been most fortunate recently to receive an anonymous donation of £30,000 from a member who recognised that this was an appropriate time to help. We are most grateful for this generous support, and as a former VATman, I could not let pass this opportunity to demonstrate the value of tax-efficient giving. The difference that this contribution makes to the work of the Society is not £30,000 but rather just over £38,460, because the donation fulfilled the requirements for the Society to claim Gift Aid and Transitional Relief. When a donor is a UK taxpayer at the time of giving and has paid enough tax, Gift Aid allows the charity to increase the value of the donation, whether it’s £30 or £30,000, from its net amount (after tax has been paid) to its gross amount (before tax was paid). Transitional Relief is a temporary scheme to ‘make up the difference’ for charities, now that the basic rate of tax has reduced from 22% to 20%. There can be tax advantages for donors too. Donors who pay Income Tax at a higher rate can claim back the difference between the higher and basic rates of tax on the total value of the donation. So a 40% rate tax payer can make a donation of £100 with a ‘value’ of £128.20 for a ‘cost’ of £75. Donors can also claim Income Tax relief if they give qualifying shares or securities to a UK charity such as the RSGS. Taxable income is reduced by the value of the shares plus any costs like legal fees. And gifts of shares are exempt from Capital Gains Tax. For more information about how individuals can give tax-efficiently to charity, see www.hmrc.gov.uk/ individuals/giving/ or contact Mike or Susan at HQ.

Treading softly

The joy of slow travel The favourite saying of Joseph Thomson (see pgs 16-17) was the Italian motto “chi va piano va sano, chi va sano va lontano” (“he who goes softly goes safely, he who goes safely goes far”), which still seems to have resonance today. With adverts reminding us of the dangers of speed on rural roads, and a recent Scottish Government proposal to “put pedestrians first” by imposing a 20mph limit on new residential streets, maybe it is time to reconsider the way we travel. Are we prioritising shallow haste over deeper experience? Are we missing something by always racing about? Maybe it is time to remind ourselves of the joy of travelling, and to embrace the motto of the country whose appetite for enjoyment and quality of life first inspired the slow food movement. Lower speed limits would also lower CO2 emissions more quickly and effectively than any other single measure, and with

the added concerns around peak oil, is part of the route to sustainable travel simply to slow down, and sometimes to leave the car behind? Last time I went abroad, I got a peculiar thrill out of stepping onto a train in Perth and stepping off in Amsterdam when I attended a full day meeting in the city. And with WiFi, an MP3, a mobile phone, a laptop and a pile of paperwork, it was one of the most productive days of the year. Long journeys by public transport have become my only chance to find the time to read anything these days. By planning our journeys, stopping off, and taking our time, we can get more enjoyment, lower the stress in our lives and adopt more sustainable travel habits. Maybe we should follow Joseph Thomson’s example and learn to travel softly once again. Mike Robinson Chief Executive

Thank you all for your continued support. Barrie Brown, Chairman RSGS, Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU tel: 01738 455050 email: enquiries@rsgs.org www.rsgs.org Charity registered in Scotland no SC015599 The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the RSGS. Masthead picture © Craig Aitchison: www.landandlight.co.uk

RSGS – Making Connections between People, Places & the Planet

The

Geographer

1 Spring 2010

NEWS People • Places • Planet iScotland iScotland is a new iPhone App developed by RSGS Vice-Chairman Bruce Gittings and one of his former students Rob Dunfey. iScotland displays information about nearby Scottish places of interest – not cafes and hotels, but places of historical, cultural, and general interest – and displays it in conjunction with Google Earth. It finds the information by using your current location to query the Gazetteer for Scotland, the constantly-growing web-based geographical encyclopaedia that features details of towns, villages, bens and glens from the Scottish Borders to the Northern Isles. The app works well because the database has information spread all across Scotland, not just in the main urban areas. With more than 17,500 entries and 10,000 photos in the Gazetteer, everything you wanted to know about places in Scotland is now available at your finger tips! To install iScotland on your iPhone, just go to App Store.

Electric vehicle market to be investigated

Since January, two MSc graduates in Geographical Information Science (GIS) from the University of Edinburgh have been engaged in vital work as part of the international relief effort in Haiti. Emese Csete has led a team of mapping experts from the British charity MapAction (mapaction. org), which arrived in Haiti the day after the earthquake to provide vital mapping support for the various agencies operating there. A second team includes AnneMarie Frankland.

With Nissan planning to start building the ‘Leaf’ zero-emission electric car at its Sunderland plant from early 2013, the UK consumer market for electric vehicles is to be investigated by the University of Aberdeen’s Centre for Transport Research, as one of six partners undertaking research funded by the UK Energy Technologies Institute’s £11 million low carbon vehicle plan.

Almost all the staff of the local land survey department lost their lives in the disaster, and as the earthquake has effectively created a new landscape, MapAction plays a vital role in providing instant surveying, mapping and logistic support, allowing the effective delivery of water, food and shelter.

Vehicles which run purely on battery, or hybrid vehicles which use a combination of plugin batteries and fuel, could play a major role in reducing carbon emissions in the future. Transport geographer Dr Jillian Anable, leading the Aberdeen study, said “Identifying the key factors which will influence consumers to purchase electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will be crucial to successfully rolling out the concept to the wider market. Our research will focus on building a profile of the types of people who would buy this kind of vehicle. The practicalities of using an electric vehicle will be explored looking at, for example, how long people are willing to wait for the vehicle to charge and whether they are most likely to charge them at home, at the supermarket or at work.”

Fair Maid’s House Project We continue to make good progress on our project to restore and extend the Fair Maid’s House in Perth, and to open it to the public as an inspirational centre for geographical issues in Scotland. Thanks in particular to the support of one of our members and several local trusts, we have now secured the final funding required for the building phase of the project, and have appointed contractors who will start work in May. There will inevitably be a huge amount of disruption while the works are underway, just next door to our office, but the final result will be worth it! Work now continues, to develop interpretation and to raise funding for running and staffing costs in order to open the centre for public and education use.

Rear view of the ‘link’ building and the Fair Maid’s House.

Transport

Mapping Haiti

NEWS People • Places • Planet UKCCC report launched Scotland’s climate change targets are ‘challenging but achievable’ according to an independent assessment published in March by the UK Committee on Climate Change. The report highlighted the scale of the opportunities associated with driving down emissions and building a low carbon economy. It reinforced the need for ‘early effort’ in

reducing emissions, whilst making it clear that Scotland will find it significantly more straightforward to achieve its 42% target by 2020 if the European Union increases its ambition. Climate Change Minister Stewart Stevenson said, “The need to take action to reduce our emissions is clear and everyone has a role to play in helping Scotland meet

its world leading climate change targets and ensuring that Scotland is at the forefront of further developing a low carbon economy. Achieving the necessary reductions in emissions will require hard decisions, not only by Governments but also by businesses, the public sector, voluntary and community groups, and individuals.”

Yann Arthus-Bertrand Yann Arthus-Bertrand, the French photographer, journalist, reporter and environmentalist responsible for the spectacular Earth from the Air photographic exhibitions and publications, has been awarded the RSGS’s inaugural Geddes Environment Medal, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to raising awareness of the natural environment and sustainability. He has agreed to accept his Medal at a public event in Scotland later this year, where he will also introduce a screening of his new documentary film, Home. Details of the event will be posted on the RSGS website when available. www.yannarthusbertrand.org Dromedary Caravan in the Dunes, near Nouakchott, Mauritania © Yann Arthus-Bertrand

CARG News

Scotland’s Wild Landscapes – A Chance to Discuss Scotland’s wild landscapes are of immeasurable value to Scottish society, but many of Scotland’s wilder areas represent contested landscapes for a wide variety of stakeholders with contrasting interests and objectives. Should areas of Scotland be rewilded and, if so, what does this mean? What does recent research on wildness and wild land mean, and what directions can policy take to ensure a sustainable future for Scotland’s wild landscapes? These are some of the key questions facing a conference and discussion forum to be organised by the Centre for Mountain Studies, Perth College UHI, on 13th-14th May 2010. For details of how to attend, see www. wildlands.info

Cycling Action Plan Consultation explores all possibilities According to the Scottish Government, with approximately 34% of all car journeys in Scotland being less than two miles in length, there are huge potential benefits in promoting walking and cycling as realistic alternatives. Such distances can easily be covered by bicycle within 10 to 15 minutes, or by brisk walking within 30 to 50 minutes, providing the recommended minimum amount of daily physical activity. Over short distances, especially in urban areas, cycling is often quicker and cheaper than using a car and more flexible than public transport. In an attempt to seek public opinion on measures to promote cycling, a consultation ran in 2009 and results were published in 2010. Questions included Q7) Would you use a public bike hire scheme in your town or city such as those running successfully in Paris and Munich? and Q10) Should all road users pay road tax? If so, how much should it be for cyclists and how could it be enforced? Neither suggestion was popular, with around 70% opposed to taxing bikes (only 2% were in favour).

Transport

Mike Robinson has recently been invited onto the SQA’s Curriculum Advisory Review Group (CARG) for Social Studies, one of seven CARGs, which met in Glasgow to consider the various future plans for changes to the curriculum for National 4 and National 5. Nearly 18,000 pupils study geography at standard grade, making it one of the two most important social studies subjects alongside history.

The

Geographer

2-3 Spring 2010

NEWS People • Places • Planet Perth 800 For 720 or so of the last 800 years, Perth has been recognised as a city. In February, Perth took its bid for re-establishment of city status to Holyrood as part of a growing campaign. With support building in the House of Lords, an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, and now cross party support in Holyrood, Perth is hopeful that Her Majesty the Queen will restore its city status soon. A competition has been announced in which one UK town will have the title of ‘city’ conferred upon it in 2012, the Queen’s 60th anniversary, but Perth is hoping to make a special case ahead of this date. In this, its 800th anniversary year, isn’t it time ‘The Fair City’ had the honour reinstated? Professor Michael Pacione gives his expert view on pg21.

Good news for household renewables The Scottish Government has recently announced Feed-In Tariffs (FITs), a scheme through which householders can get a preferential loan to install domestic renewables (like solar photovoltaics) and earn a guaranteed price for the electricity they generate. A typical household should be able to cover the cost of the loan and earn £100 to £250 a year on top, for the next 25 years. See www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/ scotland for more information. Next year there are plans to extend this style of scheme to renewable ‘heat’, through the Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI), so anyone installing solar thermal, ground source heat or similar will also earn a guaranteed sum for every unit of heat generated. Look out for the RHI over the next few months.

Big step forward for wave and tidal energy schemes The Crown Estate, which controls the UK seabed out to 12 nautical miles and grants seabed lease development rights for marine renewable energy projects, has announced that agreements have been signed to develop six wave and four tidal schemes in the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters. The schemes range from 50MW to 200MW, to deliver a total capacity capable of powering up to 700,000 homes and estimated capital investment in the region of £3 to £4 billion by 2020. “The 1.2GW of marine renewable generation capacity, 600MW each from wave and tidal, is generating four times the electricity of Dounreay power station in its heyday. This shows the world that marine energy can produce significant electrical power and offer a real alternative to conventional power production,” said Roger Bright, CEO for The Crown Estate. “The long-term prospects for this growing industry are exceptionally bright, with vast amounts of untapped energy in the seas all around the UK. It will create new businesses and jobs as well as attracting inward investment.”

Talks successes

Shackleton’s tipple A New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust team of conservators has excavated five crates from beneath Ernest Shackleton’s only Antarctic hut. Team leader Al Fastier noted “we thought there were two crates possibly containing whisky under the 1908 building. To our amazement we found five crates, three labelled as containing whisky and two labelled Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Director of RSGS in 1903-04, set up his base at Cape Royds, as containing Antarctica. © nzaht.org brandy.” Ice has cracked some of the crates and formed inside them, which will make the job of extracting the contents very delicate. The team is confident that the crates contain intact alcohol, given liquid can be heard when the crates are moved. The smell of whisky in the surrounding ice before excavation commenced also indicated full bottles of spirits were inside, albeit that one or more might have broken. Richard Paterson, master blender at Whyte and Mackay, whose company supplied the Mackinlay’s whisky for Shackleton, described this as “a gift from the heavens for whisky lovers. If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, the original blend may be able to be replicated. Given the original recipe no longer exists this may open a door into history.”

The Inspiring People talks season has finished with a real flourish, with some of our largest attendances and 1884 some excellent th speakers to close the season. Anniversary of RSGS Julie Summers’ presentation 2009 about Sandy Irvine was extremely well received in the various centres in which she spoke, Steven Venables’ talk in Peebles brought a record attendance of 195 people, and Iain Stewart’s talk in Perth attracted an audience of over 520. Along with strong attendances in many other centres, this has been a really impressive finish to a very high profile and well received talks programme.

RSGS Shackleton Room Appears on TV

We are now busily piecing together next year’s talks programme and have one or two extra talks planned for the summer months, so we hope to be able to maintain the momentum that we’ve generated this year, and hope you will all continue to help promote and support these talks.

While the Scottish Liberal Democrats spring conference 2010 was being held in Perth Concert Hall in March, we were pleased to be able to hire out the Shackleton Room, the main meeting room at RSGS headquarters, to the BBC for two of its main political interviews – a live webcast with Alistair Carmichael, the LibDem’s Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and a recorded interview with Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg, which featured on the BBC’s evening news and was later broadcast in full on The Politics Show.

125

The crates of Mackinlay’s whisky. © nzaht.org

NEWS People • Places • Planet Haiti: UN scaling up efforts to ensure shelter needs ahead of rainy season The main priority for post-quake Haiti was emergency shelter, the top United Nations relief official said in March, adding that the world body was scaling up efforts to ensure that everyone had a roof over their heads by the start of the rainy season in May. An estimated 1.2 million Haitians needed emergency shelter, having been rendered homeless by the 12th January quake which devastated the small Caribbean nation.

Mealy Mountains National Park An area more than twice the size of Aberdeenshire is to be designated as Canada’s newest National Park Reserve by the governments of Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador. 13,000km2 of the majestic Mealy Mountains region, with the Eagle River that runs through it, will be protected. The region is characterized by wild lakes and rivers, glacier-worn mountains, subalpine plateaus, bogs and fens, marine coasts, salt-swept islands, sand spits, coastal plains and boreal forests. It is home to moose, woodland caribou, black bear, osprey, bald eagle, harlequin duck and significant seabird colonies; 22 species of seals, dolphins and whales, and occasional blue whale and polar bears, can be found offshore.

Scottish Geographical Journal RSGS members can receive the Scottish Geographical Journal for free, but you may also choose to opt out of receiving it, if it is not of interest. To opt out, please just email enquiries@rsgs.org or let your local RSGS Centre know.

2020 Business Leaders Delivery Group RSGS’s Chief Executive, in his capacity as Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, has been asked to join the Scottish Government’s Business Leaders Delivery Group, a working team of 24 of Scotland’s leaders drawn from all sectors of commerce, public bodies and other agencies, including BT, Ineos, Scottish & Southern Energy, Scottish Power, Stagecoach, the Edrington Group, and Lloyds TSB. First Minister Alex Salmond said, “There should be no doubt that climate change is the greatest environmental threat we face, so we must act now, and act together, to tackle it. And there should be no doubt about the commitment of the Scottish Government, Parliament and our private, public and third sector partners to tackling climate change. This new group brings together a wide range of expertise to examine in detail the actions needed across Scotland to meet our ambitious climate change targets.”

Cycling the Americas In February, Mark Beaumont, the ‘Man who Cycled the World’ back in 2008 became the ‘Man who Cycled the Americas’ when he completed another epic adventure and reached the southernmost city in the world. His journey this time had been a gruelling, 268 day, 13,000 mile cycle from Anchorage in Alaska to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego, during which he also summitted (on foot!) the highest peaks in north and south America. His journeys, recorded largely by Mark himself, have just been broadcast on BBC1 in three documentary programmes, a fascinating mix of travelogue, adventure, culture, humour, observation and considerable pathos.

Mealy Mountains © Garth Lenz

“We will make sure that everybody we can reach has proper, waterproof, makeshift shelter over their heads by the time the rainy season starts in earnest,” Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes told a news conference at UN Headquarters. Mr Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that about 60% of those that needed shelter had been provided with tents or tarpaulins by mid-March, and the aim was to have reached everyone with emergency shelter by 1st April.

Act on CO2 campaign From October to February, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 939 complaints about the Department for Energy and Climate Change’s nursery rhyme themed TV and press adverts, from people who thought that various aspects of the different adverts were political, distressing or misleading. There were ten specific issues of complaint. The first of these, that the TV advert was political in nature, was referred to Ofcom.

The ASA upheld part of one of the other issues of complaint, concluding that the claims in two of the press adverts that “extreme weather events such as storms, floods and heatwaves will become more frequent and intense” and “extreme weather conditions such as flooding, heatwaves and storms will become more frequent and intense” should have been phrased more tentatively. The other eight issues of complaint were not upheld.

The

Geographer

4-5 Spring 2010

NEWS People • Places • Planet New Fellows We are delighted to announce that RSGS Fellowships have recently been presented to Dr Gordon Dickinson, Pen Hadow, Dr James Hansom, Cameron McNeish, Mike Shand, Dr Joanne Sharp, and William Wood, in recognition of their services to geography and to the Society.

Barrie Brown presents Mike Shand with his RSGS Fellowship

Carbon credits for whales?

Barrie Brown presents Dr Joanne Sharp with her RSGS Fellowship

Cameron McNeish (left) received his RSGS Fellowship from Iain Rankin, Chair of the Aberdeen Centre

Barrie Brown presents Dr Gordon Dickinson with his RSGS Fellowship

Dr James Hansom received his RSGS Fellowship from Barrie Brown

Livingstone Medallist Rory Stewart The 2009-10 RSGS Livingstone Medal is to be awarded to Rory Stewart OBE, in recognition of his distinguished contribution to geography, particularly through his work in Afghanistan and his travel writing. Rory Stewart is an academic (Ryan Family Professor of the Practice of Human Rights, and Director of the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, both at Harvard University’s John F Kennedy School of Government), a politician (the Conservative Party’s Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Penrith and The Border), a former deputy governor of a province of occupied Iraq, and an author of books and articles particularly about Iraq and Afghanistan, including The Prince

of the Marshes and The Places in Between. He is noted for his cultural development work in Afghanistan as the Executive Chairman of the Turquoise Mountain Foundation, a British charity he established in 2006 at the request of HRH The Prince of Wales and HE Hamid Karzai, The President of Afghanistan. Turquoise Mountain is named for lapis lazuli, the semi-precious stone found mainly in Afghanistan, and the Foundation’s aim is to revive Afghanistan’s traditional crafts, and to regenerate Murad Khane, a historic area of Kabul’s old city known for its rich cultural heritage, creating jobs, skills, and a renewed sense of national identity. Rory Stewart has been invited to accept his Medal at a public event in Scotland later this year, at which we hope he will also give a talk.

Dr Andrew Pershing and colleagues from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute have calculated the annual carbon-storing capacity of whales, estimating that a century of whaling could have released more than 100 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere, equivalent to burning 130,000 km2 of temperate forests. Dr Pershing stressed that this was a relatively tiny amount when compared to the billions of tonnes produced by human activity every year. However, whales store a great deal of carbon in their large bodies, and when they die naturally they take that carbon to the bottom of the ocean where, if it’s deep enough, it can stay for hundreds of years. Simply leaving large groups of whales to grow could ‘sequester’ carbon in amounts comparable to some of the reforestation schemes that earn and sell ‘carbon credits’. Dr Pershing suggested that a similar system of carbon credits could be applied to whales and other very large marine animals, including endangered bluefin tuna and white sharks, to help protect and rebuild their stocks.

Chile: UNICEF reaching out to 1 million quake victims The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is providing emergency education and water services for 1 million Chilean children and their families in the wake of the powerful earthquake that struck the South American nation on 27th February. A tsunami inundated part of the coastline, wiping out entire villages, following the magnitude 8.8 earthquake. The official death toll was just over 500, with six regions, home to 80% of the country’s population, declared as ‘catastrophe zones’. Some of the hardest hit areas were also the poorest parts of Chile. Roads were cut off, while Government buildings, schools, health facilities and at least half a million homes were destroyed or badly damaged. “As in any disaster, children are the ones suffering most, since they are especially vulnerable to cold, hunger and disease,” said Gary Stahl, UNICEF Representative in Chile. “Their

lives have been brutally disrupted and many of them will have difficulty coping with such an upheaval. We must help them now.” The agency is appealing for $3.5 million to meet the immediate and medium-term needs, including psychosocial support, of women and children.

Country in Focus: Haiti

Recovering from Disaster made immediate use of stocks of food, water, blankets and temporary shelters to assist those affected. As a member of the A former French colony which gained its independence in a series of global coalition of early 19th century wars, it is now the poorest nation in the Americas, Catholic aid agencies, with low literacy levels and a life expectancy of only around 60 years, Caritas Internationalis, 10 years less than its neighbour. SCIAF has also The country has suffered from both political instability, epitomised by been able to pool 29 years of brutal dictatorship under Francois ‘Papa Doc’ and Jeanits resources with Claude ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier, and natural disasters, with a history of similar agencies in devastating tropical storms, hurricanes and earthquakes, of which the countries around the most recent is probably the worst in more than two centuries. world. This enables Decades of environmental degradation, deforestation, poverty, us to scale-up our violence, drug trafficking and corruption have all taken their toll. The efforts to achieve far UN has described the human rights situation as ‘catastrophic’. more together than we could individually. The Caritas specialist teams he television are working closely with local cameras may have communities and the UN to coordinate and deliver emergency

The Republic of Haiti occupies just over a third of the largely mountainous Caribbean island of Hispaniola that also includes the Dominican Republic. With an area of 27,750 km2, it is slightly larger than Scotland’s Highland region, with a population of c10 million.

“SCIAF has worked with local organisations in Haiti for many years and was therefore well placed to help in the aftermath of the quake. Our local partners made immediate use of stocks of food, water, blankets and temporary shelters to assist those affected.”

moved on but Haiti continues to exist in a state of emergency following the devastating earthquake which struck the outskirts of Port-au-Prince in January.

The generous public response and wall-to-wall media coverage reflected both the scale of the disaster and the natural human response to reach out and help those in need. As the media focus switches to the plight of Chile following its recent earthquake, it is important to remember that recovery from such disasters, particularly in an impoverished country like Haiti, must be measured in months and years, not days or weeks.

SCIAF has worked with local organisations in Haiti for many years and was therefore well placed to help in the aftermath of the quake. Our local partners

Paul Chitnis, Chief Executive, Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF)

limitations of the small airport in Port-au-Prince, damage to the port and communications systems, and roads blocked by debris. The infrastructure needed to deliver the aid is now in place with the port able to receive 600 containers a day and the roads largely cleared. Commercial passenger flights have even restarted into Port-au-Prince. However, the needs of those left destitute remain enormous. Sanitation and the provision of shelter are particularly urgent now that the rainy season has begun. In addition to providing further aid to thousands of people in temporary camps, there is a growing need to support families who have taken in survivors. The majority of displaced people are being hosted in others’ homes, increasing the average number of inhabitants in houses from five to fifteen. The vulnerability of these host families, who themselves lack basic services such as water and sanitation, has therefore increased dramatically. The needs of Haiti’s peasant farmers are especially urgent as they struggle to meet local demand for food. However, as can often happen after these tragedies, this crisis presents an opportunity to begin rebuilding the ravaged rural economy and help stem the drift back to the squalor of urban slum life.

aid, sanitation and healthcare. Together we have helped provide cash-for-work schemes to dig latrines and drainage channels in the displacement camps, and cleared some of the millions of tonnes of rubble littering the city. The delivery of large scale aid was initially hampered by the

The initial phase of the response coincides with the need to bring down unsafe or partially damaged buildings. Heavy machinery and specialist teams have started work but more will be needed over the coming months before large-scale reconstruction can begin. The long term recovery and development of the country and its people

The

Geographer

is every bit as important as their immediate needs. Reestablishing communications and financial systems will be critical to attracting investment. The rebuilding of schools and hospitals must go hand in hand with trauma counselling, food security programmes and support for longer term development so that Haitians can provide for themselves in the future.

Earthquakes

Disasters like the earthquake in Haiti not only cause enormous poverty, but are also caused by endemic poverty. Poor quality buildings, inadequate public education and planning, and weak local infrastructure have all exacerbated the impact of the disaster. By way of comparison, the last two earthquakes in California in 1989 and 1994 were of similar a magnitude to that in Haiti. Yet the death toll

in both was not much more than 60 compared to the 200,000 who died in Haiti. We may be unable to do anything to prevent earthquakes but we can do something about the poverty which afflicts so many countries. Until the wider issues of poverty and structural injustice are addressed, we will continue to see the lives and livelihoods of the poorest and most vulnerable people put at grave risk.

Maharashtra (India) killed more than

phenomena and are shocked when

30,000, yet the following year the

three destructive events strike

larger M6.7 Northridge quake (Los

in quick succession: Haiti (12th

Angeles) killed only 72. Perhaps

January, magnitude 7.0), Chile (27th

surprisingly, there are 20 to 30

February, M8.8), and Turkey (8th

quakes of this size every year.

March, M6.0). Yet, since the start of

The differences between earthquakes

2010, there was also a M7.0 event

relate not only to magnitude, but

in the Ryukyu Islands to the south

also to the duration and frequency of

of Japan and a larger M7.2 quake in

the shaking, the depth, the type of

the Solomon Islands, together with

soil and crucially the sophistication

six other large quakes. Indeed, there

of construction and the building

are at least 500 distinct earthquakes

regulations which are in place. In

of magnitude 5 or greater every

the Indian example, traditional

year, each releasing approximately

construction involved mud and rubble

the same energy as the first atomic

walls with heavy roofs covered in a

bomb.

layer of clay to protect the interior

This raises a number of questions.

from the heat of the sun. These

also along fault zones, most notably

Earthquakes are essentially random

structures simply collapsed on their

the Highland Boundary Fault and the

events and hence very difficult to

occupants when shaken. In contrast,

Great Glen

predict. Geographically, they usually

developed countries tend to have

Fault, both

occur on the boundaries between the

strict building codes, with reinforced

associated

geological plates which comprise the

concrete specified even for modest

with

earth’s crust. Many of these plate

private residences.

ancient

boundaries lie deep within the ocean,

Interestingly, while the Northridge

plate

well away from habitation, although

quake occurred on a well-known fault

margins,

there is a danger of triggering a

system associated with the boundary

which still

tsunami. Even when earthquakes

between the North American and

move very

affect people, these are often in

Pacific Plates, the Indian event was

slightly

remote locations beyond the reach

not on a plate boundary.

today.

ignored. Haiti represented quite the opposite situation, arguably too accessible to US-based media who were reported to be interfering with the relief effort.

Fifteen years ago we created the World Wide Earthquake Locator at the University of Edinburgh as a demonstration of data integration using the Internet and web mapping. This tool has been developed over the

Scotland’s largest was the Argyll Earthquake of 1880 which measured around M5.2. Amongst other locations, the British Geological Survey maintains a seismometer in the Earthquake House at Comrie, where local earthquakes have been

Earthquakes are measured on the

years and we are currently looking at

moment-magnitude scale, which

improving it further. You can find

has replaced the similar Richter

it on the Web at www.geo.ed.ac.

known as ‘Shakey Toun’ because it is

magnitude and is also logarithmic,

uk/quakes/

at the centre of Scottish earthquake

such that a magnitude 7 earthquake is more than thirty times more powerful than a magnitude of 6. The 1993 M6.4 earthquake in

You can make a donation to SCIAF’s Haiti Earthquake Appeal at www.sciaf. org.uk or by calling 0141 354 5555.

Bruce M Gittings, University of Edinburgh

We regard earthquakes as infrequent

of media networks and thus largely

6-7 Spring 2010

So is Scotland safe? Well yes, and no! We do get regular small earthquakes in Scotland, many associated with the collapse of old mine workings, but

measured since 1840 and which is

activity. Are we in danger? Probably not.

The Plates (courtesy of US Geological Survey)

Significant earthquakes in the week 26th February to 4th March 2010 (World Wide Earthquake Locator)

Off The Beaten Track

In Search of Snow Leopards by Rail…! David Warnock, Tourism and Environment Consultancy, Callander

joined an expedition to the Altai Mountains in Southern Russia as part of an international team gathering data on the elusive snow leopard. The main aim of the trip, organised by Biosphere Expeditions, was to collect information about the Altai Mountains’ wildlife, particularly snow leopards and their prey, and to assess the local habitat condition.

The Trans Siberian Express. One of the great benefits of going by rail was to get a much better insight of the countries that I passed through.

Just getting to base camp was an adventure in itself. As I was helping snow leopard conservation in a pristine mountain environment, I wanted to avoid flying as much as possible to reduce my ‘carbon footprint’. I also liked the idea of beginning a big adventure from my local station, to avoid being herded like livestock at an airport, so I started from Dunblane. The first part of the epic 4,000 mile rail journey was on the Caledonian Sleeper to London Euston, to be awakened with breakfast and a copy of The Scotsman. Next was a short walk to St Pancras station to catch the Eurostar through France and into Belgium for a stop in Brussels and then on to Cologne. One of the big advantages of travelling by rail is that the main stations are in the city centres, unlike out-of-town airport terminals. As I had pre-planned time between connections, I was able to enjoy a couple of hours of café culture in Brussels and the fabulous cathedral and

square in Cologne. The next stage was north through Poland and Belarus on the Jan Kiepura sleeper train for a couple of days in Moscow, including a visit to the zoo to get a lot closer to a snow leopard and other Russian wildlife than was likely in the wild. It was also great fun to experience the wonderful system of simply putting out your arm for anyone who happened to be going your way to stop, agree a price and then take you to your destination. A night in a real room with bed and shower and no shunting going on outside was very welcome! The final rail section was on ‘Train 26’, the famous ‘Trans Siberian Express’, for the 2,000 mile journey across the flat, Russian steppe to Novosibirsk. This part of the trip was a great way to be further immersed into Russia. I shared my compartment with three Russian army officers with much exchanging of our respective national drinks! However, slow travel can also mean a lot more paperwork in terms of visas, travel tickets, accommodation arrangements and connections. Having the exact paperwork requirements is absolutely essential for travel in Russia. Novosibirsk was the place to meet other expedition members, some of whom only arrived by air a few hours before we were due to set off, so they had to adjust very quickly to the ways of Russia. Base camp in the Altai Mountains was reached after two days travelling south in expedition land rovers. The camp was at 8,580 feet, with the original plan to climb as

high as 11,880 feet and have overnight stays on the summits for more intensive survey work. However, many of the high, narrow ridges had very large, overhanging snow cornices on them, making this too dangerous.

Snow leopard at Moscow Zoo. When you get a view like this you really appreciate what a magnificent animal the snow leopard is, and how well adapted it is for its mountain home.

Although there were many sightings of the snow leopard’s prey such as ibex and argali (a kind of long-legged sheep), the only sign of an actual leopard was a possible track in the snow. As part of the research work, local herders were visited to find out if they had seen any snow leopards and if they had any issues with leopards attacking livestock. The data collected on the expedition on behalf of the Siberian Environment Centre will be incorporated with the findings of other groups to produce a comprehensive report. I would certainly recommend the train as a very gentle, civilised and much more environmentally friendly way to travel. To arrange this trip for yourself, see www.scotrail.co.uk (for Caledonian Sleeper), www. seat61.com (for European and other rail travel), www. realrussia.co.uk (for visas, tickets, hotel reservations in Russia and Belarus), www. biosphere-expeditions.org and www.snowleopardtrustuk.org

The

Geographer

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The data collected on the expedition on behalf of the Siberian Environment Centre will be incorporated with the findings of other groups to produce a comprehensive report.â&#x20AC;?

David at work high in the Altai Mountains on the Russian/ Mongolian border. A second group was surveying the ridge in the distance, keeping well away from the edge!

8-9 Spring 2010

On the Map

Catlin Arctic Survey 2010 Polar Explorer Pen Hadow in New Arctic Ocean Adventure

Â© JP Map Graphics Ltd, www.jpmapgraphics.co.uk

The

Geographer

10-11 Spring 2010

uring March and April, polar explorer Pen Hadow FRSGS is leading an international team of research scientists and polar explorers in the 2010 Catlin Arctic Survey (CAS), investigating the potential effects of carbon dioxide on the Arctic Ocean. Some scientists believe that, based on current projections, the pH of the world’s oceans could reach levels by 2050 not seen on Earth for 20 million years. If this occurs, there could be serious consequences for marine life in the Arctic and elsewhere. Rising acid levels in sea water reduce the availability of the carbonate mineral, used by many marine organisms to form their shells, so species such as lobsters, crabs and oysters are at particular risk. Since CO2 is more easily absorbed in cold waters, the changes highlighted by scientific research in the Arctic Ocean could act as an early-warning system for change around the globe. Seven research scientists are working at a purposebuilt ‘Ice Base’ located only 1,200km from the North Geographic Pole, studying the potential impact of increased ocean acidification in some of the coldest water on the planet. Meanwhile three experienced polar explorers are trekking up to 500km across the floating Arctic sea ice to collect scientific data in a region in which it would be unsafe for scientists to work. Both teams will face the extreme conditions of the Arctic at this time of year which, with a wind-chill factor, could reach minus 75°C. As well as taking samples of water from beneath the ice for the CO2 and acidification programme, the explorer team is taking ice thickness measurements. This continues the work begun by the 2009 CAS, in which Pen Hadow led a team trekking nearly 450km to take more than 6,000 measurements of the floating sea ice. That data was subsequently cited by University of Cambridge researchers as further evidence to support an emerging consensus that the Arctic Ocean will be ice-free during summers in around 20 years. $2.4 trillion is the minimum global cost - by 2050 of the melting Arctic’s declining ability to cool the climate, according to a Pew Environment Group report, the first to attempt to quantify the value on the region’s ‘climate services’. Pen Hadow, who is Director of the Catlin Arctic Survey, gave a talk for the RSGS in Glasgow last December; we hope he will be able to come back again to tell us about this latest adventure.

Expert Views: Transport

Slow travel

Janet Dickinson, Senior Lecturer - Leisure Marketing, Bournemouth University and Les Lumsdon, Professor of Tourism, University of Central Lancashire

“Some wish to engage with a travel experience that gives them the time to engage with people, passing landscapes, culture and heritage. Others are keen to reduce their carbon footprint...”

Tourism currently produces around 5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, therefore the sector is looking for innovative ways to reduce the carbon footprint of tourism. Given that transport produces up to 90% of tourism’s emissions, it is logically the focus of attention. While there are technological developments, these are not able to achieve the necessary cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, especially as growth is predicted in tourist travel. To this end, there have been calls for tourists to travel less often, over less distance and to stay longer. The problem lies in holidays being taken more frequently, of shorter duration to increasingly distant destinations. One possible solution is a shift to slow travel. Slow travel is part of the wider slow movement which is questioning the speed at which many things are done, whilst seeking quality over quantity. This is typified by the slow food concept. The scope of slow travel is still under debate and the scale of participation unclear. One of the earliest users of the term ‘slow travel’ was Pauline Kenny on the slowtravel.com website. This focused on spending holiday time in one place and getting to know the immediate locality. More recently, the focus of slow travel has switched to an emphasis on low carbon travel and the experiential qualities of taking time to travel. While conceptually still immature, the following are emerging as core ingredients of slow travel. •L ow carbon tourism is an outcome of slow travel. •C hoice of travel mode is linked to both the holiday

carbon footprint and the travel experience. Car and air travel have relatively high carbon footprints compared to train, coach, bus, cycle and walk. For example, air and car travel produce around four times the volume of CO2 per passenger km compared to rail travel. For this reason air and car travel are excluded in our analysis of slow travel. •T he travel and destination experience is important. Slow travel refers to the entire holiday or day visit; it is not just about travel or the destination. Travel has often been overlooked in the tourism experience, yet it is an essential part of tourism providing multiple destination encounters involving people, places and transport. Slow travellers play an integral role in creating their tourist experience. •E nvironmental concern is important to slow travellers. Slow travel modes have a low carbon footprint and slow travellers can further reduce their environmental burden by travelling shorter distances and staying longer. To date, slow travel has been largely consumer driven. Tourists embrace slow travel for many reasons. Some wish to engage with a travel experience that gives them the time to engage with people, passing landscapes, culture and heritage. Others are keen to reduce their carbon footprint and opt for modes of transport such as train, coach or cycle. There are signs that the tourism sector is now responding to consumer

demand with slow travel products emerging. Given spatial constraints, slow travel suits short- to mid-haul rather than long-haul travel. Most domestic tourism can be achieved by slow travel. Also, given most international tourism is intra-continental, there is good potential for slow travel throughout Europe, North America, South America and South East Asia. Slow travel is also significant within the developing world where, for many, much travel remains on foot. There are an enormous number of opportunities for slow travel throughout the world. The following are just a few examples: •S anta Fe Southern Railway in the USA; • t he extensive network of greenways across parts of Europe (known as Voies Vertes in Belgium and France, and Vias Verdes in Spain), where thousands of miles of old railway routes have been converted to traffic free routes catering for nonmotorized journeys; • t he Danube cycleway (Donauradweg) in Austria; • ‘ City Sightseeing’ buses providing hop-on-hop-off services between visitor attractions; •a round the world cruise on a cargo vessel. Janet Dickinson and Les Lumsdon have set out their ideas for slow travel in an Earthscan book, Slow Travel and Tourism, due to be published in July 2010.

The

Geographer

Drive, he said:

anticipating the completion of Scotland’s motorway network Neil S Ferguson, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Strathclyde

Over the course of the next few years it is likely that the motorway network in Scotland will be largely completed. The M74 Completion and the M80 Stepps to Haggs projects are under construction and Scottish Ministers are currently considering the findings of a Public Local Inquiry into the M8 Completion between Baillieston and Newhouse. Over 15 years after the publication of Trunk Roads and the Generation of Traffic (SACTRA, 1994) and with increasing prominence given to environmental and social effects, these schemes stand testament to the enduring appeal of road mobility to political decisionmakers, the business community and large swathes of the public. The urban and peri-urban nature of these schemes, their relative proximity and the anticipated improvements in travel times and journey reliability (at least in the short term) constitute a substantial change in accessibility to and from the east, north and south of Glasgow. The M74 Completion is undoubtedly the most controversial of the three schemes. Political and business supporters cite congestion reduction on the M8, Glasgow East End regeneration, access to Glasgow Airport, the

Commonwealth Games, and environmental and road safety benefits amongst the many advantages of the scheme. Opponents point to the familiar array of negative effects of new motorways, including severance (possibly more psychological than physical given the blighted post-industrial nature of the corridor), closeness to the highly-regarded Crown Street neighbourhood (less than 500 metres), and satisfaction of most, if not all, of the conditions established by SACTRA for where generated traffic is most likely to arise. On this final point, it is certainly difficult to reconcile the expected increase in traffic with the “almost complete decarbonisation of road transport by 2050” sought by the Climate Change Delivery Plan. Potentially of even greater significance is the confusing signal sent by government to the public from whom consent is ultimately required for action on carbon emissions: compare we want to make road transport more convenient; we want you to ‘choose another way’. Or perhaps, in this instance, long-term concerns about the effects of global warming are subordinate to the aim of establishing the Glasgow

12-13 Spring 2010

city-region as an attractive place for business to locate – one which can deliver an appropriate pool of workers within easy commuting distance, support business logistics and, in the words of J Garreau in Edge City: Life on the New Frontier (1991), enable executives from HQ to “imagine travelling there for a meeting without having to stay overnight”. The effect of these motorway schemes on travel behaviour, particularly in association with longer term choices relating to car ownership, household location and work location, will be interesting to observe. We can expect significant generators of travel to develop, particularly in the vicinity of motorway junctions, which will serve to decentralise activity further and reinforce car dependency. Nonetheless it is surprising that, despite the great effort placed in forecasting the effects of new transport infrastructure using transport and land use models at the planning stage, there is a lack of well-designed, longitudinal studies from which we can seek to understand the longer-term consequences of planning decisions. A good deal of our current understanding of behaviour is derived from crosssectional data. For example, we know from a recent household survey conducted in Glasgow that the further a person lives from the city centre the more they will travel by car on a working day (less so on a non-working day). What we don’t fully understand is the extent to which they chose their current residential location, workplace, etc on the basis of their attitudes towards transport (eg “I find driving enjoyable”) and, more importantly, how these attitudes will shape future behaviour given the improved connectivity and anticipated land use developments which the motorway projects will bring about. Furthermore, as alluded to above, we don’t yet know what effect these projects will have on the entrenchment of attitudes towards road mobility more generally and what this might mean for efforts to promote the future sustainability of the region.

“We can expect significant generators of travel to develop, particularly in the vicinity of motorway junctions, which will serve to decentralise activity further and reinforce car dependency.”

Opinions on: Transport

Rail revolution Andrew Adonis, Secretary of State for Transport

“...it’s not a case of whether we join other countries in embracing high-speed rail but when and how. “

global revolution has been taking place in country after country as high-speed rail has been adopted as the backbone transport infrastructure of choice. Britain has dipped its toe in with our own state-of-theart High Speed One line but the international evidence is compelling in favour of taking the plunge with more lines if we are not to be left behind in the second division while other countries - including France, Japan, Germany, Italy, Spain and South Korea enjoy the social and economic benefits of a Premier League train network. I regard the growth and spread of high-speed rail networks as a process of transport evolution that is changing the face of modern transport for good. And, just like its Darwinian counterpart in the natural world, it’s real, irresistible and irreversible. High-speed rail is helping redraw the transport map of Europe, bringing countries closer together in more ways than one. And in the UK I am excited by the potential of faster journeys to totally transform this country and bring our major conurbations together. That’s why I commissioned the High Speed Two company to produce a dedicated route plan for the first stage of a high-speed line between London and the West Midlands, which I received at the end of last

year and am now studying. I also asked them to produce plans for a broad route north to Scotland which if it were to reach fruition could result in a new ‘Union Railway’ bringing the two nations even closer together to the benefit of all.

been such a popular success that Lufthansa has scrapped flights between Cologne and Frankfurt – not surprising as the high-speed line has cut the 110 mile journey by train from 2 hours and 15 minutes to just under an hour.

High Speed One is only 68 miles long while in Europe alone 3,600 miles of highspeed line are in operation, a further 2,000 are under construction and 5,300 are planned. By 2025, Turkey will have built some 1,500 miles of high-speed track, Morocco will have built 420 miles, Saudi Arabia 340 miles and Brazil, India and Iran around 300 miles each. The USA is joining the party with President Obama declaring that high-speed rail “is a smart transportation system equal to the needs of the 21st century”.

Large infrastructure projects take a long time to plan and build but I made a commitment that we would respond to the High Speed Two report with a statement of our policy by the end of March. It is essential that we create a political consensus on the way forward so that, decades-hence, our children do not ask of politicians, policy-makers and captains of industry: “Daddy, what did you do in the great global high-speed revolution?” and receive just an embarrassed silence in reply.

I am convinced that highspeed rail could transform capacity and connectivity in Britain in a sustainable way. There is a significant benefit beyond providing the arteries that help drive the growth and prosperity which is a key part of this country’s human geography – the potential impact on carbon emissions.

From generating economic growth to improving social cohesion and ensuring a cleaner and greener Britain, the benefits that a high-speed rail network could bring to our country are substantial. In my view, it’s not a case of whether we join other countries in embracing high-speed rail but when and how.

High-speed rail has the potential to lower emissions by encouraging a shift from road and air transport to rail. Before high-speed rail, just under a quarter of journeys between Paris and Brussels were by train. The high-speed link introduced between these cities has more than doubled the proportion of rail journeys to 50%. In Germany, high-speed rail has

House

SP KES EdinburghGeographer Cycle Map The

Sustrans NCN Route 76 Cramond Brig-Queensferry New cycle path opening 2008

14-15

Spring 2010

West

FARM

t Pi Wes lton

Gr.

sc e

Muirhouse Loan

Way

Muirhouse Med.

D RO A

err .

s . Craig cro ok Ke Gd ith ns. Ro w

Belmont Cres. Belm ont

Stenhouse Gdns.

Lo ng

nt mo Bel

ont

Gdns.

Saughton . Rd n

Whitson Terr.

ent

cen

Cresc

se Mill Ln.

ttle Ca

Kilncro ftside

re en Rig g

Road

Kin

Gdns.

all Ba nk Redh

ow gskn

Kin

ill

A N

bryd en

Dum

all

Street

Grov

ston e

ston

Long

gsk no

gs kn Pla owe ce

Kin

Rd.

Gdns.

Whitson Pl. East

rr.

Ste

Stenh Mill Crouse es.

Stenhou

Ave.

ld G er R dn o s. ad

sto ne

Parkhead Grove

sl Parand k

Ka te

T IN s ar ed eC Th

ee t Str

D A

Del

B. M .

B. Ter M. r.

. Le a

Belm de len

St. John's Cres.

Saughton Gr.

St. John's Ave.

St. John's Gdns.

Stenhouse

ill

hth

Sig

D r y den rive

Par

Ha ile

ad Ro

ROAD

Corstorphine Hill Rd.

Cr es .

Roull Grove

Broomfie

Calder Court

es .

orb Th r. G

d od f iel

an t en sc re

Bonaly Terr

Bonaly Aven

Laverockdale Park

ens

Bonaly Gard

Bonaly Grov

Bonaly Rise

Bonaly Brae

Tunnel

rn Bu

Country Park

le da ck ro s. ve La Cre ckdale Bonaly C Lavero e Lan

�To Bonaly

Gordon Loan

Belgrave Gdns.

CLERMIST

Glebe Road

Co Hsrstorp . A hin ve e .

Cor

riv e

hvi ew T

Fo rt

Seaf ort

Ave.

Hillpar Woodk

Drylaw Drylaw Gdns. Gn.

lum Av b a e.

Jeffrey

B r ae

we s

ve rk no

Sil

Sil ve M rkn idw o ay wes

March Marchf. Terr. f. Gr.

House o' Hill Gn.

Gar din Te er rr.

Vie

Clermist

Cor bieh Park ill

Mar Par chfie k ld

Co rb Te iehil rr. l

Dri ve

Cle rm Pa isto rk n

Clerwood View Clerwood Pl. Clerwood Gr.

Millbrae

ven

m Pl.

Bonaly

dfo

To r p h i n H i l l

urn

gart

orb

Bonaly tts. ielaw BonalyFm.Co Fern s. Wester Gdn

Bonaly Road

hin Bk .

ad Ro

Torp

Bonaly Drive

Road

Torp

Bonaly Steading

ive

Aven

ace

rive

ro D

Mun

ethy

Carn

nue

y Ave

neth

Car

Ave nt

Gra

all

odh

gho

nsh

Dre

Bar

hin

dfiel

Woo Pk.

ela

W Gr.oodh al

O Aveld Fa . rm

Bonaly Annexe est W

A v en

pbell Cam rk Pa

Brigh Pk. ouse Gdns .

Pla ce

Gr ov

Clermiston

Hillpar k Wy

Cottage Park

Cle rm Gre iston en

Gard ens

Cle rm is

Clermiston

riv Es e Pla send Es ce ean se Te nde rr. an

Du ra rD e

Drive

Bank

ine

orph

Corst

B. M

Old Far

Park

oad ly R

use aw BRID Ho Spyl GE aw ROAD Spyl Colinton Village Spylaw

Rd.

Bro omyknow

aw tlel Cas

Cres

Otterburn Pk.

Har

Horsbur Bank

Mid sho dle t

er Gr.

Mid par dle k

Chess

all

Ba be rto n

e us Ho

Redh

Cairnpark (Sp.)

ark tP co

Road

ton

Ro Lorove G

mill Bogs . Rd

Grove

l Del

Mill

Aven

Addis

enhi

Bona

ve.

Aitk

Mill Wynd

75 West

ielaw Fern

E. Curr. Bryce Pl. Pl.

St. John's Terr.

Kin Cra g's mo nd

Bri Pk ghous .C res. e

Barnton Park Drive

Brae

tlin

Bugh

D W rum alk B r

Cmt.

G.l

W. B r o

Pl.

Bugh Gn. tlin

N. B. Brae

No Bughtlirth nfield

RO AD

MA YB UR Y

Bugh Gdns tlin . Bugh Ln. tlin

y D ri

A90

Almon d

Alm on

r ig ho

A DFair-aFar Co tts. Cr am on d Te am rr ac on e d Pa rk Cr

Inve ra Gdnlmon s. d

WHITEHOUSE

Dunvega Court n

Upper Cramond Court

a ing P

Cammo Bk.

al m ond Rd.

a th

S tr

Barn to Pa n Woo rk d

id e

e rs

R iv

Gogarloch

N EE

rove

rd G

Way

Hailes Appr.

r Rd. rmui Alle

Drive

Bai

e La

Ter

rvic

le R oa d

e Se

Gyl

Western Gdns.

bury

May

IEL

Whitson

V all

Sou

nue

R LG BA

ve.

ell

Ave

evo

Gyl

l nhal

hto

ens

iew

Aven

PIE

dhall

r's

Craigleith Rise

Saug

d oa tR ar Corn Exchan

Leisure Complex

Slateford Aqueduct

uth

Rd.

mill

Colinton Tunnel

Road

elaw Cap

T re

s. dn eG

nue

Ave

tlan

Pen

GILLES

To Currie by Torduff & Clubbiedean Reservoirs

e Ln.

C resc

res.

Park

New

. e Pl

y CherrVw. Tree

rry r. Cheree G T e Ch

Willo w T r e S

ur Horsb Gr.

a g Ro

lm ah ent Turne o y C r e s c Park r

y Tre

Cherr

Rd. d. sR

mill

ur Horsb. Gdns

elri

Gr.

Gardens

Bank

tlan

New

Rav

NCN Route

Park

Spylaw

Pen

D Add.

Hailes

Spylaw

Bank

Blinkbonny Add.

Campbell Park

Torphin

l Ro dhal Woo

Hailes Cres.

it h

ov s Gr

Haile

Woodhall Mains Riding School Woodhall

Fruit Ma

Merchiston Castle

Terr.

Hailes

Woo

ip Jun

s. Cre

at W

ipe

ink

S AS Pk. - P ED pbell Cam B Y IT Y IB C IT OH H R G G PR BU ED IN YCLIN C

on ert k Bab Par

Gdns.

D ov e co t Pa r k

Kin gs Park know e

K Gr ing . skn

ad Ro

a ll

Arn

Kingsknowe Terrace

ve .

Avenue

A 72 0

Jun

r ipe Jun dns. G

r ipe Jun err. T

er rim Lo iew V

Dr. all q. dh B. S ue en Av

ert

oo W

Bab

r pe Junirove G

Vie

nd ire

s. on Mn Babert Wynd

r Pk. Junipe d Roa

oo W

li Ing

knowe C ings

nowe

Foulis Crescent

r. er

ll T

t on

Kinleith

R field

Baberton Crescent

a dh

a Ro

Kingskno

enst

Pk.

e on

Hailes Bank

Clov

ains B. M en Gre

Redhall Park

ile s

tone vens

ess

Spylaw

n oLaa

0 A7 Ha

k Hailes Par

Clo

ns.

ess

Dri

ens Gard

Loan

scen

Longstone

e nston dns. ne G

Clovenstone

Alcorn Rigg Alcorn Sq.

. iew .V

hal

d Re

sce

B.M

d rG

EEN

Gard

Kingsknowe Drive

Course

Clo

ive

ins. Ro

Dri

Kingsknowe

Superstore

haig

Del

r LPl ichpar se . es ld d. k Ch hfie rk R ic a La hp ic La

Ave

all

Peatvil

Kingsknowe Golf

Clove

Cre

ll P

a dh

Redhall Grove

Kingsk

s Wyn

kers Wal rt Cou ad Ro k tone P ar ers Walk vens a i l e s Clo Rigg

B. Ma

Cre

e nd Glek. P

Kingsknow Court e

Access by s Supers Water of Le and cen

Cre

hal

Red

ston Gr. e

all

Road

Saughton Cemetery

LIS

Redh

urn M.bGr

Dumbryden

Greenway Civic & Leisure Centre

B.M.

tone Longs . Ave

Long

le Peatvil

Dri

nd sla ile ns.

ins

IVE

ING

Long

P a r k

Juniper Green

e eav

Pl.

ove

Cres.

race Ter head

en ryd ns mb arde G

ryd

Ford

Allotments

H a i l e s

Saughton Park

one

Longst

ROAD

ive

Bai

nd Glek. P

Sten. Cotts.

LONGSTONE

ce erra

Bair

Saughton Gardens

Long

ve.

rd Bai ns. ve Dri Gd rd Bai

n itso Pl.W Wh res. C .

Stenhouse

ng s

Du n Bar E S vest Park beg nP ark T E er’s R Driv WGreenac ay e re

ll S.ha ve Gro

rr.

son Gr

ins Ma . S. Gr

H.M. Prison Saughton

Har

Western Pl.

Whit

Road

E GORGI

head

tson

an Lo

nhal

rd Bai ve. A

on ev

ghto

ins Ma S. rive D ce Pla s ain

n Gd

r st e

. Av B.M

ood

Gle

Str

Stenhouse

n ghtooan Sauins L Ma

ll S.ha s. Gdn

ghto

hto

len

ins

Stenhouse

Dri

s ain

ue en

nM to gh

u Sa

s en

Gar

ain

Park

Par k h e a d

ea Pa r kh

B. GroMain ve s

Woo d

iansw

rk Pa

ton gh

ins Ma S. Bank

Av ins

head Park . St

ll S.ha e Plac

Roa

nh ou Athletic se Ground Av en ue nh ou se Pl. Stenhouse E. Cross ST EN Ste HO nh ou US se E Pl. W G . ar use de nho ns Ste

nue

Ave

khe

ll S.ha s cu Cir

Ste

se ou

Stre

Park

Par

d eslan

Guard

n ee lgr Ba

e hous . Sten ve. W A

nue

Ave

Edin bu Park rgh

RA d. nR

ella

Kin

hto ug Sa oan L t.

chm Bee Pk.

head Park Pl.

ins Ma

Ma ins W a

b Ba

se on Hou

ood

w Kno

ain

ghto Sau rr. Te

ston

St. Joseph's

vens

B. M Gdn ains s.

elst

Hs.Gr. se u Ho

chw

Bee

Kno

use B.ho w Ro

e ous

S.hall Cres.

S te

Stenh

Gro

Wester

Riv ers

Balgreen

rick

to augh

rth

RSTO

XC O X

Car

DRIV E

Earl Haig Homes

alk

ly Ro

Whi

ella

Kin

Ellers

dens

ns Mai

t scen

B.h

ve Gro

Cre

H il

Rav

ton els Rav

Gar

len

tso

A ith igle R G

lmo

ts Whi

u nho Ste

Oaklands (Sp.) brae Fair

use

e hous

mho

om Bro

in s

Blinkbonn Ct. C East Ct. R Hs.avelsto Ln. n Ravelst on

est

Broo

n M a

Cr Maidenc Ct. Blinkbon Crescent

ROAD

Whi

i Groath W ns.

Gd e. Qu Gd een's ns. Q Rd ueen . 's

Ave

ns.

Dr.

way

rt Cou

Med

ay ns W

Forth View Ave.

Ravelston Heights

n vo s. de dn len G n vo e de rov len G G

O NH

hton

use B.ho

Mai

Q ig A uee ra Se ve. n's enc af. id Cr. Terr Ma Ter Crook . r.

LST

Ct.

igle Cra v Ra R

rick Car owe Kn an Lo

Wester Hailes

n Grove

B.M. Place

Cra

Hail

Mary Erskine

s. t Cre hmon ton gh Sau

o ev

len

ns St

Mai

V ead w. kh Par

Hailesland

� WC

Subway

err.

Road

h. Cat s. St. Gdn

en s. lgre dn Ba G

Kno

rick Car e Plac

rick Car

owe Ro

ht Saug

er Walk

eld

vie

y r Dr Easte

law

rth

lgr

ll e Hi

ck Kn

urn M.b n. G

e W W est b

lefi

. E.D. Ln

Road

uth

ill

Row

T E

Dry

ee n's E RHill R Y View H Ave. s. R OTerr. O' Hill Ro ad Mui T rdal A D

ont Belm ont Belm

o chw

Pinkh

Know

ick Carr

Carri

sland Haileove Gr sland Haile Hailes l a n d R oa d

Westside Plaza Shopping Centre & Cinema Complex

Ferry Rd.

Sth.

rn ve bu ay rr M u rn k Par bu rray Mu burn rray u M

ou fieldr-

N OR

an Strach

rr. Te

Kaime

thil

l Sighthil. Gro

Larb

k oo cr aig Cr

es La

Dyk

Ferry Rd. Pl.

ROA

Easter

er West w Dryla Row

cent

Ke C Te ith Keith rr. Ravelston Park

Carrick Knowe

we Kno rick Grove Car

S T

er West w Dryla . Pk

Road Hill

ue Aven

Carfrae

ch Marait G

pa Hill

H i l l

rick

Car

h Sig

idd

L THIL

e o'

Hill

March Gr.

n Ave

rkw

Pa we

Kno

e Ln

A GRO

se o'

Hous

Hou

e Hous ll o' Hi. Pl

ark

p Hill

e now

K rick . Car Terr

Dri

ur rayb Mur e Plac

Gardens

AD RO

w Dryla . Hs Gdns. w Dryla . Hs ck Paddo

ehi Corbi Gr.

REET TY ST

ve Dri

Kno

ck arri

Park

Ban

ous

ens Gard

cent

Drive

e nu ve rn u stb n ur We stb

. or M l. C

Pilton

o n R ise

th. .N

ait yG

ouse Muirh

Ferr

View

rrace David Te Gdns.

Silver. Rd. S.

continued on SPOKES WEST LOTHIAN MAP

West

W. Pilton Crossway

Ave

LL WE

PEN

ouse MuirhWest Pl.

Park

ouse Muirh

ouse

Gr wes rkno

Bk.

ce Pla

LI QUA

B.h

Park

ace

hill

Terr

Sight

Muirh

Silve

es ow erkn Silv

Ga Grordine ve r di ne r

ylaw r Dr s

pacr

ill

hill Sight

Sighth

Murrayburn

hill

Sight

Gdns.

G ro v e

owes r kn

Lam

use

Wal use mho Broo

AD RO

. hill St

View

RD.

ar Qu

ill r.M s. G dn G

esen

edwa ell M

s we

Road

dns.

ho om

Ave

Road

Cres

hill Sight Rise

ILES

a. Qu Ct

Gr.Mill Rd.

Salv

ouse

rh Mui

Down st Ea Par

Traquair

use

Squa

e hous

thil

Sight

Mur Gat rayb urn e

Qua. End nk ryba side rven Mo

a QuCl.

oad

ie R

mso

y wa alk hW Ro

lston

Rave

DRIVE

B.ho

om Bro

Ln.

u ir

it f Le ro ate

Avenue

Carrick Knowe

Union

ve Path Gro use B.ho e Yds. Plac Newirdship use La Pl. ship omho New Laird Bro

ill

Sight

Murrayburn

ir Mu od

urr

Pl.

A Dolphin

R K

Murray fiel d

Forestry Commission H.Q.

re G

ir Mu ood W Gr.

Cre

Pentland

A R

Strachan Gdns.

Square

I N E R P H T ieOTerr. R SDown C O ove ie Gr

Bro

se B.hou .E. Gdns se B.houns. Gd se B.hou . W. Gdns

BRO

hill Pl.

Sighth

Drive

W Wo Pl. oo d Cr es W ce Muir ood nt Dr ive rive nD mso Tho

Muir

Bry

Craigcrook

. Rd

en Gard

Dri

Drylaw Grove

lum

Ferryhill

Cres

Beec

Saug H.M. Government Offices ce erra Broomhouse T rk e Pa e us e e us us o mho housts. t th. B.hourt B.ho ay scen Broo B. Cot St. N W C Cre use use e mho B.ho ynd hous . W BroomBroomhouse Broo Nth ace e Pl hous e m us o Broo B.h

STE

Pl.

Calder

d oa

the

Cre

ad Ro

Eastere Curri Ct.

L A

Carfrae Gr.

Murrayfield (BUPA)

's Ac

Tyler

omside

ill Sighth Neuk hill Sight

Bloomiehall Park

Road

Gardens

law

e Hous ll o' Hi Row o' Hill se Hou s. Gdn law Dry

Scottish Zoological Park (Edinburgh Zoo)

Way

Ferry

Easte

Aven

ylaw

er Dr

West

Dry

Clermiston Tower 529

Terr

A71

Sighthill

Baberton House

Cre

ter

Craigcrook Castle

Av Acre

Tyler

r rive este Forr Loan Park D Park ester SE OU Forr MH

Subway

Calder Park

Medwin Hs.

Terr.

Wes

k B r

Road

h Sout reet nk e St hill Ba Glenalmond Sight hous om Ct. Hermiston Ct. Weir D Bro ill Ct. AL Sighth Napier C Wynd Broomview University hill Hs. Sight (Sighthill Campus) n head Gree Park

Place

Hs.

rrie

Cu Easter

Drylaw House

March

och

West

Corstorphine

scen

so om

rsle

ntla

Curriehill

Grov

rto

w Vie rth ad Fo Ro

E. Cur ri

Vie

and

ntl

Riccarton Cres.

t ew C re scen

Dolphin Gdns. East

oad

rth

est W

Ric

ns.

ale Par

rk Pa

Curriev

hin

olp

Pal

cart

Ric

Pal

Currie High

ale iev rr ve Cu Dri le rieva Cur rove G

h il

F. V .

cart

Ric

Bryce

par Hill

East Coast Main Line (ECML) is perfectly feasible, and a wide range of capacity enhancements – such RR as Trent Valley quadrupling on the West Coast Main Line, and a Hitchin flyover on the ECML – are planned or already happening. Much more can be done 75in this sensibly incremental manner, rather than pinning hopes on a distant ‘big bang’ which has little or no relevance to building a greener and 75 more resilient UK economy.

r r ie

Cr.

Corslet Pl.

nue

Ave

Hillpark

Carfrae

lpa

Silv erkn Neu ow k es

Road

. hill Ct Sight

head

head Bank Loan

ns arde GCobbinshaw

Vie

C. N. Pl.

D rr ie

escent

View Cr

e iv

cart

Ric

ROA

Pla ylaw er Dr

Co r Gd bieh ns ill . . biehill Ave

Pilton

West

R O Y P R R Dryla F E Easter

Bank

ter

e Avenu ace Bro nt om Forr sce ace field este r Park Cre Aven ue Forre ster Pa Forres Grov rk Park Gr ter e een

Stevenson College

VEN DA

Bank

Estate

Forth

Crescent

Hillpark Loan

ch Mar s Pine

rick

Acre

Bro

mha

ne La ey nk

Curriehill

Currievale

park

Hill

Cor se Hou ill se Hou ill Brae o' H r. G o' H Hous e o' Hi ll Cr es.

USE

Crescent

Car

A e R O Laid dow Mea

Broomburn Gro.

lea o mes. Cr

Broo

mba

sway

Marchfie ld Park

LHO

Hillpark Ct.

Traquair Park West

ull

Br o

Broo

ster Forre Gdns. Park

Sout

head Bankreet St

ill

Davidson's Mains

Hil

Paddockholm

Tyler's

ull Ro Pl.

ESS

dway

ace

Terr

Industrial

Cros

Gr. Nether son Currie Thom

Rd. rslet

Corbiehill

Dri

ve.

C AC

way

Med

KHEA BAN

Broa

Riccarton Mains Road

l mai nS ero oad Cam R

rrie Cu

e Cr

Road

park

Vivian Co rb ieh ill

Gdn

A field

YLE

head

Bank

ay ad W

Calder

esc

th Ne

F. G. Walk

MAIN STREET

park Hill rive D

n e h i r p t o r s C o

Belgrave

Meadowhouse

ar mp

Bro

Bank

ait

Malcolmstone

e r k n o we s

hard

Ave

tle

nue

le Sth. Gy. Cres

Dri

R o ad

uth

G nd

Si l v

pa Hill

Orc

e nu

Cas

rive

Forrester

es Ya rd

a Ro

o y R

rkno

RD Silve Southw . EA ST

Silverk now Dell es

West Pil Park

Craigroyston

Eas

Old Kirk Road

Gordon

Park

oad

l. l P

M . Ban k

aho

ouse Muirh t Pl. Eas

W. Pilton View

Craigroyston

Gre en

F. G. Gdns.

SILV es ERK know NO Silver wes WES

Drive

The Green

ouse

Corstorphine Hill Gdns.

phine stor

s Davie Row

veco

Mains

knowes

Corstorphine Hill Ave.

ion

e Glebrr. Te

A ve e ll yw L ad l wel m Ladydns. r o o G B

sway

Cros

. Ri

Da ng

Muirh

Cammuir Road

RO AD

Hall . Terr

hal

Bro

Baberton

Light - controlled rail crossing for pedestrians and cyclists

If increased rail speed and capacity really is needed in a world of climate change and ‘peak oil’ then there is much that can be done to improve the existing network. Under 3 hours 45 minutes from Edinburgh to London via the

sce

Corstorphine Hill Cres.

ST.

GH E HI HIN TORP CORS St. Margaret's Park

Park

rton Babe

Craigroyston Grove

West

W.Pi lt

Hillwood

Stat

se Ro

Road

Corstorphine

Kirk Loan

Man

F.hall

Ave.

ll ha

Manse St.

Glebe Gdns.

Glebe Gro.

B. M

Whitelaw

ue Aven

ouse

Muirh

rrace

Ravelston

Terr.

F.hall Pl.

erhall

Feath

ace uir AD err Dunsm ll T RO ha CE om Bro ve PLA Court ri l D OW rive hal ace D ray om err AD all Murotts. Bro ME omh om T C Bro r Bro e est W om Bro s. W. Gdn om Pl. Broom W. Bro er est W rove G

. Ln. le Cres Gy

Fla ss ch

M ai

t Gai

Sports Ground

on arnt E. B s. Gdn

Road

JO HN 'S

Ormiston Terr.

ouse

Muirh

ouse

Muirh

Park

ouse Muirh

Yet, cycling ticks all the right boxes and needs to be RR X supported as an integral part of any transport mix.

ouse

Muirh

Drive

W. Pilto Lea n

Clerwood House

Clerm. Terr. Belgrave

Terrace

k Terr.

ian's St. Nin . Dr

Victor Par

Road

phine Corstor . Bk. Ave

. . Sth

Dunsyre Hs.

t er

Ave.

Drive

Craigs Lane

Broo

e Av

r da

Gai

ait

rth

u Fo

University Sports Centre

es ow ES erkn OW Silvace KN S Pl ilve rkno wes VER SIL

Park

St. Ninian's Rd.

ST .

St. Augustine's

Calder Cres.

Access roads local traffic only

es ow kn

Clerwo

Pearce

Hillview

Forre ster

Nor

der Cal

Riccarton Mains

Hillpark Gdns. Aven

Mast

Caroline Pl.

Barony

le Wynd

est

Heriot Watt University (Riccarton Campus)

NORTH

Avenue

ca rt

Fir

ROAD

Crescen

ae Pk

SOUTH

ount

ome. Av

M kn iddle ow e W

highly mobile. On the flimsiest of evidence, the environmental movement is being encouraged to get behind an idea which is likely to X increase rather than reduce carbon. est

Cocklaw

sea rc h

Hill

on ea s

hiel Ards

m Br

Terrace

om Bro Park all h a ll h om n Bro Loa dns. ll G ha om Bro

Westerhailes Calder Grove Education Centre

ir Th

The idea of a new high-speed rail (HSR) route to Scotland is 4 a fantasy – and a dangerously diverting one at that. Instead of focusing on how we can spread the speed and capacity benefits of rail enhancements right across the network, we are being seduced by a ‘green bullet’ scenario for which public funds are never likely to be available – and which would 3 primarily benefit the minority of the population who are already Wa r

Gardens

Road

WC all Nth . F.h o. rr. Gr rhall Te Feathe

re s. al l C

Mains

R ic

arch

Rese

North Campus Development

Muirhouse Ct. end Pk. Green

ouse Muirh Cl.

ywell

Penn

Craigm

le Gy S. an Lo

St h.

Road

ad Ro

rhou

Blackhall

A Green Bullet or a Dangerous Diversion? David Spaven, Director Deltix CALD

v Sil

N TO MIS ER

Ho s

nu Gle Ln.

Dru

ac e

Heriot Watt Research Park

s we

Brae Drum ove Gr

BRA

LADYWELL ROAD

Nor

e Av

T Srdens Ga Park Barnton

e Driv Park

eet ve� Str

. rm Cleoan L

r ov

way

Sighthill

Hermiston Park and Ride

Business Park

RO A D

S.k

rth No n Law r. Ter

Parkgro

Parkg

. PG. Gn

ae Pl

rth

escent

�+

A71

Med

Cle

Sigh

Calder Junction

ROAD

CALDER

Eastw

wes

rkno Silve

Hill

Caroline

ive

Bank

Hermiston Quay

Hermiston Farm

Hermiston House

West Hermiston Row ter Wes

m Br

Gardens

tins

Hill

HIL

Barnton Quarry

Hillview Crescent

Fe athe rh all Cr es

Gyle Cr

ltins

Mui

Craigroyston Place

rove

A bike, unlike a car, is not considered by many to be a necessity R R - yet for me it is a key part of my own mobility. X There are no large corporations promoting cycling in the same way that the car industry promotes driving, so when most young people aspire to ‘getting mobile’ they are thinking of their first car.

head

Bank

Royal Mail Processing Centre

v Dri

Clerwood Park

Te rr

Hillview

pleland rphine Corsto race Tem Grove Bank Ter

Craigs Grove

ad nkhe

Cu Mid New

se ou nH isto rm He

Trefoil House

E B RO

head

rbank

g ar

land

Temple

Sth. Gy

Gyle

Sighthill

ad Ro

Goga

B u rn

Cul

Gogarbank House

rkno we s

Pennywe

Gar

Pla ywell Penn

Fox Covert

Sth.

South

Bank

ban

Suntrap Garden

n io at St

gar

Hermiston Gait Retail Park

Pearce Gr.

ad Dr

Hermiston Junction

Go ga r

Gogarbank Farm

ins

Bankhe

ouseGr Martello . Ct. dens

Muirh

Silve

Quality Corbiehill St. Ln.

nue

Ave

e Clerwood Terrac

Hillview

ter

GYL

Edinburgh Park

Silver k

Superstore

Barnt

IVE

Gdns.

Wes

Subway

Chicken Farm

ace

Terr

Caroline

South Gyle Park Business Estate

Sth.

Silve

G Dri

Granton Mill March .P Pirniehall to nt n C r e sc e k on Ban W. Pilt

Sustrans (www.sustrans.org.uk) has spent time marking and mapping many key routes, and in this endeavour they X busy cities. hope to have safer and faster routes to cross Cyclists of course have a right to use roads too, and I would X hope that future legislation and education will offer more protection in this matter. X

�

Gyle Pk.

Craigs

North Gyle Road

-PA

Grove

Y Y B

Kellerstain

Gdns.

South Gyle

Park

Sil

n Avenue

Fox enue rt Av x och Cove Fo vert Rannace Pl Co Ra La. Grove Ra nn och Oak ns oc Rann ve om h Gro e G G ar Road ar de de ns ns Falkland ens Gard Breck

Gylemuir

Edinburgh

Pearce Road

South Gyle

ide W

Muir

D So R O A cycling has been enabled by technology, much like SatNav � for cars. But it’s still not enough it seems. Society seems to expect a big technological ‘fix’ when in reality we X have a good solution already here.

The Gyle Park

Av es

Terr

h nnoc

od Clerwoy Wa d Clerwoo Bank d Clerwoo Corstorphine Loan d Hill Clerwoo Cemetery Row

Gylem

SOU

iston

venu

Gdns

Superstore

Redheughs Avenue

Lochs

Dru

Craigmount

t side Loch Pl.

C IT

n io at St

Tunnel

Ala

Drum

ad uir Ro

uth So

IN B

scen

Drumbrae

Retail Area

Gogarloch h Bank ug Ha e Road Gyl uth

rm isto

Clerm

Driv

Aven

Craig

h oc

s eugh Redh Rigg

side

nue Ave side GH Loch UR

D 0 E

Loch

View

A72

ar Gog

Cre

rive

ar D

Dur

Crescent

nue

Syke

rlo c h Road

Stre

ven

Mor

t Cres.

th Grove Nor

h Gogarloc Syke

Barn

RIS

Easter

Clermiston

BRA

Park

ance

Craigs Bank�

Ave

Aven

Clermiston Park

Torr

Cmt. App.

Craigmount Park

Craigs

Cle

rrac

ae Te

on Lo

Duar

Craigmount

Road

side

ue Aven

side Loch

A90

iston

Clerm

Cres.

m Br

Balfr

Loch

Royal Bank of Scotland HQ

ve�

Parkgro

Craigmount Terrace

h G.loc ir Mu

ROA

ce nt Cr es e � Road

Craigmount Gardens

N.G. Fm. Ln.

A8 Cycle Path

Davidson's Mains Park

Bar Parknton Barn Pl. Park ton Del l Avenue

e� grov Parkace Pl

m Dru ve. k ae A Neu m Br Dru

Road

David Lloyd Sports Club

The Gyle Shopping Centre

PG. w View PG. Ro PG.� Bk.

nt Rd.

m Br

Dru

Craigmount Drive

ov e�

Dru

Brae

RTH

Gyle Par Gdns.

en ve� Av

t. Cm

Dri

ace

Parkgro

BRA

Drive

Gyl

Terr

NOW ERK SILV RKWAY PA

Park

G Pl. l

on Mil Grant k Par

way

e hous

yw Penn

PG. Neuk e� grov Park

scent

Dechmo

North

unt View

Craigiev

N.G. Fm. Ct.

Maybury Junction

Gyl

North

Gyle

Nort

T E S Mill l Wranton r. Milve

l ywel ts. Penn s/Cot Villa

Garde

Surveys suggest that cycling accounts for over 10% of rush hour journeys on certain city centre streets. Of course, Edinburgh is committed to increasing cycling levels and has * investment in cycle routes, no doubt already made some encouraged by the cycling group Spokes (www.spokes.org. uk). In fact it was the Spokes map, now on its 9th edition with over 70,000 copies sold, that really encouraged me to get out there. Recently the rise of the smartphone has led to even more choices, with an excellent online route planner (edinburgh.cyclestreets.net). X

Craigmount Place

Loan

Gyle

N. G.

Gr ove

Gyl e

The Royal High School

Pa rk

Craigmount Crescent

Park

Craigmount

No rth

Gogar Roundabout

Craig

Rigg

t es s W raig C r. G

Craigs

igs

aig

Cr aig

Wynd

Cra

OAD Y R

t Wes raig sA ve n

Craigievar Sq.

rth

n nto Bar Loan

Terra

�

Craigmount Loan

Stuart Cre

Stuart Grove

se Salve

Craigmo

Stuart Wynd

b ur

Barnton Park

hart

East Craigs

Stuart Park

ton Barn Gro. Park

Doc

Superstore

rove�

Drum Brae Park

Cra

Dr.

Bugh tli n Pk.

Burnside

Lauriston Castle

rnt

enue

Clermiston

ens

Gard

e�

Parkg

Drum Brae Leisure Centre

rae

u mo

Loan

um Dr rae B alk W

rnsi

BUR

West Craigs Industrial Estate

Lauriston Farm

sen

Salve

es.

Gunnet Birnie’s Ct. May Pa rk Ct. Ct. ow es Inchmickery er kn Fidra Ct. Si lv Ct. ES Oxcars Ct.

se rhou Mui ew Vi

ou n

Pl.

bury

East

MAY

Ro a d

N. B.

May

tlin Driv

rk Av

RRY

SFE

EEN D riv

grov

t. Cm Bank

Hill

e�

gr ov Park

Craigm

M e a d o w f i eld

Pa rk

alk o W

oad mR

Camm

F ar

e Gat

cent

es n Park Cr

Dri

fi e

Roa

West Craigs

Burnbrae

igs

ate

Bugh

Scottish Agricultural Science College

B. N. ank B ad n Ro ghtli

Cra

euk

B. N

th Bu Nor

th ide Norghtlins Bu

Hayfie ld Green d Sq. M ay

tong

Fauldburn Park Fauldburn

Mea

Civic Amenity Site

Barn

Bugh Nor tlinr th igg

s rden

rk Ga

ton Pa

nto

venu

te A

ga nton Bar ch Bir eb. Bla

ble Bramve Dri

r Tu

Turnhouse

Ct.

View

Park

Barn

Bar

ate tong Barn Terr.

Hill

ckth

Bla

(Turnhouse)

Cammo Pl.

Cam

Cammo Parkway

ens

Walk

Cammo Country Park

Barn

Barnton Junction

Cammo Gard

Grove

Camm

S. Barnto Ave.

n Pa

ton

cent

Br mo Cam

Barnton Park Quarry

to Barn

Road

Cammo Cres

Gro

Cam

L i n k s

Braehead Bank

Braehead View

k Par

a lm

ea eh

Bra

ath

est

Barnton Court Barnton Grove

o Camm

Str

Cammo Home Farm

den

Braehead Grove

Braehead

Gar

Bra Lo ehea an d

(Public)

Royal Burgess

k Par

Strathalmond d Court on

se ou ss gh ro Bri k. C P

Rid

Bri Pk gho . C use t.

sen

Salve

Silverknowes

I started using a bike in 1992 1 when my daughter was small, 1 1 X � as a way of getting her between X 1 her many activities. Originally I thought it might not work 1 that well, but I soon discovered that it was actually faster X Blackhall and more fun than any other affordable way of getting X Path around. Unlike public transport or driving we could vary routes to take in play parks and paths beside rivers. I was so ‘converted’ that I got a tandem that I still use as part of our ı q city centre transport mix.

Avenu

Drive

Braehead

a he

e us

e riv .D Pk

Cargilfield

ven

nto

Bar

All of this is to be applauded, but X if rail budgets are going to be cut, where does this leave the case for further investment? For one thing, the case for�a new high speed rail (HSR) line is far from clear Much of what we spend9 on the cut. Partly this is geographical railway network is on having to make (our major cities are not nice and good underinvestment stretching spread out like in France); partly � back to the First World War. While it is political (everyone wants a the road lobby has an axe to grind, piece of the action but there is not it is almost certainly right that enough to go around); partly it is current levels of expenditure won’t X environmental (it can take a lot be able to continue, especially Edinburgh Airport as of carbon to build new lines); and 8 public sector budgets are tightened. partly it is economic (how much?). But if we accept – and many still A strong argument for investing in don’t – that we can’t build our way HSR, and indeed in the railways out of congestion, then improving Cyclists are recommended X to use this path to avoid crossing more generally, is to Xincrease 2 major exits from roundabout X alternatives to the car will still capacity. This is supportable up to need to take priority over new road q X � the point that travellers are able to construction. RR � shift from more polluting modes, but & For many local journeysTo Newbridge this means Kirkliston simply generating new journeys just smarter choices – more7 walking, X RR adds to existing transport problems. cycling and bus/tram use. The And dealing with existing transport ongoing modernisation of Britain’s problems means getting to grips railway network remains vital, with current levels and patterns though, not least because it offers of demand, something politicians the most environmentally friendly tend to like to steer well clear of. 6 and space-efficient means of moving X The sad truth is that it remains the large numbers of people between � elephant in the room: we probably and within popular places. Many can’t figure out what the best future of these journeys are ‘high-value’: for rail might be until ministers imagine the impact on London’s, Scot Russel articulate a coherent vision for more and hence Britain’s, capacity for th Towpa Canal sustainable wealth generation if commuting by Union transport that they are 5 Ratho, Linlithgow actually prepared to deliver. train was not possible. ToTransport & Falkirk C am m o Road

mon thal en Stra Gre

B r u n t s f i e l d

's er

and

d ea eh s. Bra Cre

A lm

Grotto Bridge

Loan

Ln.

Almon d Court

r. C

Prim

Road

tage Cot reen G

urdl Crauf

Mill Downie's

R iv

ive

Tem p

Brae Park

Braepa

Old Toll Bridge

Cramond

r 's

dens

Cramond Regis

Avon Grove

lan Ewer

keep

Game Park

ton Barnae Br

on Av lace ae P x Br Esse

Essex Park

d mon Cra Bank

a Fa

nd mo Cra Place

Gar

ond ram

per ekee Gam

ond ralm

Inve

Subway

Fair

r Sh

Drive

Road

Avon

Val e

mon ve Cra Gro

Far

Cramond

Peggy's Mill Road

Craigiehall

d on ralm ve Inve Gro

Sustrans NCN Route 76 Cramond Brig-Queensferry New cycle path opening 2008

m en ond

r-a-

Fai

Cra

d mon

Caution: Lots of steps!

New Burnshot

Edinburgh Gate

rae

lB hoo

Despite the move towards ‘green everything’ it seems that the potential of using a bike as transport is not fully understood by planners. Kir

C G ra re

Caddell's Row

East Craigie

Road

Dr rose

r iv e

Te Co

ill Gr.Mes. Cr

Cra

A lm

ilto n Loan

Civil Service Sports Ground

Road

Hillside

d mon Cra Glebe . Terr The Glebe

for London is an enthusiastic investor � in new railway infrastructure, and the Scottish Government and Welsh Assembly Government have also opened new lines. In England, new Thameslink 1and inter city fleets X should appear within the next 1 Cramond Brig five years, notwithstanding recent procurement delays.

on m ra C

For many years rail played second fiddle to roads in British 11 transport policy, but since the mid 1990s, rail use has grown to levels not seen for decades. Now we spend about £5 billion a year on our railways and all the major political parties support the construction of at least one 10 more high speed rail (HSR) line. The roads lobby is becoming jealous: the RAC Foundation, for example, has been pointing out that spending on the railways has gone out of control and road building offers far better value for money.

t S ho es D

4 7 Edinburgh Caravan Club

W .P

. Terr sen Salve dens Gar

Cramond Hs. remains of Roman Fort

Dri

rin

Kirk

Muirhouse

on Cram

Gas

Edinburgh’s

Cr e

Drive

Marine

Cramond Tower d

e Gleb

David Gardiner, RSGS Member, Edinburgh �

Cramond Village

Long

Ro Craigroyston Hs.

Dove Loan co

Cram ond

Forth Bridges

�

Re dh

D a l Geography, meny P a r kUniversity of Plymouth Jon Shaw, Professor of Transport To Queensferry &

continued on SPOKES WEST LOTHIAN MAP

Where do bikes fit in?

Home Farm

The future of rail

CAUTION! Beware of sharp shells on Esplanade

al y

Gate

Inside The RSGS

Joseph Thomson and Morocco

oing National Service in Kenya, I visited the Thomson’s Falls and watched, shot and ate Thomson’s gazelle, but my real abiding interest in and admiration for Thomson grew with my Atlas travels as I constantly followed or crossed his routes in those North African mountains I have made my own. I have never understood why his name is so little known today. He was, simply, one of the great triumvirate of Scottish explorers: Park, Livingstone, Thomson. He was born in Penpont, near Thornhill, a mason and quarry owner’s son. His father built the family home, which stands sad and forlorn today, hardly changed and crying out to be made a museum (I almost said shrine) to the man. He went to Edinburgh University and thought nothing of walking the 70 miles there overnight as a student. He was put forward to be assistant to geographer/ mapmaker Keith Johnstone on a journey to pioneer a route in to Lake Nyasa. Johnstone died and Thomson simply carried on, alone, still not 21. His journey was a success and, remarkably for the period, he fired no shot in anger and lost no men. He liked them and they him. His great aide then and later

was Chuma, who had served Livingstone. Thomson’s greatest journey was through what is now Kenya towards Uganda, a hazardous undertaking: he was the first white man to survive traversing Masai lands and was tossed by an angry buffalo. This exploration was the spur that opened up East Africa. Thomson simply became a professional African explorer, undertaking any commission to keep busy in the field. Unlike many, he had no wealth, status or position to fall back on. When he turned his attention to the Atlas Mountains in

1888, he got minor, grudging, sponsorship from the Royal Geographical Society (RGS), and had to return the £100 as they considered his activities of limited interest. Basically, he was bankrolled by a young army officer, Harold CrichtonBrown, on condition he, C-B, went along. They were young, tough and enthusiastic – though C-B was ill for a considerable spell having been stung by a scorpion which had been lurking in his pyjamas. Morocco, the closest African country to Europe, was the last

Hamish M Brown

to be taken over by a European power: the French. It could well have been British but, when the world was carved up, the deal was that France could have Morocco and Britain could have Egypt. The country was still a mediaeval despotism and the Atlas unexplored. In 1871 the trio of Hooker, Ball and Maw penetrated enough to follow their mainly botanical interests but left some major geographical errors which showed on maps for decades thereafter. Joseph Hooker was Director of Kew Gardens, John Ball a politician and mountaineer, George Maw an industrialist but expert geologist and botanist. They went through diplomatic channels and had a letter from the sultan but were still thwarted at every turn. The Atlas Berber hated the sultan as much as any foreigner. A decade on, Joseph Thomson and C-B travelled with no authority and, from sheer determination (brass neck), covered an immense amount of ground, despite all the hindrances put in their way. With just two or three helpers they crossed the Atlas and back to Telouet (the Glaoui seat of power, a history covered in Gavin Maxwell’s Lord of the Atlas), climbed a 3,000m summit there, explored in to the highest area and actually pinpointed what was the highest summit of the Atlas (Jbel Toubkal 4,167m today), then criss-crossed several passes further west and climbed

The

Geographer

Jbel Igdat (3,616m), a height not equalled again till the French protectorate. They crossed the Atlas yet again by the westernmost pass and escaped to the coast. They had several near-fatal incidents. Partly to recoup expenses, Thomson wrote a rollicking book on their adventures and papers for many learned bodies, including RSGS. His paper for the RGS was sent on to Hooker who was critical of its lack of data yet I’ve seen pages of these in their archives which Thomson must have thereafter sent on. It is hardly fair to criticise a Mini for not being a Rolls-Royce. There is clearly a social, snobbery element involved. Thomson was viewed as merely an adventurer. Hooker and Ball took something like eight years

“I have never understood why his name is so little known today. He was, simply, one of the great triumvirate of Scottish explorers: Park, Livingstone, Thomson.”

to produce their tome (for good reasons). Thomson hurried his out and lectured wherever possible, of necessity. Hooker’s journal, which I’ve seen in Kew, describes their 50-strong party at a camp and indicates one tent for ‘our English and Irish body servants’, who are simply not mentioned in the book! Some day I want to write more about these characters and others; in the Atlas particularly came Cunninghame Graham, Lady Grove and Isabella Bird, at court were the extraordinary John Drummond Hay who was our man in Morocco for forty years and Sir Harry Maclean, the exotic sultans’ soldier and confidant. The Scots got everywhere!

16-17 Spring 2010

Joseph Thomson (1858-1895) By the death of Joseph Thomson, Scotland lost the last of her family of African pioneers, that distinguished group which includes the names of James Bruce, Mungo Park, Denham and Clapperton, Livingstone, Grant, and Cameron; for in Thomson’s time the pioneering work in Africa may almost be said to have been completed. Thomson was always much interested in the success of the Scottish Geographical Society, and he addressed several of its meetings. He was one of the first four distinguished people to be made an Honorary Member of the Society, and in 1892 he was awarded its Silver Medal “for his distinguished services to Geography as an African explorer”. As a friend, he was said to be “hearty, humorous, and even boyish in his good-fellowship, and possessed a spirit of true chivalry, which, to those who knew him best, seemed the keynote of his life”. Text based on John George Bartholomew’s Obituary of Joseph

We expect that Hamish Brown will be giving several talks as part of the 2010-11 Inspiring People Programme

Thomson in the Scottish Geographical Magazine, October 1895

Education

RSGS Research and Expedition Grants Three Research Grants have been awarded: Researching the growing radical ecology in rural Northern Italy (Andrew Wilbur, University of Glasgow); Researching the extent and dynamics of late glacial plateau icefield dynamics in the Monadhliath Mountains, Central Scotland (Clare Boston, Queen Mary University of London); and Researching how property rights are implicated in the emergence and outcomes of community renewable energy projects (Neil Simcock, Lancaster University). Five Expedition Grants have been awarded: Biodiversity survey of Angavo, in the Mandrare Valley in Madagascar (University of Edinburgh); Assessment of the impacts of conservation on a mangrove area in the region of Aklan, on Panay Island, the Philippines (University of Aberdeen); Surveys of the key avian and mammalian conservation species present in the Savannah habitat of the Barba Azul Reserve in Northern Bolivia (University of Glasgow); Biodiversity survey of rainforest birds on Kolombangara (Solomon Islands) and the effects of deforestation on their diversity (University of Edinburgh); and Expedition Huaraz – to produce a film in the Cordillera Blanca mountain range in Peru, demonstrating the effects of climate change on vulnerable communities through consultation and engagement with affected people (University of Edinburgh).

University of Aberdeen Energy 2050 Energy 2050 aimed to show how the UK could move towards a resilient, low-carbon energy system over the next 40 years, addressing two of the Government’s toughest energy policy goals: delivering reliable energy to consumers while meeting its legal commitment to reduce C02 emissions by 80% by 2050. The study concluded that a lowcarbon energy system could be a high-electricity system, and that the more aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency would make the UK system more secure while still leaving it on track to hit the 2050 target. Energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way of reducing energy demand and carbon emissions, while protecting vulnerable consumers from higher energy prices. Tougher energy efficiency measures could reduce exposure to volatile energy markets, and provide insurance against delays in the development of low carbon technologies. The report can be downloaded from www.ukerc.ac.uk Mitigating Transport’s Climate Change Impact in Scotland

The culture of catastrophe Professor Iain Stewart, star of BBC’s How Earth Made Us, took time out of his incredibly busy schedule to visit Perth Academy to talk about the culture of catastrophe. In an entertaining and informative talk Iain introduced Standard Grade, Intermediate 2 and Advanced Higher pupils to the conflict between people’s desire to live in areas of geological danger and the risks associated with doing so. As well as his immense knowledge, he shared some thoughts on the importance of geography as a subject for study, and admitted he is becoming more interested in human geography. Louise Macleod, Perth Academy

RSGS education news The RSGS Education Committee is working hard to contribute to the delivery of Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and hopes to be in a position soon to use some of the Society’s collection as back-up. Jim Bruce HMIE updated the committee on progress in CfE and this should ensure that our contributions are relevant and directly useful. To this end a small group from the committee will be identifying suitable links for development from the ‘experiences and outcomes’ in CfE which we could best support. The Geospeak part of the John Bartholomew Essay competition was held in Glasgow on 22nd

March. Our thanks are due to Jim Carson and Bill Woods for their diligence and determination over the years to make this competition a success and we wish them both well in their well-deserved ‘retirement’. We are delighted that Jim Stewart and John Blease are to take over the schools’ competition. We hope to be involved in bringing Geographical Information Systems into schools through links to the more academic associations thanks to Bruce Gittings, RSGS Vice Chairman, who is involved in GIS at University level. Erica M Caldwell, RSGS Education Convener

This study identified a broad range of options available to the Scottish Government, relating to travel demand management, fiscal incentives and development of transport infrastructure, freight, aviation and land use planning. Assessment of the carbon abatement potential and cost of each policy intervention showed that policies which induce travel behaviour change (eg workplace travel plans, rural teleworking ‘hubs’, enforcement of the speed limit on dual carriageways) would be the most cost-effective policy options. Investment in public transport infrastructure offers significantly lower cost-effectiveness. Overall, even the more ambitious scenario (which included faster implementation of policies plus road user charging and high speed rail) only gets the transport sector a quarter of the way towards the Scottish Government’s target of 42% reduction of carbon compared to 1990 levels by 2020. The report can be downloaded from www.scotland.gov.uk

The

Geographer Belizean savannas Dr Neil Stuart and a team from the School of GeoSciences and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have been funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Darwin Initiative to understand the growing threat to savannas in Belize. Building on a tradition of research in Belize by Geography at Edinburgh ongoing since the 1960s, including previous expeditions partfunded by the RSGS, this work will help protect one of the most fragile ecosystems in Central America. It will safeguard the extraordinary biodiversity by identifying priority conservation zones that will be safeguarded from the effects of excessive farming and forestry. Further information from www.eeo. ed.ac.uk/research/sea-belize Forest research During the early summer of 2010, the School of GeoSciences’ research aircraft will deploy to Finland’s boreal forest as part of a NERC funded project pioneering advanced optical remote sensing techniques for the early detection of stress (for example, water or nutrient deficiency) on vegetation, thereby improving our ability to estimate the exchange of carbon between ecosystems and the atmosphere. The expedition complements airborne and ground based campaigns conducted at the School’s Scottish forest research site at Griffin Forest, Perthshire.

University of Strathclyde Visions of sustainable communities In March, as part of the national ESRC Festival of Social Sciences, geographers working in the Sustainable Communities Group at Strathclyde University, led by Dr Robert Rogerson, held a set of special events at the Glasgow Science Centre. School pupils from primary and secondary schools across the west of Scotland attended a special ‘Eco-day’ on the

The displays formed part of a week-long exhibition at the Science Centre, and awards were made to the most imaginative visions presented. The displays also formed the backdrop to a policy forum hosted during the Festival on ‘Interpreting sustainable communities’. Addressed by Prof Peter Roberts, Director of the Skills and Knowledge team of the Homes & Community Agency in England, and Craig McLaren, Director of the Scottish Centre for Regeneration, this forum brought together community organisations, policy makers and local government agencies. Further details and associated learning materials can be found at www.strath.ac.uk/gs/ sustainablecommunities

University of Dundee Historic tsunamis Dr Sue Dawson is one of the experts in a documentary to be shown soon on the National Geographic channel. Dr Dawson has been studying the geology and geoscience of coastal tsunami sediments at archaeological sites in Orkney and Shetland. This film will look at the Storegga tsunami which swept the northern Atlantic c8,000 years ago, when a vast submarine landslide off the continental slope of western Norway led to an area the size of mainland Scotland sliding to great depths in the North Sea, in turn leading to a series of devastating tsunami waves moving at the speed of modern jet aircraft across the northern Atlantic and North Sea. The time of the tsunami was one of unprecedented geographical hazard in terms of rapid sea level rise as a result of the worldwide melting of ice sheets, as well as the major tsunami event. The programme will consider the impacts on low-lying coastal communities of the time throughout the North Sea basin. Dr Dawson and a TV crew examined deposits at Maggie Kettle’s Loch, next to the Sullom Voe oil terminal on the Shetland Islands.

Perth College UHI Land Reform The Centre for Mountain Studies, based at Perth College UHI, in partnership with the UHI Centre for Remote and Rural Studies and Rural Analysis Associates, has been awarded a research contract issued on behalf of the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Environment Committee focussing on post-legislative scrutiny of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. The research will examine the implementation of ‘access’, ‘community right to buy’ and ‘crofting community right to buy’ provisions contained in the Act and will report to the Committee in the summer of 2009. The project will be led by Dr Calum Macleod, Deputy Director of the Centre for Mountain Studies.

Edinburgh Napier University Intangible Cultural Heritage makes tangible geographical impact Napier University’s three-year project to safeguard and record Scotland’s Intangible Cultural Heritage, funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC), was showcased at the Scottish Parliament on 4th March. Aileen Campbell MSP joined Professor Alison McCleery, AHRC Knowledge Transfer Fellow and Principal Investigator for the project, and Joanne Orr, Chief Executive of Museums Galleries Scotland, official partner organisation for the project, to raise the profile of this UNESCObacked initiative amongst MSPs from across the political spectrum. Green Party MSP, Robin Harper, was keen to put ICH firmly on the map!

18-19 Spring 2010

University News

University of Edinburgh

theme of sustainable communities, and through exercises created displays which represented their vision of communities of the future. These learning sessions encouraged the young people to be more aware of the difficult decisions which have to be made to balance social, economic and environmental desires and needs in any community.

Making Connections

RSE Inquiry – Facing Up to Climate Change

Heather (‘the Weather’) Reid, Erica M Caldwell, Prof David Sugden at the launch of the RSE schools competition.

In February, we launched the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s schools competition which I’d devised. This will allow groups of pupils in both primary and secondary schools to examine how the lives and livelihoods of people in their own areas of Scotland will be affected by climate change. They will have the opportunity to link with countries in the developing world to find out how they are

already being affected, perhaps to identify problems, eg related to migration or future supplies for our supermarkets. There is a total prize pot of £5,000 and the deadline for submissions is 30th June 2010. The competition links are on the RSE, LTS (Learning and Teaching Scotland) and SAGT websites. Erica M Caldwell, Member of Inquiry Facing up to Climate Change in Scotland

Scottish Association of Geography Teachers (SAGT) The Worldwise Quiz finals, where RSGS is a part sponsor, were held in Dollar Academy on 12th March. Last year’s Scottish winners will be in Taiwan for the world finals in summer. The annual Higher Geography Student Conference organised by SAGT took place in Dalkeith High School on 26th March. This very successful event helps kick-start

serious revision for many Higher candidates in preparation for SQA exams in May. The SAGT October Conference will be held in Glasgow with the theme ‘Geography for Excellence’. This will keep geography at the forefront of developments even if there are delays to full implementation of Curriculum for Excellence (as reported recently in

the national press). After the excellent SAGT trip to Iceland last summer, the next foreign trip, organised by SAGT Vice President Val Vannet to Morocco at Easter 2011, is already fully subscribed. Erica M Caldwell, Honorary President SAGT

What Geography Means To Me

An insight into the life of a working geographer

Liz Murray Head of Scottish Campaigns, World Development Movement

had originally wanted to study fashion design, but that dream came to an abrupt end when I got rejected from the course I applied to. Looking back now, I think it was actually a lucky escape for me as, after a year out doing conservation work and travelling around Europe, I came back with quite a different view of the world and began a degree in Geography and American Studies instead. I focused on human geography and particularly the interaction between human activity and the environment, my final dissertation being on ‘sense of place’ and how people react to change.

Once university was over, I headed out into the world again doing voluntary and paid work through Africa, New Zealand and Australia, increasing my awareness and concern about the negative impacts of human activity on the environment. Soon after this, I got the chance to do something about my concerns, by campaigning with Greenpeace. And that’s what I did for the next ten years or so, mainly on climate change. My own feelings of a ‘sense of place’ were brought into sharp relief while hanging on to a small inflatable buoy in the Atlantic, 100 miles west of Shetland, taking non violent direct action against seismic testing ships in an area rich with cetaceans! And the following summer, in the same area, I took part in a

whale and dolphin survey that showed, for the first time, 21 different species of cetacean in precisely the area being exploited for oil. Moving from London to Scotland permanently in the late 1990s, I continued environmental campaigning with Friends of the Earth Scotland. And most recently I became the head of Scottish campaigns for the World Development Movement. This felt like a very natural move and I feel very lucky to be able to combine my campaigning background and long held interest in the interaction between people and environmental change – all the while continuing that thread that was first sparked by my geography studies.

The

Geographer

An Expert View: City Status

20-21 Spring 2010

Perth: The Seventh Scottish City? The title of city confers no special rights or privileges on a town but is a matter of considerable civic pride for citizens. City status is a rare honour that was conferred on only 17 places during the 20th century. Perhaps surprisingly, there are currently only 66 officially designated cities in the UK of which eight, including Inverness and Stirling, have been created since 2000 in competitions to celebrate the new millennium, and the Queen’s golden jubilee. The definition of a city and criteria for designation are ambiguous. In Scotland the ranking of towns has been complex since the time of David I in the 12th century, when the term civitas (or city) was conferred on every town with a cathedral, no matter its size or economic or political importance. David I also compounded the complexity by initiating the foundation of several different types of burghs (royal burghs, ecclesiastical burghs, burghs of regality, and burghs of barony). A city might acquire burgh status, as with Dunblane, but the two designations were independent. As a consequence of this definitional imprecision, by the 19th century a number of Scottish towns were calling themselves cities. The Local Government Act of 1929 sought to tidy things up, and in so doing created the four Scottish cities of Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, and Aberdeen (only one of which, Dundee, had a royal charter, dating from 1889). By 1972 the Municipal Yearbook listed six Scottish cities with Elgin (with a cathedral) and Perth (not a ‘cathedral city’) added to the total. By 1975 further local government reorganisation, following the Local Government (Scotland) Act of 1973, meant

that former burghs were shorn of their ancient rights and city status was elevated to the most prestigious honour that could be bestowed on a town. Today we have a mix of six places that are official cities plus a number of places that, for one reason or another, were recognised as cities in the period since the 12th century and have clung to the designation through a right of ancient usage, official definition not withstanding. These latter ‘cities’ include pre-Reformation sees such as Brechin, Dunblane, Dunkeld and St Andrews, and the ‘fair city’ and former royal burgh of Perth. Attainment of formal city status remains an attractive goal for towns wishing to boost civic pride and enhance their external image. A sound case may be made for the (re)designation of Perth as a city. Yet there are no concrete guidelines or criteria for those striving for the prize of city status. The award of city status to Stirling, it appears, was based on three main factors of having notable features including regional or national significance, historical and royal features, and ‘a forward looking attitude’. Urban geography may also offer some insight in preparing a case for city status. A minimum population size is one criterion that most would regard as a necessary characteristic of a city but the actual threshold population is undefined. In the Scottish context some guidance for a city such as Perth (population 43,450) lies in the recent promotion to city status of Stirling with a population of 41,243 at the last census. Cities are usually at least regionally significant trading and market centres. Perth, one of the richest trading burghs in the medieval period, continues to have an extensive catchment

area from which it draws in trade. The town also serves as a regional important cultural centre with a museum, theatre, concert hall, professional football team, racecourse, and local radio and newspaper. Perth is also an important centre for local government, housing the administrative headquarters of Perth & Kinross Council. Perth is well endowed in terms of historic and royal significance, with the main royal centre of the 9th century kingdom of Alba being at nearby Scone, later the site of a major Augustinian abbey founded by Alexander I, and a place long regarded as the ‘capital’ of Scotland due to the frequent residence of the royal court. The forward looking attitude of Perth is demonstrated in the town’s success in replacing declining industries such as whisky distilleries by postindustrial economic activities in the fields of insurance and banking services; and inherently by the campaign to attain formal recognition as a city. While on one hand the absence of any definite criteria for city status may make the target difficult to achieve, the lack of precise guidelines provides an opportunity for towns to demonstrate their qualifications for entry to the elite rank of Scotland’s cities. The ‘fair city’ of Perth satisfies many of the historical and geographical standards against which a city would normally be judged.

Professor Michael Pacione FRSGS, Chair of Geography, University of Strathclyde

“The town also serves as a regional important cultural centre with a museum, theatre, concert hall, professional football team, racecourse, and local radio and newspaper.”

Book Club

A celebration of tribal peoples edited by Jo Eede From the frozen taiga of Siberia to the rainforest of the Amazon and the bushland of Botswana, We Are One celebrates the extraordinary diversity of tribal peoples – their cultures, values and beliefs – and the fragile, wild beauty of the homelands to which many are still so intimately connected. This book aims to create a sense of solidarity with tribal peoples, promoting the message that they are equal to us: just as modern, just as much part of the 21st century, and with just as much right to live in peace. We Are One creates a greater sense of wonder and respect for the world’s tribes and their natural environments, and will raise and promote the many humanitarian and environmental issues inherent in their survival. All royalties go to Survival International to celebrate their 40th anniversary and to help fund their continual campaigning for the rights of tribal peoples worldwide.

Stuffed Positive action

to prevent a global food crisis Patricia Thomas Stuffed presents a global perspective on food production and agriculture, and proposes a sustainable and fairly traded path we can follow to secure food for all and protection for the planet. With chapters on your kitchen through to global systems via your garden, schools, community, and an insight into food issues in cities and on farms, Stuffed takes a political and personal look at the way that food systems influence, and can be influenced by, our choices. Stuffed is written by Patricia Thomas (former editor of The Ecologist), with a preface by author Michael Pollan, and contributing essays by respected experts Monty Don, Geetie Singh, Rob Hopkins, Jeanette Orrey, Carolyn Steel, Peter Melchett, Patrick Holden, Vandana Shiva and Eric Schlosser.

Zambesi David Livingstone

and Expeditionary Science in Africa Lawrence Dritsas Zambesi is a tale of expeditionary science in the raw, exposing the rivalry among some of Victorian Britain’s leading establishment figures and institutions while abolitionists, scientists and entrepreneurs sought to promote and protect their differing interests. Making use of previously neglected letters, documents and materials, this is the most complete and compelling account of the Zambesi Expedition yet published. It will be essential reading for historical geographers and historians of science and empire, and for all those with an interest in Africa, Victorian studies, travel and exploration, and the life and work of David Livingstone. Dr Lawrence Dritsas FRSGS is a Fellow with the School of Social & Political Science of the University of Edinburgh. He has a long-standing interest in the history of scientific expeditions and especially in the exploration of Africa. The Geographer recommends

Battle for the North The Tay and Forth Bridges and the 19th Century Railway Wars Charles McKean I was given this book as a Christmas present and I couldn’t put it down. It’s eminently readable, very thoroughly researched, yet at the same time written in an invigorating and easy style and explaining in a way I’d not considered before just why there are two highly expensive – and expansive – railway bridges crossing the Forth and Tay estuaries when there were, in geographical terms, much easier and far less costly routes to the north east. Of course the reason was what may described as a war between rival companies wanting to expand Scotland’s railway network, and Charles goes into all the detail of the wrangling, the terrible failure of the first Tay Bridge and its aftermath and examines all the evidence but making one feel as though one was living in that period and witnessing the drama unfold. Charles McKean may describe himself as an Architectural Historian but he comes over as a Historical Geographer in this book! Margaret Wilkes Convenor, RSGS Library Committee

Reader Offer - save 20%

Offer ends 31st August 2010

Readers of The Geographer can purchase Stuffed for £8.99 (RRP £14.99), plus £2.99 p&p in the UK. Order now by using the special offer code ‘RSGS2010’ when ordering online at www.sawdays.co.uk/bookshop or by phoning 01275 395431 during office hours. You can help us to make connections between people, places & the planet by joining the RSGS. Please contact us at Lord John Murray House, 15-19 North Port, Perth, PH1 5LU, or visit www.rsgs.org

Printed by www.woodsofperth.co.uk on 9Lives Offset 120gsm paper. 100% FSC certified recycled fibre using vegetable based inks in a 100% chemistry free process.

We Are One