YOUR VIEWS: Cairngorms National Park Authority chiefs must take action over Dalwhinnie crossing closure
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In July 2021, Network Rail closed the level-crossing at Dalwhinnie to members of the public – and by doing so, illegally obstructed a public right of way.
Walkers and cyclists seeking access to Loch Ericht and Ben Alder have been seriously inconvenienced and despite public meetings, protests and petitions, the closure continues.
As Dave Morris pointed out at a recent meeting, ramblers are accustomed to climbing fences, and continue to gain access at the level-crossing.
Network Rail has now given notice that a 1.8 metre fence is to be erected, and they have categorised those disregarding the ‘closure’ as tresspassers.
Notwithstanding the ‘freedom to roam’ legislation passed by the Scottish Parliament, tresspassing on railway property continues to be a criminal offence – rendering the offender liable to a fine of up to £1000.
Highland Council and the Cairngorm National Park Authority have a statutory duty to assert public rights of access.
We are told that they have taken legal advice but we are not told the outcome.
Meanwhile the rail authority confuses the issue by failing to distinguish between vehicular access, and the access exercised by walkers and cyclists.
The route from Loch Rannoch along the north side of Loch Ericht is indisputably a ‘right of way’ for walkers.
It is shown as a road on William Roy’s map of c1750; it would have been used at the time that the railway was constructed in 1863, and was acknowledged as a right of way by Ben Alder Estate when the then Secretary of State approved of their application for a diversion to pass the ‘new’ Ben Alder Lodge.
In conferring unlimited access for new railways, the Victorian legislation – The Railway Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 – directed at Section 52 that the railway company make sufficient approaches and fences to level-crossings of bridleways and footpaths, and with particular reference to a footway – ‘good and sufficient Gates or Stiles on each Side of the Railway’.
Undoubtably it was this direction which caused the railway authority to provide a pedestrian gate adjacent to the Dalwhinnie level crossing, and continued this until recently.
So far as known, there has never been a public right to take a vehicle down the side of Loch Ericht.
The vehicular level crossing only gives access to the private estate road, and its usage is solely a matter for Network Rail and Ben Alder Estate.
On the other hand, the walking public have an indisputable entitlement to use the right of way – including that section that crosses the railway.
‘Public safety’ seems to be the excuse but there is no history of any accident or near-miss at Dalwhinnie or at any other railway crossing in Badenoch.
Estate traffic is still permitted to use the level crossing – and any perceived risk must be the same.
If there is indeed a danger, it is for Network Rail to find a solution, at its own expense.
It is clear from recent developments that Network Rail is determined to exclude the walking public from the long-standing route; and it is only a matter of time before some unfortunate hillwalker is faced with a prosecution by the Transport Police.
The Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society has carried out research but does not seem to have the enthusiasm to take matters further.
Highland Council has a statutory duty but in recent years has failed to put pressure on Network Rail to repair the bridges near Newtonmore and Dalwhinnie where the old A9 crosses the railway – with permanent traffic lights the result.
Our park authority has had endless talks – with no effect. Are we now to see walkers and ramblers prosecuted because the rail authority refuses to unlock the pedestrian gates?
Now is the time for action. The park authority should now being going to the courts and take an interdict against Network Rail.
John Barton
Drumguish.
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Fly tipping is rife in south of area
Re the newspaper and online Strathy article ‘ Calls for harsher fly tipping penalties as 704 incidents results in just 28 fines and no convictions’.
I totally agree with the need for tougher punishments – fly tipping in and around the south of Badenoch is out of control, and, there seems to be no recourse for it therefore perpetrators continue to get away with it.
Mattresses, building waste, white goods, even abandoned unroadworthy trailers are being ignored by the council and police.
It is disgusting that local landowners and community councils are having to conduct the clear ups.
Jen Dickinson
Dalwhinnie.
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Curleys Lane access must be maintained
We celebrated the new year with lots of visitors and a prolonged period of snow and ice on local roads.
In Newtonmore, the road across the golf course is hardly discernible.
The alternative safer way is via Curleys Lane, which a Highland Council roads man appears to have told the village’s community council that he will consider ‘stopping up’.
The snow is one more good reason for dismissing this suggestion.
Is the community council leading on this or being dictated to?
Are they exercising their local knowledge for the good of the community which they are supposed to represent?
Are they leading or being led?
Gregor Rimell
Golf Course Road
Newtonmore.
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Let Motorail take the main strain to region
A rail service which transported people’s private cars by rail called Motorail began in 1955 between London King’s Cross and Perth.
The service between London and Scotland was withdrawn in 1988, and the London-Penzance service ran until 2005.
Could we perhaps have similar services back please between Inverness and the North of England towns as far south as Carlisle and Darlington, going to Cornwall and some of the less busy English Channel ports such as Newhaven?
This would greatly encourage people to buy the many used second hand electric only (limited range) cars currently available on the open market.
Nigel Boddy
Greencroft Close
Darlington.
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It was not all doom and gloom in 2022
This past year for many has been one filled with doom and gloom.
War in the Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis have dominated news headlines.
However, while the negatives tend to drive the media agenda, we must remember that there were many positives to look back on.
For example, while the list of endangered species continued to grow at an alarming rate, some creatures bounced back from the brink in 2022, proving that extinction is not inevitable.
Beavers, bison and pelicans were among the species identified as having bucked the trend by the Wildlife Comeback Report, published in September.
Most are the subject of reintroduction programmes, including the bison, which is roaming England again for the first time in thousands of years.
There’s also cautious optimism that the civil war in Ethiopia could finally be over, after the warring sides agreed to permanently end hostilities in November.
New fronts in the fight against cancer opened up this year, with scientists developing better tools for detecting and treating the disease.
Tests were developed that appear to be able to diagnose cervical cancer, prostate cancer and other forms of the diseases.
Experimental treatments also provided some good news.
In December, a teenager who had been diagnosed with ‘incurable’ leukaemia was cured, thanks to what scientists say is the most sophisticated cell engineering to date.
This year also witnessed more progress in tackling discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, although there is still much work to be done.
Greece and Israel for example became the latest countries to ban conversion therapy, and Slovenia ruled that its ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
So, when one reflects on the year, let us not forget that among the doom and gloom, there were many positive stories to reflect on.
Alex Orr
Marchmont Road
Edinburgh.
