Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New traffic rules at Loch Muick and Linn o’ Dee for seven months to prevent overcrowding at popular beauty spots

The road to the Loch Muick car park in summer 2020 was overwhelmed by visitors, who left vehicles on verges and blocking passing places. Image: Aberdeenshire Council.
The road to the Loch Muick car park in summer 2020 was overwhelmed by visitors, who left vehicles on verges and blocking passing places. Image: Aberdeenshire Council.

Drivers will be stopped from approaching a pair of in-demand Aberdeenshire beauty spots if they become too crowded this summer.

As restrictions eased for the first time last year, thousands of residents enjoyed their freedom to explore the beautiful countryside and scenery the region offers.

However, as a result of the huge influx of visitors, many communities reported widespread littering, dirty camping, and damage caused by barbecues and campfires.

A particular issue was motorists filling the car parks at Linn o’ Dee and Glen Muick in Deeside, which are two of the most popular destinations for walkers and hikers in the north-east.

On occasion, the two areas were so busy that drivers left their vehicles parked in passing places and turning areas, causing major issues for access in emergencies.

To help address the issue, Aberdeenshire Council will restrict entry to Glen Muick and the Linn o’ Dee when necessary for seven months from April 1, as the government once again starts to loosen restrictions.

Grant Moir, chief executive of the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA), said the roads will only be closed to additional motorists when they become so busy that to allow any more visitors would cause severe problems, and that walkers, cyclists, emergency vehicles, landowners and residents will still be permitted.

He said the move came after traffic management at the Linn o’ Dee was trialled last year, and “proved to be very useful mechanisms for managing high volumes of visitors”.

Mr Moir said: “In effect, when the car parks at these locations became full, access to these roads was restricted to ensure that the area was safe and to reduce parking at the sides of the road that became dangerous.”

The CNPA is also looking to put in place variable message signs to help the public know where is or is not too busy, and work is undergoing to increase car parking capacity at a number of locations, including the Linn o’ Dee.

Seasonal rangers have also been hired by the CNPA to patrol certain areas.

Alan Wood, director of infrastructure services for Aberdeenshire Council, said the local authority and its partners like the CNPA are acting now to encourage people to behave responsibly while in the great outdoors, “to ensure we don’t see a repeat of last year’s problems”.

He said: ”We made it abundantly clear last year that we want people to enjoy our beautiful scenery, our attractions and the warm welcome you get in our towns and villages.

“The majority of people have respected our communities and we thank them for that.

“But we simply cannot have a repeat of the selfish behaviour and unsafe practices which were observed the length and breadth of Aberdeenshire last summer.

“We do not want to see an influx of visitors across the Aberdeenshire countryside causing congestion at our country parks, woodlands, uplands and coastal areas and the wider road network.

“Of course the easing of lockdown arrangements will be welcomed by everyone – particularly after a tough winter – but it remains absolutely critical that we ensure we all fully understand the guidelines before we emerge back into our communities.”

The council’s ranger service has encouraged people to always have a “plan B” in case their destinations are too crowded on arrival, and explore more of the north-east’s hidden gems.

Fiona Banks, ranger service coordinator for the council, said: “We understand that people will want to visit some of the more well-known attractions, but we have so many wonderful areas of countryside and coastline in Aberdeenshire that it’s not worth risking our health or impacting on the countryside when it’s clearly become too crowded.

“So please have a back-up plan – if an area feels too busy or the car park is full, move to your Plan B site.”