Information if you are planning on visiting Scotland to complete your DofE expedition in Lomond and Argyll.
DofE Scotland
Rosebery House, 9 Haymarket Terrace
Edinburgh
EH12 5EZ
T: 0131 343 0920
E: [email protected]
Lomond & Argyll information pack
Lomond & Argyll boundaries map.gpx – for eDofE mapping
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park camping byelaws group exemption form
Managing woodland access and forest operations in Scotland – aimed at forest managers but has useful information about access in forest areas for walkers and cyclists.
Damage to loch Tulla to Ardmaddy route
The path has eroded into the river and under a deer fence near Clashgour at NN 241 421 so the original path is no longer passable. To allow walkers to bypass this section the estate has cut the deer fence around it. The estate asks that walkers use this route rather than diverting via the tracks to Clashgour farm to avoid their curtilage and farm yard.
West Lomond and Trossachs new camping By-laws
As of 1 March 2017 by-laws governing camping in areas around east and west Loch Lomond and the north edge of Loch Long were introduced. These by-laws restrict camping within the area covered every year between 1 March – 30 September . Most of the area covered by the byelaws is close to roads or the West Highland Way, so analysis by DofE Scotland suggests only small numbers of DofE teams are likely to be affected.
A general map of the area covered can be downloaded from the National Park website, and detailed 1:25k maps of the areas covered can be found in the full by-laws document, and GPX’s of the areas are available below. Camping out with the narrow areas covered by the byelaws remains covered by the usual Scottish laws.
For teams planning to camp within the area covered by the byelaws the National Park recommends that groups plan to apply through the ‘group camping permit exemption‘ process. This will have several advantages over the online permit system for the public;
– It will be free
– Groups will be able to apply for camping on sites out with the publically permitted sites
– Groups will be able to apply to camp with larger groups than public permits are available for
Such applications will need to be submitted at least 4 weeks before the expedition. For DofE teams there is a shortened version of the application form which can be submitted along with green forms and route maps for the teams concerned.
