Summer 2009 - Scottish Natural Heritage

3
1
View north over Loch
Lomond from Conic
Hill.
2
Heather moorland
above Strath Fillan,
Crianlarich.
3
Tourist reading an
interpretive leaflet at
Uath Lochans,
Glenfeshie.
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs
National Park lies in the west of
the country, only some 40 minutes
from Glasgow and 90 minutes from
Edinburgh. It covers 720 sq miles
(1,865 sq km) and includes some of the
country’s most spectacular and varied
scenery.
Centred on Loch Lomond, the
largest stretch of fresh water in
mainland Britain, the park climbs from
the grassy lowlands of the south to the
towering mountains of Breadalbane and
the sea lochs of the Cowal peninsula.
To the northeast lies Cairngorms
National Park, the largest in Britain. In
fact, at 3,800 sq km, it’s 40% larger
than the Lake District and twice the size
of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs.
Cairngorms boasts the largest
area of mountain landscape in Britain,
including an arctic wilderness and four
of Scotland’s largest peaks, as well as
heather-clad moorland, woodlands,
rivers and lochs. The lowlands are
formed by the beautiful straths of Spey,
Dee and Don.
“National parks are an asset for the
whole of Scotland,” commented David
Green, convener of the Cairngorms
National Park Authority (CNPA), “and
their management relies on the work of
a wide range of partners, including land
managers, voluntary organisations and
agencies such as SNH. The national
park authorities are here to lead and
co-ordinate this work.
“There are real opportunities to use
national parks to help address some
of the big land use challenges facing
rural Scotland, such as climate change,
carbon and water management and the
future options for upland farming.”
www.snh.org.uk 49