I noted in the latest MBA newsletter there is an ongoing litter issue in some locations. Not just your standard tin, bottle and plastic bag rubbish either; dumped stuff includes tents, sleeping bags and even a telescope.
This really is very depressing. The MBA does a great job, but I have to ask what do they expect? If you publicise places, be they nice views, good lochs and yes, bothies and worse still do it on open web sites you are creating an enhanced focal point. A powerful magnet. If you leave them open to all and sundry you are naive in the extreme if you think this won't happen.
What would happen if some one decided to take residence in a bothy? Would there be ways of removing them?
It's possible the owners would close the bothy if the agreement with the MBA was being abused. Prolonged stays or commercial use is not allowed without permission of the owners.
Crap , in the rubbish sense , has been a problem for years from way back and had diminished for a long time now it is back again. I helped bring in a new MBA bothy once and after it was restored it had to be completely abandoned after a few years because it was so heavily vandalised and messed about. That was 18 years ago.
Quote from: Bobfly on December 21, 2014, 03:20:14 PM
been a problem for years from way back and had diminished for a long time now it is back again
The website perhaps? Prior to the Internet bothies tended to be known in climbing circles, or perhaps mentioned in books.
Quote from: admin on December 21, 2014, 03:48:12 PM
The website perhaps? Prior to the Internet bothies tended to be known in climbing circles, or perhaps mentioned in books.
You're saying it isn't members who are trashing it Fred?
I've seen club members who would trash their own loch and poach it too if the got away with it. There are people everywhere who see other peoples property as disposable and wouldn't take care of it no matter where it was. Even the most respectable people will trash a holiday lodge or caravan in the middle of 300 other ones never mind in the middle of nowhere. I've seen it first hand.
Quote from: admin on December 21, 2014, 03:48:12 PM
The website perhaps?
Quite possibly, but t'interweb is not to blame.
Yes it makes information instantly available to all (including feckwits) but so did books, radio, television and much else in their time.
And, along with the other media just named, it has the power to educate for good.
Simple applications of technology that already exists would make it possible to catch these tossers and name and shame on t'interweb.
I'm making this up as I go along- the forum will doubtless provide better solutions- but a solar powered lock that requires a would be user to log-in via a mobile phone app to open the door is one notion as would be a simple camera trap.
Slightly off topic, but this is the tale that got me hooked on the power of t'interweb.
It happened in the days of CompuServe and AOL on dial-up.
A baby was born in the south of England and immediately placed on life support as she had an extremely rare form of muscular dystrophy, fatal within days. In view of this bleak outlook her parents went home for the weekend to think through their decision as to her fate- switch off or await the inevitable. Her father worked in IT and had access to the web, he searched frantically for any information on his daughter's condition, prognosis and possible treatment and found nothing. I saw his attempts to get information from MDA (the US charity) via their chat room as did the director of muscular dystrophy research in the UK. She 'phoned the only person in the world to have successfully treated such a case who was happy to help by providing all his notes. There was a problem in that his notes identified the patient and could not be passed on without permission. The problem was solved the simple process of "find and replace" in the documents but the size of the files remained an issue. This was solved by a professor going into his university where large files could be handled. On the Monday the father could present all the information required to his daughter's carers. She is still with us today and lives a limited but fulsome life.
The issue of publicity vs litter and rubbish seems to be something the MBA struggles with. There was a paragraph about it in the latest news letter.
I am admittedly old tech, but the last thing I want is to carry some mobile device with an app that allows me to access a door.
Even if the MBA wanted to make the bothies members only, which they don't, it's highly doubtful they could do so and retain their charitable status.
What difference would that make Fred. They would still be surrounded by rubbish and people would just break in. The cottage near Gairloch that is no longer available was broken into and they reckon it was NATO troops on exercise in the area that did it and they left it in a mess. A lot of the younger ones who go into the hills now aren't as respectful of other peoples property or there surroundings as the more mature ones who have been doing it for years.
Quote from: Fishtales on December 22, 2014, 06:34:06 AM
What difference would that make Fred.
Probably not much Sandy, as you say there are too many Scots who are all "rights" and no responsibility. If I was a landowner who had this kind of problem I'd have the place demolished to remove the focal point. Yes there would be much short term girning, but once it's gone it's gone and it would soon be forgotten as many already have been.
It wasn't always a problem. I can remember going into bothies in the late sixties early seventies and there would be no litter. There would be firewood left, a sensible write up in the logbook about routes done and weather suffered etc. Tinned food often left and sometimes welcomed. In about '74 I walked across Scotland East to West using bothies including Stonaig (sp) and saw little mess. There was little publicity about the bothies and an illicit A4 list of bothies going around was eagerly sought for. Shortly after this mess started to appear, often left by army cadets. Then log books began to be graffitied or used as loo paper. Any Amber liquid left in bottles became piss not Highland Park! It was just another sigh of the increasing degradation of British society so obvious today.
Len
Quote from: Tyro on December 22, 2014, 11:21:09 AM
There was little publicity about the bothies and an illicit A4 list of bothies going around was eagerly sought for. Shortly after this mess started to appear
I may still have that somewhere! Point is though it was not easy to get hold of the info. By publishing photos and map locations on the internet it just makes it easy and sadly it will attract louts.
Quote from: admin on December 22, 2014, 11:59:52 AM
I may still have that somewhere! Point is though it was not easy to get hold of the info. By publishing photos and map locations on the internet it just makes it easy and sadly it will attract louts.
Sadly Fred I think things will only get worse from now on in I've seen many young parents from my generation who know f all respect f all and don't give a f in general and this is just getting passed on also this continuing population boom does not help.