PENTLAND HILLS REGIONAL PARK

Vandalism: barbed-wire cutting

The Pentland Hills are a living, working landscape, which many rely on for their livelihood. If you are a keen runner, walker, cyclist, or horse rider, always carry out your activity responsibly and with minimum impact to the landscape that people depend on to make a living. Disturbance and damage to structures, livestock, wildlife, and crops has a negative impact on livelihoods. Unfortunately, land managers in the Regional Park have experienced incidences of deliberate damage and disturbance. For example, the top strands of barbed wire have been repeatedly (and deliberately) cut from fences on Harbour Hill, between Maiden’s Cleugh and Bonaly, on a popular runners’ route. These barbed wire strands were left hanging from the fence, causing a lamb to became entangled. Cutting strands of wire causes the entire fence line to weaken, and puts it at risk of further damage and collapse. This is costly to repair and can cause neighbouring sheep flocks to become mixed up. If you spot someone with wire cutters damaging fencing, please report them to the police on 101, and inform us.

When following existing routes or looking for new routes to try, please always use access points such as gates and stiles which provide access without causing damage by climbing fences. Please follow local signage, whether directional or informative. Consider how the route you are taking might impact livestock or wildlife, especially during key seasonal periods such as lambing, tupping and bird-nesting season. The Regional Park erects seasonal signage, some of which directs specific user groups away from areas where their presence could cause distress to flocks of sheep - for instance, we have asked that cyclists avoid the NW slope of Harbour Hill at lambing time, especially at night, as the high speed / bright lights panic the sheep.

Please always be aware of your impact on the landscape, livestock and biodiversity of the Pentland Hills.

Know the code. Visit www.outdooraccess-scotland.com for more information on the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Pentland Hills Regional Park www.pentlandhills.org

pentlandhills@edinburgh.gov.uk 07798 505301 / 0131 529 2401