Scotland's Great Trails
Scotland's Great Trails are long-distance "people-powered" trails in Scotland,[1] analogous to the National Trails of England and Wales or the Grande Randonnée paths of France. The designated routes are primarily intended for walkers, but may have sections suitable for cyclists and horse-riders;[2] one of the trails, the Great Glen Canoe Trail, is designed for canoeists and kayakers.[3] The trails range in length from 40 km (25 mi) to 340 km (210 mi), and are intended to be covered over several days, either as a combination of day trips or as an end-to-end trip.[2]
In order to be classified as one of Scotland’s Great Trails, a route must fulfil certain criteria. The route must be at least 40 km (25 mi) in length, and be clearly waymarked with a dedicated symbol. It is expected that visitor services will be present along the way, and that the route will have an online presence to help visitors in planning their journey.[4] Trails are required to run largely off-road, with less than 20% of the route on tarmac.[5] NatureScot is the custodian of the Scotland's Great Trails brand, maintaining the official list and providing some finance and publicity, the responsibility however for creating and maintaining each route lies with the local authorities through which a route passes.[6] There are 29 routes, providing 3,000 km (1,900 mi) of trails in total.[6] Additionally, the northernmost 10 kilometres (6 mi) section of the Pennine Way between the Anglo-Scottish border and Kirk Yetholm lies within Scotland, although it is designated as one of the National Trails of England.
The route of each of the Great Trails is marked with coloured diamonds on Ordnance Survey Explorer (1:25000) and Landranger (1:50000) maps; the SGT logo of a thistle within a hexagon is also used to highlight the routes at the 1:25000 scale.[7][8]
History
[edit]The trails grew out of the Long Distance Routes (LDRs), which were proposed and financially supported by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), and administered and maintained by the local authorities. The Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967 provided the legal basis for the Long Distance Routes, but the first one was not opened officially until 1980. By 2010 there were four LDRs:[9]
- West Highland Way, opened in 1980
- Speyside Way, opened in 1981
- Southern Upland Way, opened in 1984
- Great Glen Way, opened in 2002
Following the passage of the Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003, the public has a right to responsible access to most land in Scotland, in accordance with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Access rights for new routes therefore largely no longer required to be negotiated and many named walks have been developed by local authorities, tourist organisations and guidebook authors. In 2010 SNH decided that it would not formally designate any further LDRs, but would instead encourage more locally-based proposals for new routes for long-distance footpaths.[10] Within this approach it was recognised that there was a need for a strong "brand identity" to aid marketing of Scotland’s longer distance routes internationally. Minimum standards would be applied in the selection of these branded routes, which would take account of factors such as:[11]
- safety
- attractiveness of scenery
- trail surfaces
- information
- facilities and services
- signage and waymarking
- route definition and continuity
- accessibility
- access by public and private transport
- route management
"Scotland's Great Trails" was chosen as the brand identity, and as of 2018 there were 29 officially recognised Great Trails.[6]
Routes
[edit]As of April 2024.[1]
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References
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b "Scotland's Great Trails: the official guide". www.scotlandsgreattrails.com. NatureScot. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ a b "FAQs". www.scotlandsgreattrails.com. NatureScot. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Great Glen Canoe Trail". www.scotlandsgreattrails.com. NatureScot. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Arran Coastal Way recognised as one of 'Scotland's Great Trails'". Arran Coastal Way. 20 June 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- ^ Wood-Gee, V. (2014). SNH Commissioned Report 743: Mull long distance route: A socio-economic study (PDF) (Report). Scottish Natural Heritage. p. 11. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
- ^ a b c "About Scotland's Great Trails". www.scotlandsgreattrails.com. NatureScot. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
- ^ "Legend: 1: 25000 scale" (PDF). Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ "Legend: 1: 50000 scale" (PDF). Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
- ^ SNH Commissioned Report 380. p. 5.
- ^ SNH Commissioned Report 380. p. 6.
- ^ SNH Commissioned Report 380. p.p. 87-97.
- ^ "The Formartine and Buchan Way". www.walkhighlands.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "The John Muir Way". walkhighlands.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ "Route information and maps". Kintyre Way.
- ^ "Scotland's Great Trails - The West Highland Way". www.walkhighlands.co.uk.
- ^ West Island Way
Bibliography
[edit]- "SNH Commissioned Report 380: Developing the network of longer distance routes" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2010. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
External links
[edit]See also
[edit]- Long-distance footpaths in Scotland
- National Trail (English and Welsh equivalent)
- Long-distance footpaths in the UK
- Scottish Coastal Way