I've become a really grumpy old man because I'm worried about climate breakdown and our exhaustion of gas and oil reserves. This is worsened by one major access, to the formidable Galloway Forest Park terrain at Forrest Lodge, NW of St John's Town of Dalry, being given over to motor sport/dirt car racing for the five days from 25 to 30 April, last weekend.
Notices were posted at the entrance (unseen as we all sped past in cars or, in my case, mountain bike):-
And at the car park at Forrest Lodge (notice NOT noticed by those I met up on the hill):-
One walker, Dougie from near Hamilton, made the point that he parked his car in the car park but was attracted by the map of the area that was in the wooden shelter to the right of the one in the photo, above, and which was nearer to the cars. He knew nothing of the racing until he was allowed onto the race circuit by the marshall as long as he got off the road when he heard a car racing up behind him! As a result, he was covered and must have breathed in dangerous stoney dust as the speeding cars ripped up the forest roads and the stone was thrown up onto the verges where he was walking.
Up on Corserine summit, we heard the roar of the cars below. A number of us talked about the racing throwing up clouds of dust, dirt and stone from the stoney roads. It meant that the 10 to 20 of us mountain walking last Saturday on the Rhinns of Kells were unwilling to walk back along the forest roads used for the racing circuit until it closed at 6 pm. Even then, Dougie and I found the dust still covered us from the race officials' cars that followed on!
Another walker from Ayrshire was planning to do the full Rhinns of Kells round in this photo:
He was rightly put out, as he could not do the circular walk but had to walk many more additional miles to go back along the high ridge, back to Corserine, a prominent Corbett and Donald summit and, then back down the path he had gone up to avoid the noise, dust, dirt and danger.
How do we share the forest roads with care and fairly? For us, the forest roads are the only sensible access to the high ridge of the Rhinns. Yet, the dirt car brigade, I suppose, must have their leisure pursuit in a normally peaceful and working/walkers' forest. The organisers told me that they will pay for the roads to be brought back to how they were before the ruts caused by the racing. That means more mountains spoiled by quarrying to get the stone for the roads to be repaired. I found one massive quarry near the Bush bothy on the W side of the Rhinns.
In the light of climate and eventual shortages of gas and oil, how should we behave to show some restraint or, at least, make some concession to uncomfortable climate realities?
I feel so guilty driving the car, I've curtailed my motoring and my motorway speed to get 71 mpg, according to the car computer this time, on one tankful of less than 50 litres. I share the nearside lane, for much of the time, with the HGVs on my two annual trips north and south! I'm car camping and roughing it, too, to ease my conscience but finish with a hotel night.
What do the rest of you think about all this? What should the dirt car racers concede to climate? Anything? Do they pay the full cost of their racing for their road wrecking fun? The Forrest Estate must make a small fortune from the five days. But how responsible are they being with their preaching to us in this notice to "respect the environment" (zoom in)?:
No comments:
Post a Comment