Walkers unhappy at ‘brutal’ woodland barrier

Retired policeman David MacDougall has one word for the barrier blocking a footbridge over Perthshire’s River Braan – “brutal”.

Forestry officials blocked off the 200-year-old footbridge at the heart of the Hermitage more than a decade ago.

Landslips between 2009 and 2011 collapsed the path on the south side of the river.

Officials shut the circular route, but walkers continued scrambling through, leading to workers barricading the bridge on health and safety grounds in 2011.

“It was the most beautiful circular walk,” says David. “They’ve closed up the arch on the far side with a very brutal barricade.

“There are big wooden slabs nailed into the concrete and wire mesh.”

Just off the A9, the Duke of Atholl designed the Hermitage as a pleasure garden in the 18th Century.

Today, thousands of people visit for the trails, river views and giant Douglas firs.

David never imagined that more than a decade later he would still be waiting for the circular route to reopen – he has spent years writing letters to state his case.

A spokesperson for Forestry and Land Scotland issued the same statement the Scottish Government agency published around a year ago, when David last raised the issue publicly.

“The only feasible response that would both restore a circular path and ensure visitor safety would be to build a bridge further downstream,” it said.

“Unfortunately... pushing forward with this project has not been a priority.”

A National Trust for Scotland spokesperson said the organisation owned the bridge, which remained closed for safety reasons.