Plea to raise £100,000 to improve ‘scar’ paths on stunning Munros

They were once simple paths, but they have deteriorated into ugly scars marking two of Scotland’s most stunning Munro mountains.

And now, Mountaineering Scotland and the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (Oats) are leading a campaign to raise £100,000 to support two essential Scottish mountain path projects, one in the Cairngorms and the other at Loch Lomond.

The projects - one in each of Scotland’s two national parks - are part of a UKwide initiative, Mend Our Mountains: Make One Million, co-ordinated by the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) in collaboration with 15 national parks.

In Scotland, the initial target is to renovate one of the nation’s most heavily eroded mountain paths, a highly visible scar up the slopes of Beinn a’ Ghlo, the great three-Munro massif in the south of the Cairngorms National Park.

The campaign aims to raise £60,000 for this ven- ture, which will sustainably and sensitively restore the route up Carn Liath, which is currently so wide it is visible from some distance away on the A9 north of Blair Atholl.

Urgent path repair work is also required on the popular Arrochar Alps peak, Ben Vane, in the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.

Despite claiming Munro status by a mere two feet, Ben Vane’s location within an hour or so of Glasgow has made it one of Scotland’s most popular mountain walks.

A total of £40,000 is required to create a longlasting route up this welltrodden if steep mountain, whose path has sustained significant damage, particularly in wet weather.

David Gibson, Mountaineering Scotland chief executive, said: “By making a donation, however small, this is a real opportunity for everyone who values Scotland’s mountains to make a difference to the quality of the experience on two much-loved Munros.”

Some £40,000 is being sought for a route up Ben Vane