Loch Lomond – the theme park?!!

I was listening to the Scottish news a few nights ago and found myself cursing when Jackie Bird said that there would be a report on plans for a theme park on the banks of Loch Lomond. Oh for the good old days when everything was controlled by the local council which ensured that the whole area remained unspoiled.

I suppose it did mean that there wasn’t much for tourists to spend their money on when they got there but I don’t think that’s a bad thing when you think of the tourist tat that most similar attractions are selling. After all the best things in life are free. The scenery,wildlife and atmosphere is the main attraction. It doesn’t exist when you stick blots on the landscape in the shape of massive man-made constructions.

When Loch Lomond was made a ‘national park’ some years ago I knew it spelled a death sentence to the place that I grew up with. Sure enough, what had been a completely unspoiled place due mainly to the fact that the local council refused planning permission for most things, has sprouted shopping centres and golf courses and is quickly losing its special charm.

It’s not what I call progress. The theme park which is being planned for Balmaha is a nightmarish thought and I really hope that it doesn’t come to fruition. But money talks so I suppose it’s a done deal already. It’s sacrilege!

If you want to read more about it have a look here.

10 thoughts on “Loch Lomond – the theme park?!!

  1. I feel exactly as you do. I’m so sorry to hear about the planned park. I certainly won’t go. It’s just like the Joni Mitchell song ‘they paved paradise and put up a parking lot’. Jack just started singing it as I read your blog aloud.
    I don’t know how your public lands / national or state parks work, but here in the US, they get logged or drilled or mined by private companies for profit. The government (we taxpayers) build roads through the lands to make it easier for them. I don’t think that’s how they should work. They should be kept pristine for everyone to enjoy. I hear they may drill for oil or something near the Grand Canyon. Yeah, that would be pretty!
    One of my big campaigns is to get the US government to stop rounding up the mustangs they are supposed to protect on public lands, saying there are too many of them and they’re ruining the ranges, and replacing them with privately owned cattle in far greater numbers. There are now more wild horses (an oxymoron in this case) stockpiled in holding pens than there are free on the ranges. Off with the government’s heads!!

    • Joan,
      Yes. And they charged the people a dollar and a half just to see them! You can bet your boots that it’ll be a lot more expensive than that now. You would think that a national park would mean that it is a protected area but it seems to be completely the opposite. It’s an invitation to big business to come along and grab anything they can to make money. The excuse is always that it means jobs but they always turn out to be part-time low paid jobs with just a few decent well paid ones which will not go to any locals. Golf courses take priority even when the land they are built on is of special scientific interest and has rare plants and animals. Donald Trump is trying to build one near Aberdeen and you know how money talks! So are these so called wild horses being fed at the expense of the tax payer whilst an industrial scale farmer pockets a profit from the land? Where are my knitting needles!

      • Yes, we taxpayers pay millions of dollars to, usually, one man who has a contract to round up the wild horses, often using helicopters and, often, killing horses in the process. So sad. Our government collects $15.00 A YEAR in grazing rights for each head of cattle. $15.00!! And the rancher turns around and sells that steer for a lot more than that. And then the government restores the range! What a deal for the rancher!

        I read about Trump’s plan, but I was hoping that it wasn’t going to happen since I hadn’t read anything about it lately. I do not understand man’s determination to ruin his environment. Like you, we love the peaceful, quiet, beautiful natural places.

        • Joan,

          Helicopters! That’s quite a change from a bloke on a horse with a lasso. Farmers here get paid large subsidies for NOT planting crops – it’s a crazy world.

          There are a few people who are refusing to sell their properties to Trump but I think he will eventually get his own way and they will be forced to sell to him. There are golf courses everywhere here, this town has 3, every village has one. There are 9 or 10 around St Andrews and umpteen around Aberdeen where Trump wants another one. He seems to think he’s doing us a favour too!

  2. No no no no no no no NO!!!

    This is just too much.

    One thing that seems to escape note is the amount of chemicals (fertilizers AND pesticides) that end up leaching into the groundwater from all of these golf courses. Especially in areas (like my lovely island home) with high concentrations of courses.

    Trump is an ass. There, I’ve said it.

    • Pearl,

      It is so depressing isn’t it. The last time a large hotel was given permission the developer went bust before they could start, maybe something similar could happen. Yes chemicals are a problem and from farmers as well as golf courses. It turns the nearby lochs bright green as soon as it gets a bit warm which doesn’t please the anglers.

      I wonder if Trump will run for president and which would be worse – him or Palin!

  3. If it’s either of those two, my dear – put out an extra cup ‘cuz we’ll be having tea together regular when I move in down the road with my Scottish family!!

    • Pearl,

      Contrary to rumour, the coffee here isn’t too bad!

      I’m not sure if you have my email address so I’m going to email you in case you need to get in touch with me.

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