DREW Allan’s explanation of the dilemmas faced each day in deciding how to achieve balanced and representative coverage in letters and photographs (“Inside Track: It is impossible to please everyone all of the time”, The Herald, October 30) is demonstrated very well on today’s Letters Pages ( October 30). The two letters you published which criticised the proposed camping by-laws in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park are rather well balanced by the Picture of the Day, which shows a pristine view of the shores of Loch Lubnaig, looking northwards.

It looks as though this photograph is taken immediately below the new campsite at Loch Lubnaig. How nice to see a photograph in the park which shows no litter and no abandoned, burnt-out cars, as well as the photograph accompanying the letters in the online Herald which shows campers along the West Highland Way, using minimum impact techniques, compliant with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

I visited the Loch Lubnaig camp site on May Bank Holiday this year as part of an investigation of camping issues in the national park. It emerged that the operators of the camp site are local landowners who have a partnership arrangement with the park authority. As I walked around the campsite with one of the operators I was amazed at the diligence with which she picked up every item of litter, however small. No wonder this camp site and the adjacent shoreline are pristine. What a contrast with those other landowners in the park who seem to think that litter collections once a month are sufficient. They need a guided tour around the Loch Lubnaig facility to see how to cater for campers on a narrow strip of land, squeezed between between main road and loch shore. I also spoke with a group of motorcyclists who were erecting their tents having just arrived from their home in Germany via the Newcastle ferry. They were mightily impressed by their chance discovery of this Scottish camping facility on their ride north.

To complete this “balanced” contribution I must of course congratulate the national park on what it has achieved at Loch Lubnaig. It points the way forward and reinforces the point made by the Ramblers and other outdoor organisations in their letter on the opposite page to Picture of the Day – this national park needs a camping plan, for the whole park, developed by outdoor recreation groups and community councils, under the leadership of the national park. The Environment Minister, Aileen McLeod, needs to facilitate this process and ensure that no more time and energy is wasted in dealing with the proposed camping by-laws. There is a waste bin waiting for them beside Loch Lubnaig.

Dave Morris,

2 Bishop Terrace, Kinnesswood, Kinross.

FREQUENT visitors to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park will have noticed the improvements to the laybys on Loch Lubnaig side by the A84. The “wild” campers have gone, parking areas with picnicking and camping facilities have been formalised, the lochside vegetation is regenerating and visitors have returned in their droves.

A year or two ago on Loch Lubnaig side, the first sight of a Highland loch for many visitors would have presented a very different picture. A semi-permanent encampment was in place, surrounded by excrement, litter and broken glass. The antisocial behaviour persisted despite the vigilance of the police. It felt threatening. It is not relaxing or enjoyable to camp or picnic in a situation where offences are being committed that routinely require police intervention so, effectively, access was denied to most people. Improvements in the camping /picnicking infrastructure have helped at Loch Lubnaig side but the problem behaviour exists on or has been displaced to other loch sides in the national park.

Helen Todd, David Gibson, Eddie Palmer and the organisations they represent, and Nick Kempe (Letters, October 30h) by advocating that the proposed camping by-laws be rejected will, in effect, deny the majority of us access to our lochsides in the National Park.

I am proud of my beautiful country and feel ashamed that the first sight many visitors have of the national park and the Highlands is of a beautiful loch side trashed by the described encampments, fouled and littered, with drunken inhabitants lighting camp fires with anything nearby they can chop down and a near permanent police presence. This does not say “welcome to Scotland” and is not the way I want the world to view Scotland and its people.

The proposed by-laws are needed to protect the environment and to protect the right of everyone to access our beautiful countryside. They will show the world that we value our exquisite surroundings and that we are prepared to take responsibility for our environment so that it can be enjoyed by all.

Ruth McLusky,

Ardoch Cottage, Strathyre.