Meet and greet for countryside visitors on Deeside

With the forecast for better summer weather ahead, Aberdeenshire Council Ranger Service and Police Scotland hosted a ‘meet and greet’ session for countryside visitors on Deeside. 

The council’s Ranger Team and Police Scotland’s Interventions and Preventions Team have been working in partnership to share messaging on responsible countryside access. 

While most visitors are responsible and leave no trace of their visit, there are a minority whose irresponsible and anti-social behaviour results in negative impacts for other visitors, our communities and our countryside. 

Officers at the meet and greet session sought to welcome visitors and engage them in discussions around access rights and responsible countryside access. 

The session had a particular focus on anti-social camping, including issues around littering and lighting of potentially damaging and dangerous fires. 

Ranger Service co-ordinator Fiona Banks explained: “We hope that through working in partnership with Police Scotland that everyone will feel confident to enjoy the benefits of accessing our countryside responsibly, but also that the minority of irresponsible visitors who disrespect or damage our countryside will be aware of the impacts of their actions. 

“The Scottish Outdoor Access Code provides information for countryside visitors and land managers on what is and is not responsible access. This summer, our Ranger Service has developed a series of business cards summarising key parts of the Code which will be shared with visitors to our countryside.”

The recent session was one of a series of Police Scotland initiatives which will take place along the Deeside corridor hotspots over the summer months with partner organisations including NatureScot, Cairngorms National Park Authority Ranger Service, Balmoral Castle and Estate Ranger Service and the National Trust for Scotland.