On page 8 Robin Kelsall reminisces about the Paradise Pool up on Sheriffmuir, but when in late April he paid the second of two recent visits to refresh his memory, the place was strewn with litter. It appeared to be apres-barbecue detritus, a sure (if depressing) sign that summer is almost upon us.
Quite why people do this is one of life''s mysteries: they go to a quiet, beautiful place - presumably at least in part precisely because it is a quiet, beautiful place - yet leave it in such a state that the next person coming along won''t get anything like the same enjoyment.
On a similar theme, one of your committee members recently walked the grassy track that leads along the Glen of Sorrow above Castle Campbell, along the northern flank of King''s Seat Hill. This is a clear grassy track - it''s hard to imagine anyone losing it and straying into the tussocks even in thick weather - but every few hundred metres some vandal had daubed a small red paint-splodge on a rock. These were almost certainly meant to guide walkers (or possibly runners) on some kind of organised event, something that has featured in these pages before: Newsletter 25, Spring 2004, described various rocks on Dumyat being adorned with yellow paint. While it might not be so immediately unsightly as the Paradise Pool litter, it''s arguably even worse, as it''s a darn sight harder to get rid of. So whoever is doing these things, please desist and give some thought to those who come after you - and read the bit in the access act about responsible behaviour. What''s the point in objecting to big litter in the form of turbines and pylons if we''re busily cluttering the Ochils with our own rubbish?