'People risking lives' at Devil's Pulpit beauty spot

27 June 2020

Public access to a beauty spot has been temporarily blocked amid safety concerns.

Finnich Glen - also known as the Devil's Pulpit - has been used for scenes in TV series Outlander and The Nest, and the film King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Stirling Council said it had taken action to close the site because of cars being parked dangerously nearby.

It said there had also been problems with rubbish being left in the glen.

A temporary order to block access to the site is in place until 23:59 on 1 July.

It comes after police had to intervene because of traffic congestion around the glen earlier this month.

'People risking lives'

Stirling Council has also restricted the B837 at Drymen and Bracklin Road in Callander to local access only, and prevented parking at Dalvey Road in Callander due to the dangerous parking of cars.

Police were called to deal with traffic problems at the glen earlier this month

Danny Gibson, the local authority's vice convener said the recent easing of lockdown restrictions was welcomed but added "it's not open season".

He said: "Our car parks are still closed, our public toilets are still closed and it's clear there is no infrastructure to handle the influx of people at rural beauty spots like Finnich Glen.

"People are risking their lives, and the lives of others, by abandoning their cars on corners and bad bends, then leaving all their rubbish behind for someone else to clear up.

"It is an utterly disgraceful set of circumstances and we have been left with no choice but to take action to protect public safety."