The Fight To STOP Scotland's Next National Park 

Just to be clear. I personally am not taking sides here. As an outsider I can see it from both perspectives. I visited as a tourist so a NP would prob benefit me. But I’m also from a place that has had similar issues to Galloway. This story fascinated me though and I’ve tried to present the arguments from both sides as presented publicly online.

One key issue here has been the GNP not advising those who seem for it that they're for it for totally misinformed reasons. One huge one is people think it will stop windfarms when scottish governement have updated policy to state its needed and will be welcomed within the boundaries. The boundary itself is another huge reason it's not fixed at any point they can change it as they desire that's before even looking at the fact they've cut Dalbeattie in half. People seem to think it will being all these jobs which yes hospitality jobs will increase but they're seasonal and min wage so how are these people to afford the increased cost of accommodation if they can find it. Whole towns in other NPs are classes as being dark in winter because there's no locals left and tourists and 2nd homes don't visit in the off season. So who goes to these hospitality businesses then? Only so many will ever survive or thrive if all there is are hospitality businesses. Our infrastructure is on its knees with the A75 closed 5 days over the last 6 weeks due to accidents which have cause not only chaos locally but other accidents on B roads which have had to take ferry traffic. Our hospital is on its knees with a delayed discharge crisis between the average age already rising and projected to rise further if our young all leave being priced out where do you think the carers come from? Accommodation is a huge issue we can't even get new Dr's accommodation and we desperately need them to come. Long term rentals are fast changing to holiday let's and Air B&Bs. These seasonal min wage jobs won't afford folk mortgages here so where do people live. Ask yourselves why Naturescot who cowrote the bid are now acting as reporter in the process and why scotgov won't give residents a referendum? Why all previous events of engagement prior to the bid being sent were at certain establishments and ticketed with selected people invited? Less than 0.5% of the residents were actually engaged with for a view and this was used to say the region wanted it. We have so many local groups who do an amazing job and could do so much better without a board of over paid people take control of planning in the region and have no thought for the region itself. Ask yourselves as a region of high deprivation who benefits? I cant say many affording days out in the NP and our transport doesnt afford people options to get there. This simply benefits those already benefiting while the locals will pay the price of this glorified experiment by scotgov

The question of national parks is always tricky. I used to live and work in Madagascar. Immediately in front of the lodge and dive shop was a natural area where green turtles lived and ate. There was a debate about whether to make it a recognised park. That would add protection, money for the local community and a recognition of its ecological importance. On the other hand, the area was relatively unknown so the turtles were mostly left alone with not many tourists visiting. If it was a national park, visitor numbers would increase, potentially to a level where the turtles would leave. It’s often not an easy decision about the best approach. As with Galloway, there were people from the same background on opposite sides. Inertia has prevailed so far and it hasn’t yet got protected status.

Great video Stephen. I can sympathise with the residents of the area as someone who lives next to the Burren national park. The infrastructure just does not support the numbers of tourists who arrive and it makes life hell for local. As well as that it really does not help the local economy outside of hospitality primarily. My father had an outdoor shop and we very rarely had tourists stop at the shop other than to maybe use the toilet. Its a complex issue. As an environmental scientist and ecologist, I'd love to see more protection areas for wildlife and habitats, but looking at Galloway, it looks like 90% of the habitat is non native forestry!

Your videos are absolutely brilliant at the moment. I'm really enjoying all this different subjects in local areas that don't get widespread publicity. Keep them coming. 👍

Property prices go through the roof. locals get squeezed out.

As someone who's worked and lived in both forest parks and a national park I see absolutely no benefit in a D&G national park. The scenery and wildlife has existed perfectly fine for decades as a forest park. The only reason organisations want it to be a national park is corporate greed , the wildlife and land owners , predominantly Forest and Land Scotland just see pound signs for their own budgets. I've worked for them and they are purely money driven , the guys doing the practical work on the ground do a great job though. I say leave the area alone , I love visiting D&G the way it is.

Another great video, mate. Loving the recent move into more story-esque content. I hope your AWT gets a good bump and the algodrithm shows your channel some love.

Encouraging tourism will only push out locals and leave countless homes as holiday lets, which are vacant half the year. I come from Carmarthenshire, but had to move to Cardiff for work, which is what about 50% of the people I went to school with did. The difference between Galloway and where im from is that, although naturally beautiful, Carmarthenshire was ravaged by industrialisation, even so due to the rural vibe and relatively low house prices, people from england have flocked over en mass. The pretty coastal villages have been gutted and are now >50% airbnb lets, and even the cheaper, ex mining villages have gone from being 100% welsh speaking communities when i was a kid, to now mostly english. I used to be able to go to the local pub or shop and speak welsh, now everywhere i go everyone has an english accent, and it's happened in the span of about 15 years. This isn't an anti english rant either, it's just really depressing that larger, overarching economic forces and a historic lack of investment in rural communities (particularly in Wales, Scotland, cornwall, devon etc) is leading to the homogenisation of UK culture, and i think our various unique and ancient cultures is honestly one of the best things we have in the UK, amd we should celebrate...

The underlying issue nobody is talking about is the wealth divide. There's a big gap between the richest and poorest in this county. The rich are in favour because it doesn't negatively impact them and they might even get some additional income. The rest of us will be worse off. Even the most major road, the A75, is not fit for purpose with the current level of traffic and tourism. Someone died in a fatal accident outside of our village literally a few days ago. The only conceivable net gain will be jobs - but they will be low-paid hospitality jobs that nobody wants to do anyway. It won't stop young people leaving the area. The additional funding for conservation will be needed to offset the destruction of habitats necessary to support the influx of tourists (yay more car parking for ugly motorhomes!). I'm not a NIMBY either, I'm a 24 year old who moved here. I am all for positive change but I don't believe this is positive change. Ultimately I would probably benefit, my house would likely increase in value and my village is outside of the proposed NP area so no planning restrictions.

Planning is bureaucratic in a national park, I want to build a small room extension to replace an ageing ugly porch. Anywhere else this is permitted development, in national park I have to go through full planning which includes significant cost and architect fees. Anywhere else in the country a conservatory/building company could build an room for you cheaply with minimum fuss.

In part the push back is no doubt nimbyism which you always get in these circumstances, not writing off peoples concerns solely as that alone though. I live in Ayrshire and used to head down to a certain beach on the coast near Dalbeatie which was an absolutely beautiful and unspoiled spot for power-kiting, got friendly with most of the locals there who were happy to have a few people know about the place... but were always quite protective about it being "their spot" and not wanting it over run with people, which I can understand. A bit like any community or group of people who have something special and don't want an influx of outsiders ruining their fun. It's a double edged sword and there really is no simple solution. Enjoyed your video and glad you and your friends enjoyed the visit. Haste ye back.

As someone familiar with American National Parks, and a belief in the big promises/little results of government-I’d vote no. The massive amount of tourists will over run the budget-minded bureaucrats minimal facilities. Overflowing pit toilets, garbage, graffiti, and much more. Trails will become overcrowded crowded, wildlife will be impacted, people will simply not follow rules and on and on. And once it starts to become popular, housing prices will skyrocket. Those young people won’t be able to afford to live there. Neither will senior citizens because the tax rate will also soar. People who’ve lived there for generations have to sell out. Developers will be frothing at the mouth to throw up substandard housing that will look like crap in 10 years. Just ask Montanans. Tourism is a double-edged sword.

A very thought provoking video that really gets you thinking one way then the other about the benefits or impacts of introducing a National Park to the Area. The reasons for and against the NP both have positives within them. I did as the video goes on I tended too think the NP would be a bad idea, more than a positive one. The Points against it raised. More Houses being bought as second homes, and the affect that that has on house prices. That then stops the locals from being able to buy a home where they were born. Which will also impact the rental market, with the same results, and youngster moving away. We have seen it here in Norfolk, in the village were I live the Big House was for sale during Covid for £1.2 million. It has only just come back on the market and the asking price is £4.2 million. ( I honesty can't see how it has had so much value added to it in 4 years) Our own house had more that doubled in value. My kids will not be able to afford to buy their own home until we pass away. We have a lot of second homes that are only used for a few weeks of the year, then they are left empty the rest of they year. We don't often see the owners either. One home is well looked after and it has never had a car parked in the drive as it is empty. We have had 2 houses sell of over a million each and they are still empty. I don't tend to mind Holiday Cottages as much, as they are a lesser of the two evils as the phrase goes, because they still drive up house prices and rents, but when they are occupied their visitors do at least contribute to the local economy. As we tend to spend a little bit more when on holiday than we do when staying at home. That is from what I have seen myself without a National Park being added to the mix. Will look forward to the next part of the video.

I live here. We want visitor numbers way down, not up. We don't want to become another Disneyfied bit of Scotland. We don't want more incomers, especially from down south, blowing house prices up further (because buying a home here is already nigh on impossible if you already live here, and more incomers will only blow the house prices up further instead of crashing them like we need), and businesses centered on tourism are low paid, low status, and highly seasonable and insecure, all of which is a problem when you can't buy a house to damn well live in. Here's a tip for tourists to D&G: Go to Wales instead.

A national park would be somewhere that you would think is full of wildlife, nature, a remote and biodiverse location where the natural world comes first. Now name one National Park in the UK that is this and isn't an overgrazed ecological deadzone that is mostly covered in animal-agriculture. The Cairngorms are trying to change this but is only at the start of it's journey.

Another great entertaining and informative video! This is a tough subject. I grew up in an area that was (in the decade before I was born) turned into a National Lakeshore and I can definitely see both sides. Places I used to enjoy as a kid are now packed with tourists every summer, and quite a few of them do not respect this place I call home whatsoever. But on the other hand, I am glad that the area will now remain undeveloped and available for future generations to enjoy.

This is a really interesting topic. I think there’s a good argument on both sides, it all comes down to how it’s implemented. Look at what’s happened in Loch Lomond and Cornwall for example, where it was poorly managed. Loads of restrictions due to poor facilities and big volumes of people. Galloway Forest is like the Forest of Dean 25+ years ago, similar demographic, employment issues and mining history. I feel the FD has been well rejuvenated. Why can’t GF have this model, all the benefits of the NP without the restrictions of the NP and naming. You can’t beat a good bike packing trip, keep it up.

My favorite thing about your videos is the subject matter! You explore such a wide variety of stories :) I have fond memories as a child of going to the Cairngorms on a sunny day and swimming in a lake :) Quite a bit North from where you were but beautiful as only Scotland can be as well. My family moved to Ireland when I was about 7 in 1988 but I still have many memories of the beautiful landscapes :)

I agree with the locals, let tourism take over and they gain another level of permissions and have contractors run through the area, once they advertise and take land to build on to sell for holiday homes..just putting Galloway on the map here on RU-vid is probably the best solution for the area, the rest will creep in slowly afterwards

Love Galloway stop talking about it or people will start coming 😂

I’ve been visiting this area for 30 years as my wife’s family live here. It’s always been an unknown gem by many in the UK. The area seems to be doing alright without national park status. Plenty of tourists throughout the year. I say leave it alone and I believe locals feel the same. Great video Stephen and great reporting combined with the beauty and majesty of this area. Thanks.

Great video Stephen! Thank you for making this excellent, well researched video and raising awareness about the National Park plans in Galloway. As someone from the area, it’s definitely a divisive topic.

Once again a precious habitat full of non native trees 😢 Scotland is turning into a Sitka forestry base. A national park should be natural to the land, the forests should reflect this.

National Park or not, D&G is an incredibly nature-depleted landscape and, although there has been a lot done to improve that, there is still a lot of work to do. It can't just be ignored through "well we just farm in these parts so bugger off". Best place to start is the vast sitka plantations.

You do such a great service in shining a spotlight on the issues affecting the areas you visit. Most of the ‘outdoor community’ use the environment to showcase their videos but really don’t want to involve themselves with the issues affecting it. Your ‘outsider’ perspective contributes to the debate and airs the opposing views, and doesn’t detract from the beautiful filming and ace humour 😊

Wind Farms and mining…? (Guessing that’s in the next video). I live in Galloway, everywhere you went are places I visit often, and several have a wind farm threat hanging over them. I know there were plans for mining near Glen Trool, not sure what happened to that. Great video, carefully thought out and presented for such a divisive subject. Thank you for that. There are also many many people here who simply don’t know if it’s a good idea or not. I fear deeply for this area 😢

many more people always put stress on wildlife without exception . the gentle atmosphere is ruined if a million more tourists descend and to cater for this, widening roads, destroying hedges and carparks on natural land. i agree outside companies and holiday homes will destroy the place like in other tourist towns. leave it alone.

I actually avoid National Parks owing to their inevitable tourist influx. Wild suddenly becomes occupied.

I understand where the locals are coming from, I live close to the Peak District and it's absolutely full of tourists which naturally means a lot of houses there are air Bnbs etc, I understand it brings in a lot of money but the increase in people actually going to these national parks will always do more damage then any conservation can be promised

Just look at the state of the other National Parks. Thanks Steve😊

Trust issues you say? I can't imagine why

Stayed in that bothy many times, fished, walked and worked the Ayrshire/galloway hills all my life. Loch doon was relatively quiet until a few years ago and it was enjoyed by alot of locals and not too many visitors. Social media and a couple of ospreys later and its full of weekend warriors leaving crap everywhere and a single track road that cant handle the amount of cars. Locals hardly go near it now

When I first heard of the objection NIMBY did come up in my mind and I do think that is still a part of it, complaints about tourists I think tend to be well-meaning but at the end of the day tourism is a massive industry and I think locals don't want busy roads, packed towns and there peace and quite disturbed and I get that, I live on the outskirts of a national park and have seen the impact of tourism especially certain motorhome enthusiasts, who seem very entitled and will plonk their home down in not the best places. I would also say there needs to be unity between both sides, remove the holiday home market or cap it at a certain amount say a certain percentage of the housing market, have it so people need to have long-term employment in the area, create more affordable and social housing for those in the tourism sector, put a requirement for new local cafes and business to have to pay a fair living wage as a term of granting planning permission. What i find happens is that people don't come to the table and just bicker about it until one side wins and it just creates a bad deal for everyone, if both sides came to table, talked things through and compromised this could be a fantastic thing for everyone.

Interesting dilemma! Perhaps there are ways to protect wildlife, rivers etc. without the need for a national park. I can see how a lot of the positives are most likely 'hopes', with no guarantee that they will in fact materialise. The rise in housing prices, second homes and so on is also not something that will bring tangible benefits for the locals, especially the youth. On the other hand, there needs to be a way to protect the area somehow, while trying to support the economy for the locals. There's no easy solution, I'm afraid; but it's important that people know both sides of the story. Thank you for sharing this video and the beautiful landscape!

I grew up in Ayrshire. Galloway was my stomping ground as a teen. Love the place.

Really cool and interesting video! Great storytelling and editing:)

Having lived & worked in the Lake District, the locals in Galloway have good reason to be worried. I first lived there in the early 90s, and none of the problems that were apparent then have ever been properly addressed. Moved back in 2018 & over tourism was 100x worse. I moved away again in the end because I couldn't afford to live close enough to my job in Central Lakes to make commuting to a low paid job viable, much as I was happy to do that work to be able to live near the mountains. Windermere is horribly polluted, roads are grid locked most of the year & there's nothing for local young people. Even if they're happy working in the tourism industry finding a home is difficult even with local occupancy clauses which are too little too late. Communities have been decimated & the national park is little more than a theme park. Post covid fly camping is a massive problem, as is a general disrespect for the area and it's people from the new breed of scummy visitors who wouldn't have thought of going there before. Galloway will be in for the same unless measures are put in place at the start to prevent the problems encountered by other national parks, but c'mon what are the chances of that happening?!

I hate were ever you go these days to have a day out in the country, the authorities want to rip you off with big parking fees. Fine have parking fees, but not 5 ponds plus charges. Its all a big rip off. If i go out in the Lakes, it cost me upwards of 10 pounds to park my car. No toilets, no nothing just a rip off.

I stay just up the coast in Ayrshire. I love the Galloways, I've been going there since I was in my teens. I'd like them to improve the diversity of the woodland, there's far too many mono-plantations. The area is chronically underfunded and has been for years, it so deserves a lot of TLC. I'm pleased to see White Laggan looking in good nick, it's been 30 years since I was last there. It's a great place to see in the New Year!!

Ha, I remember seeing that lodge in another of your videos and you planning to come back to it some day. Fun watching the lore develop!

Its the same old story - a handful of businessmen want to monetise the beauty of an area. The tourists come in big numbers spend lots of money but ultimately ruin what was so special in the first place.

Enjoyed this Stephen, certainly made me question why I've never made the short trip from Belfast to explore Galloway, although I've still yet to make the most of the Mournes! I can see both sides of the argument you explored in the video; I find myself coming down somewhere in the middle, the objective above all should be conservation and nature renewal. such initiatives can provide jobs, maintain the beauty of the area for those living there and visitors, without the massive 'Come and Holiday here!' that comes with being a national park. Fact is, the more advertised a place is to potential holidaymakers, the more visitors you are going to get who are underprepared and/or unthinking (fly camping etc). I doubt the locals are wholly against visitors to their beautiful home, they just don't want to see an increase in those who don't show it the respect it deserves.

Very good video, raises lots of talking points. We.'ve been visiting this area for over 20 years and I'd hate to see it over commercialised and spoilt.

Great video, beautiful place. Your content gets better and better. I don't think I've ever read through so many comments on a video before... Well done.

from the past few years i have discovered to never trust those in power.

Cornwall has been ruined with these bright ideas, rubbish everywhere, unwanted holiday homes taking over whole villages, to many new builds nobody wants and to many tourist. All devastating the wild life, I haven't seen a Frog Toad or Hedgehog for years when once they were abundant, my ponds where heaving in the breeding season now nothing... Don't do it to Scotland! 😒... Not t mention the missing Birds.

National Parks just bring even more unneeded beaurocracy. Loch Lomond is still a mess with overflowing bins everywhere and neds on jetskis every sunny day

Perhaps those against a National Park would be happy to have Flamingo Land there, now that the planning in the National Park where I live, have stopped this development (thank goodness)? I would be interested to know what the ordinary folk who live in Galloway think? Not just what the large landowners and farmers think.

Walked the Southern Upland Way, in the middle of August, a couple of years ago. Couldn't believe how quiet it was, human wise, for basically the whole journey. It was excellent. Lovely area.

Really loving this style of video Stephen, can't wait for the next one. We live on the doorstep of the Peak District and have seen the impact of a national park from both sides too. I really wish there was an answer that would satisfy everyone, but alas I don't think that's possible.

Thank you for the video and nice to see a balance of views presented. I live and work in galloway and feel really in the dark about how the process keeps just rolling without any real information and lack of chance to get facts so just down about how divisive this is becoming locally. My personal experience of growing up and living in other national parks means am against it happening but sadly feel the whole thing is just creating unnecessary turmoil and distracting from actual improvements so whatever happens the damage has been done.

I work In Nidderdale National Landscape (Formally Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; AONBs became NLs this year). This widely regarded as a positive thing by everyone who works and lives here. Many of the benefits that NPs have but with a much more local outlook.

What National park doesn’t need its share of Turkish Barbour/Vape shops and kebabs shops and Bookies.

Hmm, I can’t help but think that, if you live somewhere nice/scenic, other people will probably want to visit that area. It’s to be expected really and you should probably accept it as a small downside for living somewhere lovely?

Another great video. The trouble with creating a national park is that the influx of people could easily destroy what makes Galloway so special. As for second homes and absentee landlords(air b&b etc) there should be a system where local people ,especially young people,should come first. Who really benefits from national parks? The intentions are good on both sides of the argument -its not one that will be easily solved. Lots of food for thought.Looking forward to the next video - thankyou . Ps The Scottish tourism board should be hiring you. The video really showed how beautiful Galloway is.

Excellent video friend thank you and please keep the great videos coming. From Scotland 😊

Follow the money and find out what private equity groups are involved with this.

be very afraid when anyone from the government say they are here to help... lol

I absolutely love this video my friend. I live in Northern Ireland too. Love this video from start to finish. Keep these types of videos comming my friend 😊

I can see both sides. The lack of affordable housing for locals around Aviemore in the Cairngorm National Park is a huge issue as properties are being bought up for AirBnBs. Similarly across in Yellowstone National Park in the USA where there is a serious lack of year round housing for locals. All very well putting in 'infrastructure' for tourists if there's nowhere for the people who service the tourists to stay. Increased footfall can also damage natural resources. However, NP status could also put in more protections for natural resources. Tricky one...

Anybody who has visited the Lake District in the summer will know that increasing tourism in the countryside is NOT a good thing. I visited there in June on my way back from Scotland & was due to to stay for four nights but after driving around on the Saturday & constantly getting stuck in traffic jams caused by stupid idiots parking where there was really no room to park I came home that night, even forfeiting almost £200 for a day clambering around Honister Pass. In the Peak District Park there are paths that used to be three foot wide that are now eight to ten foot & people have taken the stones off the top of the nearby walls so that they can walk across them & not get their nice white trainers dirty! Whilst it all sounds good in theory (to some at least), it will not encourage youngsters to stay in the area when they grow up (not that they would be able to afford it) & the disruption of installing the infrastructure needed for such a project will only cause damage to the area that will take decades to recover. In fact it won't ever recover properly because thousands of visitors with their cars & their rubbish will see to that. Leave it to the people who enjoy nature for what it is. Those who want to visit will do so whether or not there is a coffee shop or a car park at every viewpoint.

Fantastic video! They're only getting better

Galloway is not a playground - it's a living, working area of small communities. The N.P. proposal is a vainglorious gravy train of an ill considered concept that could be thrust upon the residents - more rules and regulations, red tapes, restrictions, by laws, etc - more layers of bureaucracy. If the money and will is there for this "project" then why not invest in Galloway as it is? Over-tourism is a blight on the planet, not just Scotland. Go back and watch the video again and imagine nose to tail vans, campers, huge motor homes, cars, hikers. They would all expect "facilities" - and providing those would destroy the very thing that they purport to come for. The vast majority of jobs created would be seasonal - you can't pay a mortgage on a seasonal wage even if you thought you might be able to afford one of the local houses with prices greatly inflated just by the misfortune of having the N.P. name tag. I would like to see Galloway tourism left as it is, and more investment that would directly benefit local people for their schools, housing, roads, environment, young peoples' prospects etc. I've lived in the Stewartry and now live in Wigtownshire; it's a very beautiful area, but you can't eat the landscape. As I said, it's not a playground.

To say that the only reason why farmers are against it is because they won't be allowed to pollute the water ways as much is such a ridiculous comment

The people who live in Galloway should decide, not some beaurocratic quango telling them that "You now live in a national park, here is a list of five thousand things that you can no longer do, even though you have done it for hundreds of years, shut up, we know better than you because we live in Edinburgh/London and eat canapes."

Simply love your documentaries - they are now my favourite videos you produce :)

I can see the resistance, just look at the Fairy Pools on Skye, the Car Park there now compared to 30 years ago Is an eye sore. Over tourism is a problem 😢

Stephen, thankyou very much for this video, nice balanced views. You captured the essence of the hilly parts of the the proposed park but there is much more. The park will have a huge coastline and also covers large areas of lowland farming, the hopes and ambitions of Galloway residents are diverse and partly what is causing the entrenched views. You are very right about the opinions on the park creating an 'unholy alliance' between normally antagonistic sections of the community, that is one of the great strengths of the No Park community. This subject trumps all until it is resolved. Unlike you, I am taking sides in this debate, I think the National Park is a very bad idea for Galloway. The opposition to the park is well laid out in the No Galloway National Park Facebook page. Thankyou again.

Hmm, a bunch of elderly, land-owning, white, rich folk are all in favour of it. I wonder why? Answer: Follow the money. They're after government grants. The locals will gain little or nothing.

From the US, but awesome video and topic. Over-tourism is a global problem, and one not to be taken lightly. I’m sure both side of this argument have very legitimate concerns. - love your videos!

Tourism isn’t the answer. There are so many misconceptions about tourism - that it brings huge economic benefits for local people, that economies in rural beauty spots depend on it entirely and so on. The fact is that most jobs in tourism are within the hospitality industry meaning part-time, minimum wage and seasonal. People cannot survive on hospitality jobs alone. Meanwhile property prices get pushed up and many holiday let owners live outside the area and just enjoy raking in money. Long term rentals virtually disappear and housing in general becomes scarce and expensive. Infrastructure struggles to cope with visitor numbers (take it from someone who went to A&E with an infection here in north Wales during the school hols and had to wait 15 hours). Tourism isn’t the answer

Great content, I've visited the area several times including the bothy. It's always been a quiet peaceful area. Maybe a national park would bring an increase in cars and motorhomes like the NC500 has done. Not a good thing in my opinion.

Great video Stephen. Enjoying these docu series !

Stunning filming, was good to speak to you. Looks like you had a good time in the forest. No Galloway National Park

How does doubling the number of people trampling through the area help conservation?

Tourism offers mostly low paid temp jobs. Making a real effort to attract business, like small factories, brings stable jobs that pay enough to have a family.

Borders/Tweed Valley should have got it. We have the infrastructure and already receive thousands of tourists for mountain biking and other attractions. It would have been well received by the public also. Our NP committee didn't have a clue how to submit a brief however and the whole thing was a mess. Now the whole process looks to have been wasted since the residents of Galloway don't actually want a national park. To be honest, there's little else in Galloway to warrant tourists diverting from the Trossachs, Highlands or Borders.

This is the very epitome of a place ‘left behind’.

Its always the interfering busybody types who push for this, people who can't leave things be, people with too much time on their hands. Always follow the money, always find out who has the most to gain. People don't invest all this time and effort if they don't stand to gain something of value.

Reminds me of a time I tried to cycle along the coast from St Andrews and somehow ended up at the foot of the cliffs. Not fun dragging myself back up there. But it kinda was.

All depends how it’s done. The NC 500 is an example of how not to do it. Promote a single track road in the far north of Scotland as a road trip destination; provide no extra accommodation or public toilets and allow the road to get destroyed. Galloway Forest is a large area of non native commercial forestry with pretty low ecological value. It is changing now and would benefit from the injection of funding NP status would provide, but put in the infrastructure first. I would suggest preventing vehicle access to the forestry dirt roads to encourage human-powered travel. That would eliminate the neds at a stroke…

My family left Dumfries&Galloway for work in England and only went back when they retired. It’s such a beautiful place it’s a shame more hasn’t been done to help the locals with more work opportunities. Stranraer suffered massively when they moved the ferry to Cairnryan.

There is no such thing as a guaranteed solution when it comes to revitalising an area. I think you have to look at as action vs no action. If things are going great, don't touch it, but if things are going downhill, they will continue to do so without action and you have to try something or accept a long slow decline. I think a lot of it comes from peoples perceptions, some people just distrust a certain group on principle, if they say left, they will say right and visa versa. I've seen it where I grew up in Skelmersdale against West Lancs Council. Some just don't like change and will see dark clouds where others see silver linings.

Excellent video, thank you for sharing both the wonderful scenery and thought provoking, intelligent content. Looking forward to the next one.

One man making a better job than National Geographic, chapeau bas!

Personally explored a large swathe of this region and Galloway Forest park itself, Kirkcudbright is stunning & I found some of the most beautiful and peaceful white sandy beaches running down that coastline that I’ve ever seen in my life & I like to think I’m reasonably well travelled! What I will say about Galloway Forest park is the amount of logging that appears to be going on is despicable, the replanting of what seem to be none native trees everywhere and the miles of destroyed areas rampant with oil / fuel / whatever else gets spilled during logging I’m not sure but I got lost in the forest and ended up in a complete apocalyptic scene. Really dampened my entire view of the forest. If I’m wrong about the logging here please do tell me why it’s ok? Because it looked hellish. I love Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

This puts into perspective one of the proposed routes for a bridge from N.I to Scotland and the large amount of infrastructure needed to put a motorway through the area,

Thanks Stephen for alerting me to this proposal (which will no doubt go ahead).

It easier for you to get there from NI But i always stop off for a few days on way further North and its lovely

Another banger from Stephen. Love this type of content

I could take you to many many parts of Scotland that could equal or surpass the remote scenery you so well promote in your video... but you surprisingly leave out the A 75 ..100 miles of misery that is the trunk road that runs through and would be the feeder road for any future tourist influx... and that road has been neglected for decades leading to continual HGV convoys who are restricted to 40mph in Scotland due to our road infrastructure being so poor.... so for locals trying to commute or go shopping in the few towns who support supermarkets it is continual frustration over & above the safety aspect as there are so few safe overtaking lanes that would help traffic flow. I realise you coud not cover all the aspects of this NP area but you gave insight with the quote .... "NOT FIX the problems".

Really enjoying the docuvideos, definitely opens your eyes to different issues!

Follow the money - always! It's a glorious place - part of my soul is there - the tranquility and peace. It functions perfectly well and bureaucrats will impose their unwanted and unwarranted newly found authority. Control is relinquished to an unelected and unaccountable body. I hope it doesn't get spoiled for the people who actually live there. Personally I have been back and forth with connections to Gatehouse, Barholm and Garlieston for 40 years. Ask the people - what do they want - I certainly saw all the protest banners a few weeks ago as well as the opposition to the windfarms that will blot the land.

sounds like most of the reasons against are happening anyway? but farmers don't like being told not to pollute and country folk don't like blow-ins generally.

A very well presented video - and what a great advert for the area. The locals will love/hate* this (*delete as appropriate! 🤣). There are a multitude of issues here as you say, which form what is on the face of it a strange alliance between people who otherwise would be in opposition on any other day of the week. Like Brexit. The NIMBY land owner will support the conservationist who opposes it on environmental grounds, and vice versa, as both are in pursuit of the same goal. But what happens when the goalposts shift? These are fragile alliances. One thing that may have escaped your research is the general political opposition in this area to the Scottish Government. This is a strongly British Nationalist, No voting area, broadly Tory in outlook, who will seek to scupper any initiative emanating from our parliament in Edinburgh, even if it may have benefits in their particular area of interest. We saw this with a combined opposition to the recycling scheme for glass bottles, by an alliance of, on the face of it, unlikely bedfellows. For many, a bloody nose for the SNP was preferable to dealing with our ever growing mountains of roadside litter, and we now await England catching up with their scheme before we are permitted to recycle here. All that aside, my own view is that the Scottish Government haven't grasped what National Parks are for - the protection of the environment and the access to it. Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park (LLTNP) have overseen the scrapping of some access rights as regards wild camping. This model of National Park seems more concerned with how to monetize an area of outstanding national importance. If that is to be the model for any new park, then many others will also fall into the no camp, however distasteful the company might be.

Okay, most national parks means much higher community charge, higher rents, and more expensive properties. While this might sound good for local sheeple, the truth is, the rich/wealthy see exclusivity in national parks, so they will buy, buy, because they don't care about cost. National Parks are actually about denying access. So take rewilding, oh, it's not safe, or the dangerous animals need protecting. Why isn't London a national park? I'm serious. 😅

What a lovely place. And I think we should build a Disneyland there,won't that be fun for all the family, lol. Now let's get real because like you say there's something else going on, and your the man to find out what it' is or we could send are Gary in , now that would be one for the books, ANYWAY very interesting and looking forward to seeing the next video. Take care of yourself and yours Alan 💯👍

Another very informative video, well done Stephen.

Hasn't there been a similar thing going on for years about the Mournes becoming a National Park too?