Dear Local Councillors....

.... Tonight I found myself driving up the Wisp, and noticing the fantastic sunset behind Arthur's Seat I pulled into the entrance to the new road (that I presume is going down to the NRIE?). I stopped twenty yards from the entrance, facing east, got out the car and walked a further 20 yards where I could balance the camera on top of a pallet of concrete blocks.

As I was snapping away a chap in a hi-viz tabard started wandering over from the portacabins 100 yards or so away. As he got within speaking distance, with me in the road, he in the field to the south and separated by a fence, the conversation went like this:

Him: "You alright there mate?"
Me: "Yeah, fine thanks, just taking some pictures."
Him: "Take them somewhere else eh."
Me: "Erm, okay. I mean, it's just some pictures of the sunset" (showing the screen on the camera)
Him: "Yeah, just go and take them somewhere else."

There wasn't really any aggression in his tone, or in the vague waving of the arms to indicate I should disappear in the direction from which I'd arrived, and I wasn't really in the mood to argue, so I wandered back to my car and continued my intended journey.

As I thought about it the whole thing seemed slightly odd. The only sign a little after the entrance to the road, which I didn't pass in the car, was a 'Road Closed' sign. Given this sign doesn't seem to appear in the Highway Code I'm not sure it actually is anything more than advisory, so I'm not entirely sure of the road's legal standing. Is it a public road from the point of creation? In which case it would require a specific traffic order to be closed (and a 'No Entry' sign would be more relevant). Or is using such a road not permitted until specifically allowed?

As I had actually stopped the car before passing the 'Road Closed' sign, and I was on foot this raises a query around the Land Reform (Scotland) Act, where responsible access on foot or by bike is permitted to land in Scotland (save for some very specific exemptions). Has such an exemption been granted for this route? If not then I presume that I can access the route on foot or by bike without being stopped and told to go away by random security.

It's not really a major issue, save for the contractors acting like a local private police force and I'd be grateful for any clarification you can give on the legal status of this route for both vehicular (with regard to any traffic orders) and pedestrian/cycling (from the Land Reform Act) access.

Many thanks

p.s. I'm not sure it was worth it in the end with a rather underwhelming sunset shot (given I didn't have time to play with the camera settings before being chased away)

* * *

The shot above is a really crap attempt at fake HDR taken later on at the Jewel. Two shots, the bottom half at a longer exposure, stuck together with the shorter exposure top half, and 'played about with'. Hasn't really worked, but best I have from the day.

Not sure I can be bothered sending the email above to the local councillors (who, despite the distance of the Wisp from my house are actually the same for both locations), but there was something very odd in being simply blankly told that I shouldn't be where I was despite not doing anything wrong and, as far as I'm aware, having every legal right to be there. I decided there and then that the argument wasn't worth any potential aggro, but it grates a bit.

(and having had a look at the map of the area to tag the location on this I've noticed a path marked right through the middle....)

Only Tuesday... Feels like a full day of work already.