Parking, signs and warden plans for Highland tourist hotspots

Better car parking, signage and wardens are among plans to ease pressure on tourist hotspots in the Highlands.

The solutions are contained in draft plans for the Arisaig and Morar areas of the Road to the Isles route, Durness in Sutherland and Glen Brittle on Skye, which attract thousands of visitors.

Highland Council said while tourism was important, some communities had felt "overwhelmed" when it was busy.

The plans aim to ease pressure and improve visitor experiences.

Other solutions include arranging visitor transport to busy sites such as the Fairy Pools on Skye.

A meeting of Highland Council's tourism committee next Wednesday will be asked to approve the three draft plans.

A fourth plan is in development for Assynt.

Tourism is vital to the Highlands and, according to VisitScotland figures, a total of £1.6bn was spent by visitors in the Highlands in 2019.

The region saw a "steep increase" in visitors following Covid lockdowns in 2020 and last year, according to Highland Council.

But some of the most popular areas do not have the infrastructure to cope with large numbers of people, such as waste disposal for camper vans. Access to some beauty spots can also be along single-track roads.

According to feedback received for the draft plans, other problems have included the gathering of sheep by shepherds being disturbed by people wanting to take photographs and ecological damage to sand dunes caused by wild camping.

Concerns were also raised about children being left unattended while swimming in Skye's Fairy Pools.