Access & Conservation Officer, Mountaineering Scotland

Mountaineering Scotland helps to protect rights of access, which rely on responsible and considerate enjoyment of the landscape, including raising awareness of the dangers of lighting campfires.

“Having a source of heat is probably key if you want to eat at some point, and a camp stove is obviously the most practical and efficient way of providing it. If you’re camping close to your car and want a heat source or a bit of social ambience then a campfire can be quite attractive. So then it’s a matter of trying to contain your damage.

“As part of our access rights in Scotland, we have an obligation to behave responsibly, which means respecting the interests of others, caring for the environment and being accountable for our actions – three things that can be applied to any situation.

“There are obvious warnings to be made about dry areas and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code advises avoiding making fires in forestry, woodlands, farmland and peat. Your impact on peat is not necessarily confined to the little circle that is burning. Dry peat can be especially dangerous as fires can get really hot and smoulder underground, travelling through the peat and emerging nearby, where another piece of vegetation can catch light and set it off again. Leggy heather is another area of risk. You might be camping on quite a sandy, mineral-rich soil, but leggy heather, especially when it’s dry, can go up quickly. In a wild and remote area, which is difficult for the fire service to access, it can get out of control.

“If you must build a fire, our advice is to make sure it’s a small one on something like shingle or stone so you can clear up after yourself, and to be careful where you source your wood. I’ve seen people cut branches off trees which still have sap in. That is never going to burn, all it’s going to do is smoulder and smoke. If you’re camping at a lochside with a few standing trees you can probably find some deadwood. But if it’s a place people visit regularly and you’re scouring around to find every last bit of deadwood then you’re having a negative impact on the woodland itself by depriving it of key nutrients. In that case, bring your firewood with you.

“If there’s a burn site there already, then use that. Think ahead about what you want to do and what will be left behind. Minimising your impact on the landscape is the key message.”