The Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland provides car parking and related trailhead services at three of the most popular countryside sites in Scotland. These are at Spittal of Glenmuick near Ballater; Dinnet, between Aboyne and Ballater; and the Fairy Pools on the Isle of Skye.
Providing suitable car parking at busy countryside sites is no small undertaking. It needs space; agreement with land managers and public bodies; maintenance; and major capital investment. For instance, the toilets built at the Fairy Pools car park needed to have a processing tank – a mini sewage works – capable of coping with 200,000 users a year!
Income from car-park charges is spent building and maintaining the facilities, employing local people, and renting sites from community groups, with any surplus used to maintain paths and provide “seed corn” funding for access and conservation projects. In 2018/19 OATS raised £125k from car parking and spent £1.58m on access and conservation projects.
SITE: Spittal of Glenmuick, Glenmuick, near Ballater, Aberdeenshire
Prices: Car £4, Coach £15, Motorhome/Other £4
Number of spaces: 50
This is an unmanned car park with toilets
SITE: Dinnet – At the junction of the A97 and A93, Dinnet, Aberdeenshire
Prices: Car £4 Coach £15
Number of spaces: 40
This is an unmanned car park without toilets
SITE: Fairy Pools, Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye
Prices: Car £5 Minibus £15 Motorhome/Other £8
Number of spaces: 140
This is a manned car park (with toilets due to open 01 October 2020) operating on a one way system.
There is a designated parking area for large vehicles such as motorhomes. Maximum length of vehicle permitted is 8.6m. Not suitable for towed caravans.
If you didn’t manage to pay for your parking at any one of our car parks you may settle the parking fee by clicking on the paypal link below. This helps to support OATS in our work:
Season Tickets
Season tickets for all of our car parks are £15 for 12 months from their issue date. Local residents can get free permits but must prove their residency status. For Fairy Pools they must be year-round residents, and also for that site there are special season tickets for tour-operators’ coaches, at £200 each. Contact info@outdooraccesstrustforscotland.org.uk