Work is underway to improve the well used car park at the site of the old visitor centre on the lower slopes of Ben Lawers . Car parking will be limited here until the end of the build, which is scheduled for spring 2012.
© Dan Bailey
Marking the start of the most popular path up the mountain, the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve visitor centre on the high road connecting Loch Tay and Glen Lyon was deemed by many to be out of place, and was demolished some years ago. Landowners the National Trust for Scotland are now replacing it with a new low-key interpretive facility. This may not be to everyone's taste either, though it promises to be less visible than the odd space age structure that preceded it.
'A dry stone enclosure will be built on the path leading from the car park to the nature trail' the Trust have told the MCofS. 'Here we will tell the unique story of Ben Lawers. Our intention is to provide a more minimal interpretive facility which is more in-keeping with the surrounding landscape. Walkers passing through the enclosure will encounter themes which echo their own thoughts and concerns as they go out into the hills: food, warmth, shelter, mobility. They will encounter stories of how plants and people have responded and adapted to survive on the Reserve over centuries. The stories will be presented in unique and provocative ways, while seeking to enhance the sense of solitude and wildness in the landscape, and will include environmental artworks.'
Art works and interpretive displays are weather-proof but the Trust notes that due to the 'expense and maintenance problems of a toilet facility at such high altitude' there will be no toilet on the site.
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