Responsible behaviour as the world changes.

[slowworm]

So while the 'plebs' are banned from enjoying a campfire the real cause of wildfires still goes unchecked by the same Scottish Government.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/news/muirburn-legislation

With issues like this it would be useful to read a non biased viewpoint. Down here for example the moors, cliff tops and other areas are burnt by charities for the benefit of nature. I've even had to complain to the managers of a nearby nature reserve due to inappropriate burning.

I can also sympathise with the reluctance for having to apply for a licence. Having been forced to apply for a felling licence and spending a fair bit of time and money on the application and chasing only for me to wait for years for any outcome I think many of these government agencies are not fit for purpose.

My main question though is about the increased risk of devastating fires caused by the lack of controlled burning. I.e. you hear now that some of the big wild fires are being blamed on the amount of material built up over the years as the land use has changed and the scrub hasn't been cut back or burnt off more regularly.

 

[Toddy]

Fire is a natural part of the cycle of life. Here, where the heather grows too large, it burns fierce and kills the plant. Burnt regularly it burns quickly and then regenerates.

That that regeneration is encouraged by the estates because grouse eat the young shoots doesn't take away that reality. It also feeds the deer, the hares, etc., too.

We live in an entirely man altered bit of the world. Those barren hillsides were not always uninhabited. They were part of the seasonal round of transhumance. They were actively used landscapes. People didn't always make 'fields' to grow crops. A choice warm, sunny patch makes a decent area for lazy (anything but, they're hard work to establish) beds, and multiples thereof will provide as well as any field. No need for a horse and plough, the old cas-chrom worked fine.

We're inclined to believe that somehow 'The Countryside' is where everyone only goes to play and is otherwise empty. The reality is that people live there, used to live there in much greater numbers.
To be someplace just for a walk was not seen with the same opprobium as it appears to be further south. It was an accepted part of things. The right of responsible access just enshrined that in law.

Lighting a fire, just because we can ? one has to consider whether that's always wise.

Time and place, and season, and reason.