‘Who would desecrate Loch Ness this way?’ Volunteers sought to help with clean-up after 100 tyres dumped next to the famous loch

The tyres were dumped close to the shores of the loch near Urquhart Castle.

By Stuart Findlay

January 29 2024, 5:05 pm

The tyres were dumped below a lay-by on the A82 near Drumnadrochit. Image: Ness District Salmon Fishery Board

Around 100 used tyres have been found dumped on the shores of Loch Ness.

Members of the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board made the discovery on Sunday.

They were found below a lay-by on the A82 near Drumnadrochit.

The lay-by is popular with visitors because of its views of nearby Urquhart Castle.

A statement from the fishery board expressed outrage at the find.

It read: “It was very disappointing to see. This was below a lay-by and at the bottom of a very steep escarpment, which will make removal difficult.

“Who would desecrate Loch Ness in such a way?”

‘Loch Ness is generally a tidy place’

The fly-tipping has been reported to the police and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa).

Fishery board director Brian Shaw said a group were out filming for a social media project when they discovered the tyres.

He said: “We looked over the wall and there it was.

“It looks like quite a recent dumping as the vegetation is all flattened around it. Someone’s obviously gone to a lot of trouble to do that, you’re probably talking a lorry or large van and a number of people if they wanted to do it quickly.

“Loch Ness is generally a very tidy place so that makes this even more shocking.”

Offers of help following fly-tipping find

With so many of the tyres perilously close to the water, there’s a sense of urgency to get it cleaned up before the situation gets worse.

After the fly-tipping was widely condemned on social media, a few offers to help get it tidied up started coming in.

Mr Shaw said: “There have been a few offers of help so far. If we don’t do something quite quickly and the loch gets high we’ll see even more knocked into it.”

A spokeswoman for Sepa said inquiries are ongoing.

She added: “A Highland Council officer attended the site. Sepa is investigating the incident together with the council, which has its own plans in place for the safe removal of the tyres.

“We will continue to liaise with partners until this is complete.”

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