Essential remediation work at the Rest and Be Thankful is on target to see traffic management measures on the A83 at the recent landslip site removed by Monday 26 April.

Completion of the “catch pit”, which is designed to hold up to 1000 tonnes of debris in the event of any further slip, will allow both lanes on the road to be open, allowing free movement for essential transport.

Work on the forest road, which will not have an impact on the A83, is expected to be completed by the end of June.

FLS Planning Manager, John Hair, said;

“We’ve been making really good headway with this work, thanks largely to our contractors (GeoRope) who, since day one, have been doing a great job and have been working seven days a week to stabilise the hillside.

“The catch pit has been properly excavated now and the sides are almost completely secured. All that remains to be done is to add the last earthen barrier between the pit and the road, which will help stop any debris that might come down the hill in the event of any future extreme weather events.

“The forest road will be longer-term work but we’ve nearly finished the first of 8 sections. It takes us about a week to strengthen and secure each section – installing the micro-piling, the concrete beam and shotcreting the downhill slope – so hopefully by then end of June we’ll be able to walk away from a job well done.”

The onsite team has been taking care to maintain social distancing and to observe all current NHS and Government health advice relevant to the COVID-19 crisis.

The landslip in January arose from a very particular set of circumstances that was resultant from a prolonged period of extremely heavy rainfall.

Although these circumstances are unlikely to be replicated at other sites, FLS has already amended its inspection process to include checks on other forest roads set in similar landscapes and is developing Climate Change adaptation actions to make the forests and land more resilient and mitigate such risks.

Led by Forestry and Land Scotland, the remediation team includes the geotechnical engineers and consultants involved in resilience works elsewhere on the Rest & Be Thankful, and partners Transport Scotland and BEAR.

Notes to editors

1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Minsters in a way that supports and enables economically sustainable forestry; conserves and enhances the environment; delivers benefits for people and nature; and supports Scottish Ministers in their stewardship of Scotland's national forests and land.
2. forestryandland.gov.scot | www.twitter.com/ForestryLS
3. Media enquiries to Paul Munro, Media Manager, Forestry and Land Scotland Media Office 0131 370 5059 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.