Community asked for help to protect Contin amenities from vandals

Wednesday, 03 December 2025

Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) local team is hoping to tap into local community spirit to deal with anti-social behaviour and vandalism at its Contin site. 

The car park area has suffered significant damage from what appears to be a vehicle or several vehicles driving around in circles and leaving deep ruts in the gravel surface. 

FLS recently spent £20k improving the car park and the Blackwater Trail - restoring it to an all-ability grade to increase and improve recreational opportunities for less able visitors.

FLS Regional Visitor Services Manager Paul Hibberd said:

“Contin is a well-loved local destination which provides a range of opportunities for recreation. This includes the Blackwater Trail which is popular with families, older and disabled visitors.

“It’s very disappointing to see wilful damage after we have spent considerable amounts of money to improve access. If not repaired quickly, it will only get worse across the winter.

“We would urge anyone who sees this sort of activity to notify Police Scotland, providing as much information as possible.”

FLS teams who are working hard to maintain and enhance the well-used site, which also hosts the popular Strathpeffer bike event, have unfortunately been dealing with a pattern of increased issues in the area. This has included finding a burnt out car in the wider woodland, and ongoing illegal quad bike access. 

Paul added:

“Unfortunately, the damage done from this senseless behaviour from a small number of people means that we must divert our limited resources into making repairs and cleaning up.

“This can be a costly exercise and puts at risk activities such as additional path repairs and maintenance, planting new trees and other activities.”

Notes to editors

  1. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) manages forests and land owned by Scottish Ministers 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.
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