Duke of Buccleuch to impose charge for access to estate at certain times

From March 21, the gates to the Duke of Buccleuch’s Dalkeith Country Park will be closed between 7am and 7pm to those who have not paid an annual fee for a pass. The fee is £10 for adults, £20 for dog walkers and £20 for families.

The estate said this was necessary “to improve safety and security” following incidents of antisocial behaviour.

Midlothian Council said the move is believed to be lawful as the estate formerly charged for access in the summer between 10am and 4pm.

The Land Reform Act (Scotland) 2003 provides generally that a landowner cannot interfere with someone exercising their access rights though they can charge if they did so for 90 days per year before the act came into force – something the park had been doing.

Helen Todd, campaigns and policy manager at Ramblers Scotland was disappointed about the move.

She said: “It does go against the spirit of legislation. We are all trying to get people to be more active and there’s this great area to go for a walk, and it’s a shame it is being restricted.

“It is a disappointment because it is so close to a big centre of population and it is an area locals would want to go to in the evening as well, especially as evenings are getting lighter.”

Ed Morris, the estate manager, said charging a small fee was a “long tradition”.

“It is a requirement of the Land Reform Act 2003 that we continue to levy a small charge for access in order to close the park gates at night. The park is still accessible 24 hours, all year round, by use of the pass card. We are in the process of building a multi-million pound new development, and it is natural that we should wish to ensure the site is safe and secure at night.

“The charge applies to all people within the park, regardless of the entrance used. We will be introducing swipe card gates for pedestrians at the East Lothian entrances in the coming months.”