'It's going to get wild': Scotland begins to ease coronavirus lockdown

Under clear skies and brilliant sunshine, Scotland emerged on Friday from the strictest constraints of lockdown.

As Nicola Sturgeon used her daily press briefing to urge the public to “err on the side of caution” and avoid flocking to beauty spots, the anticipated exodus to lochsides and beaches took time to gather momentum. And if some appeared relaxed in their interpretation of guidance to remain within five miles of home, the practical limitations of barricaded car parks and insufficiently robust bladders had their effect.

It is the first time in more than two months that Scots have been able to socialise beyond their immediate households. The relief was palpable for Barry Gillies, watching his 6-year-old son paddling at Duck Bay Marina, on the west shore of Loch Lomond, as jetskiers roared across the water. “I’m a single dad, so it’s good to get out and talk to adults,” he said.

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Gillies had organised a trip from Glasgow with other members of a support group for single parents with mental health difficulties. “We’re sticking to the guidelines but it’s been so difficult stuck in the house,” he said. “We understand the severity of the pandemic but there’s also the mental health impact.”

Across the water at Balmaha, on the eastern shore, locals were bracing themselves for an influx at one of the most popular destinations around the lochside on any sunny day. From early morning a steady stream of vehicles was halted by the traffic cones barring entry to the car park and blocking off the winding road that leads to the ascent for Ben Lomond.

“By 3pm it’s going to get wild,” said Sandy Fraser, owner of the well-loved Oak Tree inn. “The biggest issue is getting the toilets open. If the car park was open now, people would be toileting all over the park, which creates another public health risk. There is a simple solution to have Portaloos spaced out and regularly cleaned, but we need more communications from agencies to make it happen.”

While a number of community councils have been calling on Scotland’s national parks and reserves to continue turning cars away, other feel that this simply compounds the problem of traffic management, while there is evident frustration from rural residents at what they see as lack of preparation put into a gradual reopening of facilities.

Having made the 50 minute drive from Glasgow early in the day to avoid the crowds and parking on the roadside verge beyond the village, Jacqueline is admiring the view from the wooden pier with her partner and three children. “It doesn’t feel like a big liberation today,” she said. “We expected it to be busier but there’s nowhere to park.”

The past few months have been hard in the city, she said, but the guidelines have been clear. “I know now it’s about six people meeting and two households [in fact, six is the maximum in England, while in Scotland it is eight], but we’re five so it doesn’t help us much. It has been tough. We tried to drive to Helensburgh one day but the police chased us back.”

In Balmaha on Friday morning, there were visitors from across Glasgow, Fife and Lothian. James Fraser, chairman of the Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs, said the area had experienced a gradual increase in visitors in recent weeks, peaking on the last bank holiday Monday. He said: “Some people have already taken things into their own hands – removed police tape and traffic cones from car park entrances.

“People have been confused by mixed messages from Scotland and England, and some took the first minister’s announcement last week as meaning they could travel right away. It’s about people’s interpretation of what’s local, and how you square that with hiking.”

But by lunchtime cars were clotting the laybys and farm gates, as passengers disembarked with picnic boxes and bottles of water. Elsewhere, locals reported a steady stream of visitors to popular beaches at Largs and Troon on the west coast, as well as Edinburgh’s Portobello, where Sturgeon admitted that she had “felt like crying” at previous scenes of crowds on the sand.

“On the whole people have been pretty good on the social distancing” said Portobello resident Lee Kindness, “even though a telephoto photo can suggest otherwise.

“I’d say since the weekend people have already been meeting up a bit more outwith their family groups, but it’s all been very considered. It’s probably a safe assumption that Dominic Cummings hasn’t helped, but I’m sure people would have been easing themselves into the relaxation anyway.”