Residents living near a popular Angus loch are at breaking point after finding maggot-infested rubbish, used toilet paper and soiled nappies left behind by campers visiting the area.
Locals say the situation has become unbearable, with the reservoir and its surrounding land being treated like a dumping ground by visitors who seemingly have no regard for the environment or the people who actually live there.
One resident described the area as “absolutely trashed”, and it is hard to argue with that assessment when the list of what has been found includes rotting food waste crawling with maggots, human waste barely concealed in the undergrowth, and dirty nappies casually discarded near the water.
The loch, which draws visitors looking for a quiet spot to camp and enjoy the Angus countryside, has instead become a source of real frustration and anger for the community. People who have lived alongside it for years say they no longer recognise the place, and that summers in particular have become a nightmare of clearing up after strangers.
The problem is not just unpleasant to look at. Maggot-infested waste and human refuse near a water source raises genuine public health concerns, and locals are increasingly worried about what this kind of pollution means for the local environment and wildlife in the long run.
Camping in Scotland is governed by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, which gives people the right to access most land for recreational purposes, including wild camping. It is a right that many Scots are rightly proud of, but it comes with clear responsibilities. Campers are expected to leave no trace, take their litter home and act with respect for the land and the people who live nearby. A significant number of visitors appear to be ignoring all of that entirely.
For the residents near this Angus loch, the gap between what the law expects of campers and what they are actually doing could not be more obvious. They are not asking for the area to be closed off or for people to stop visiting. What they want is basic decency, and right now they are not getting it.
The issue is part of a wider pattern that has played out across Scotland in recent years. Since the pandemic, wild camping surged in popularity as people looked for ways to get outdoors while foreign travel was off the table. Many of those new campers brought bad habits with them, and some of those habits have stuck around long after the travel restrictions lifted.
Councils and land managers across the country have struggled to keep up, with some areas introducing temporary camping management zones and increased ranger patrols during peak season. But enforcement is patchy at best, and in many rural spots there is simply nobody around to make sure people are behaving responsibly.
For communities like the one near this Angus loch, that means the burden of dealing with the mess falls on them. Residents end up cleaning up waste that should never have been left there in the first place, and they do it without any formal support or recognition.
Local voices are now calling on Angus Council and the Scottish Government to take the issue more seriously. Whether that means better signage, more bins in key locations, increased ranger presence during busy periods or tougher penalties for those caught dumping waste, something clearly needs to change.
Scotland’s wild spaces are genuinely special, and the right to roam is something worth protecting. But rights only work when people take the responsibilities that come with them seriously. Right now, the people living next to this Angus loch are paying the price for those who do not.