Zoning for Safety in the countryside
Abernethy forest is an RSPB nature reserve in Strathspey, Scotland. It comprises approx14,000 hectares (35,000 acres) of pine forest, moorland , cliff and arctic/alpine tundra.
The reserve was initially developed in the 1950s and 60s to provide a safe nesting area for ospreys, returning to breed in Scotland for the first time since the 19th century. By 1970 up to 60,000 visitors per year were visiting the observation post (OP).
By 2000 the RSPB had acquired a huge area of pine forest and other habitats stretching from the OP to the high arctic tops of the Cairngorms.
Whilst carrying out risk assessments for visitor safety at Abernethy, it became clear that the profile of visitors to the OP was not typical of that for most RSPB reserves. Any assessment of safety provision for the customers to the OP needed to be radically different to that for the walkers, cyclists and bird watchers who were visiting the rest of the reserve.
Safety provision has therefore been designed to reflect this broad range of visitor experience and characterised using all four categories from the Risk Matrix. Although the zones are shown here with ‘hard’ boundaries, in reality the borders are more blurred – for example, parts of the ‘rugged’ forest area are close to well used tracks and cottages, lessening the risk for visitors.
Map showing risk zones
Illustrative only
Zone 1:
The Osprey centre (formerly known as the Observation post, or OP) is heavily advertised and promoted by the RSPB and visited by 40-60,000 people each year, from April through to August. The visitors arrive by car or coach and comprise a very wide range of experience: hikers in full outdoor clothing to older tourists on coach tours of Scotland wearing ‘street’ clothes.
The area around the OP and car park has therefore to be treated as an Urban zone within the Risk Matrix, with the highest standards of physical safety provision and support. It must be assumed that the visitors are not countryside aware and that paths, seats, steps and ramps should be maintained to the highest standards.
Path surfaces are smooth and level, and staff are on hand throughout times of operation. There are no steep drops or deep water. Although the weather is typical for highland Scotland it is rarely extreme during the months the OP is open, and even then the safety of shelter or car is only a few metres away.
Zone 2
Starting at a car park close to the OP, and also promoted widely to visitors, is a nature trail (approx. 2km) – the Mallachie track - leading to a beautiful highland loch.
Approximately 8000 visitors per year use this car park and trail. The area is obviously less developed than the OP and cannot be accessed by coaches, so it is appropriately defined by the Risk Matrix as Rural in character.
The path surface is natural and level. There are no steep climbs and man-made steps, though there are many exposed tree roots in places. These are not removed as there are so many that they can be seen as an obvious risk, but there is a regular check on trees to the side of the trail and any dangerous limbs or storm damaged trees are dealt with. At the lochside there are no hidden drops or deep water, but neither are there fences or warning signs in keeping with the natural nature of the reserve. Although staff are not in attendance, there are regular patrols and the OP is only 800 metres away from the car park. Help could be summoned quickly by staff or visitors.
Zone 3
The main body of the forest of Abernethy stretches away from the OP to the east and south but it cannot be accessed from the OP car park or the smaller Mallachie track car park.
The entire forest area is criss-crossed by tracks and footpaths and hikers and bird watchers can, and do, access the forest at a multitude of entry points.
This huge area is best defined as Rugged using the Risk Matrix. It is expected that visitors will be well prepared for a day in the outdoors with reasonable levels of fitness and self –reliance. The paths and tracks are not maintained above the standard needed for estate work, there is very limited waymarking, and no regular patrols by staff.
Trees are cleared if they obstruct a working track but they are not regularly checked for storm damage or dangerous limbs.
There are a handful of physical safety measures in place, e.g. a bridge where a track, known to be well used, crosses a stream.
Zone 4
Above the tree line the reserve encompasses part of the Cairngorm plateau at over 3000 feet. Conditions up here are extreme, with very low temperatures even in summer, boulder strewn slopes and often a lack of obvious paths, but even so it is popular with enthusiastic walkers.
Within the UK this area gives us a perfect definition of the Wild zone as defined by the Risk Matrix. Visitors can, and do, die on the mountain tops at any time of year. There are no physical safety features (bar the occasional mountain bothy), often no paths or signs and no staff, or help, available for miles.
And yet this is how the community of visitors who cherish the area want it to remain.
Due to the effort and fitness levels required to reach this zone, it could be argued that there are no ‘nasty surprises’ – cliffs and snow can readily be seen on the ascent and are an accepted part of the experience. Hikers are well aware of the dangers and the warnings laid out in generic ‘Mountain codes’.
Any overt safety provision would simply be inappropriate to the landscape and the challenge it represents.
Extract from Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group's website (vscg.co.uk)
2004