Protecting Scotland's mountains

Scotland’s mountains are globally renowned for their natural beauty, shaped by geology and nature. We campaign to protect them, not just for hill walkers, mountaineers and climbers, but for all those who cherish them.

Working with partners, we take a leading role in challenging insensitive developments in Scottish mountain landscapes – developments that can damage their unique character,  their natural habitats, the views to and from them, and our freedom to enjoy them. Experience shows that often one development leads to another, resulting in progressively more damage. We want to halt this trend.

Our vision

We know that Mountaineering Scotland members care passionately about Scotland’s mountains. Manifesto for the Mountains is a new policy, explaining our key priorities and showing why our members value the hills and mountains of Scotland, along with the work we carry out to protect our landscapes and wildernesses. 

Read our Manifesto for the Mountains 

Our strategy

Our conservation strategy sets out how we will work towards achieving the aims set out in Respecting Scotland's Mountains. The strategy offers proposals and actions that protect and improve the natural environment, for the benefit of the land and the people.

Read about our conservation strategy

Our responses

We respond to specific development proposals which we feel damage Scotland’s wild land. We have strict criteria for whether we will object to a planning application. Though we respond to very few, the ones we do oppose could have a huge impact on some iconic mountain landscapes.
Take a look at our planning responses

Hill roads

Poorly constructed hill roads and 'tracks' are a growing concern in Scotland's mountains. Many of these are bulldozed through some of our most valued wild land with little regard for build-quality, appearance or effective drainage, causing scars that can be seen for miles around.

Find out more and how you can help


Mountain wind farms

We have published a report into the  impact mountain wind farms have on the behaviour of mountaineers and hill walkers as part of the evidence base we use when opposing the small number of wind farm planning applications that we believe would cause irreparable damage to Scottish mountain landscapes if allowed to go ahead.

Check out our research

Mountain memorials

We believe mountains should be protected from man-made intrusion and remain in as wild and natural a state as possible. For this reason, while we sympathise with the grief and loss that bereaved friends and relatives feel, we believe that permanent memorial artefacts should not be a feature of the mountain landscape. 

Our views and alternative options


Mountaineering Scotland supports the introduction of new national parks where precedence is given to the Sandford Principle in which the conservation and enhancement of the natural and cultural heritage of an area is given precedence over economic and social development

We thank the BMC for their financial contribution to our landscape work.