Did you know that Scotland has some of the best access rights of anywhere in the world, similar to those rights in countries like Norway and Sweden?

These access rights must be exercised responsibly. At Perthshire Treks, we know a lot about these rights and responsibilities - Richard pulled together the national Access Forum proposals for a right of responsible access and wrote the Scottish Outdoor Access Code!

Your access rights

You can exercise your access rights:

• over most land and inland water - including mountains, moorlands, woods and forests, grassland, the margins of fields where crops are growing, paths and tracks, rivers and lochs, and most parks and open spaces
• for a wide range of recreational activities - including walking, cycling, horse riding, wild camping, picnicking and educational purposes

Your access rights don't apply to houses and gardens, non-residential buildings and associated land, land on which crops are growing, sports or playing fields when they are in use, golf courses (but you can cross a golf course provided you don't interfere with any games of golf) or visitor attractions which charge for entry.

Your access responsibilities

You need to exercise your access rights responsibly. There are three key principles to follow:

• respect the interest of other people - act with courtesy, consideration and awareness at all times
• care for the environment - look after the places you visit and enjoy, and leave the land as you find it
• take responsibility for your own actions - the outdoors cannot be made risk-free and act with care at all times for your own safety and that of others

People who own or manage land also have responsibilities, including respecting access rights and acting reasonably when asking people to avoid work happening on the land.

A new national campaign, #RespectProtectEnjoy, has been launched by VisitScotland and others to promote access rights and responsibilities. This includes a video about enjoying Scotland's outdoors responsibly. You can also find more information and guidance here: