Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund Award

After many months of waiting, it has been announced that the Nevis Landscape Partnership working in collaboration with the local community have been successful in their application to VisitScotland and the Scottish Government’s Rural Tourism and Infrastructure Fund to improve visitor facilities at Lower Falls in Glen Nevis. Work will take place over the autumn and winter.
 
The funding package including £300,000 from VisitScotland and a further £150,000 from other funders is currently being finalised and will be used to install public transport access facilities, signage, a picnic area, new paths, toilet facilities and improve parking. This will be a significant asset to the Glen.  
 
In 2018, it was estimated that 160,000 people walked up the Ben Nevis Mountain path and 300,000 people visited Glen Nevis. As numbers of visitors increase, there is increased pressure on visitor facilities in the Glen making this project at the Lower Falls car park essential to enhance visits and access to the outdoors.
 
The local community have pulled together to identify specific improvements that will form part of an ongoing integrated infrastructure strategy for the glen. 
 
The improvements will include a new road layout to increase visibility at the car park entrance, improving safety and manoeuvrability for larger vehicles, and a new layout of the car park that will incorporate additional spaces, more accessible spaces, and dedicated areas for motorhome day parking. A new bus drop-off point will also be constructed to make this area more accessible to a wider audience. These changes will help to ease parking capacity issues at the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre, Glen Nevis Youth Hostel, and Steall Falls.
 
In an effort to reduce the number of cars travelling to the Upper Steall car park, new link paths, interpretation, and a new bike rack will encourage more visitors to park at Lower Falls and use it as a starting point to explore Glen Nevis by foot or on bikes.
 
A new picnic area and waterless drying-waste toilet facilities will further enhance visitor experience and make the area more accessible to a wider audience.
 
This is a very positive step for the Nevis Landscape Partnership and the local community and will be a great asset to Glen Nevis. While this funding provides the resources necessary for improvement of visitor facilities in the Glen, the NLP is still working hard to secure match funding for this project and beyond this, to secure the future of the organisation.