Aberdeen University has hosted a seminar on the public's perception of our right to roam.
New legislation introduced in 2005 have given Scots some of the best countryside access rights in the world.
The rights are conditional on individuals using common sense to interpret what that means on the ground.
New research by the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen has focused on the challenges this legislation has brought with it.
One of the particular issues is how walkers and mountain bikers using the same space interact with one and other.
Dr Katrina Brown, a cultural geographer at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, who led the study, showcased her findings at the seminar.
She explained how the results show the need for a better understanding between walkers and mountain bikers who are using the countryside for different reasons.
Dr Brown said: "Individuals using the countryside recreationally have seen two major changes in recent years.
"The first change is the right of responsible access provided for by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 legislation which came into effect in 2005. The act allows any non motorised use of transport access to almost all land and inland water in Scotland.
"This new law places great emphasis on behaviour being 'responsible' and people using their own sense of judgement in what they do and where they are allowed to access - and this room for self interpretation has brought with it its own set of issues.
"Secondly people are using the countryside for a much more diverse range of sports and pastimes now compared to even a few years ago. This is partly because of advances in technology - for example mountain bikers can access more remote areas of land because their bikes are better equipped to deal with tricky terrain.
"These two factors combined can lead to tension between different groups using the countryside, and my study has focused in particular on the interaction between walkers and mountain bikers."
She added: "Whilst most of the time, these two groups enjoy the countryside together without dispute, issues can arise when someone feels like their experience of the countryside is being compromised because of another person. For example a walker may feel like their "back to nature" experience is disrupted by coming into contact with a fast moving mountain bike."
Volunteers who took part in the study wore head cameras while in the Cairngorms. These videos were used during a follow up interview, where they were talked through their interaction with other people.
Dr Brown continues: "Our study looked at how people stake their claim to the space they are using. We looked at how people perceive their rights and responsibilities when enjoying the countryside and how they think this compares to the rights of other people who may also be using the same area of land.
"For example a walker on higher hills may perceive they have more right than a mountain biker to be on that space of land because it is remote, and therefore may not have been accessible to a mountain biker if it were not for the modern technology of their bike."
stv.tv local news is powered by Well Contented Ltd
Last updated: 05 March 2009, 10:21
The links provided allow you to bookmark this page into your favourite social media website. For users with JavaScript disabled copy and paste the URL from the address bar into your chosen social bookmarking site.