TWO friends are preparing to bag a Munro to raise funds for First Step – the Musselburgh-based community project for families with young children. Rachel Wales, from the Taylor Wimpey estate in Musselburgh, and Louise Johnston, who is originally from Musselburgh but now lives in Tranent, both 29, will scale Ben Lomond, which rises to 3,196 ft in the Scottish Highlands, on July 31. Situated on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond, the Ben is the most southerly of the Munros and lies within the Ben Lomond National Memorial Park and the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park – the property of the National Trust for Scotland.
The figures are recorded by a counter on entrance gates at the bottom of each hill. In 2019, the number of visitors to North Berwick Law was given as 111,088. Last year, this rose to 143,870, an increase of 29.5 per cent. North Berwick community councillors were told of the surge in visitors by member Bill Macnair, with the figures coming from the Joint Laws Advisory Group at East Lothian Council. In 2019, 11,070 people visited Traprain Law, near East Linton. A total of 10,327 people visited via the north side and 743 from the south side. Last year, about 14,000 people are estimated to have visited Traprain Law, 13,781 via the north counter.