Work has started on a project to create new visitor facilities at the National Trust for Scotland's Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve in Perthshire that are more in keeping with the mountain landscape.

The Ben Lawers Mountain Visitor Centre was built on the lower slopes of the property in the early 1970s to interpret the important features of the site, but its timber structure is now in need of significant repair and no longer considered a suitable facility for visitors. A review of interpretation and other facilities recommended a less obtrusive approach and in 2009 the decision was taken to close it. The trust is now planning a series of improvements at the site which are intended to provide visitor facilities in a setting more suitable for the remote location. Key elements of the plan include the removal of the existing centre, re-locating the car park to a less visible site nearby, with appropriate landscaping to reinstate the moorland and provision of unmanned interpretation, available all year round.

Property manager and ranger Helen Cole said: "Ben Lawers is one of Scotland's most popular walking destinations, with seven Munros, fabulous views over Loch Tay and a huge diversity of its plant and animal life. "We now have an opportunity to improve provision for visitors, restoring the hillside to its former glory, and providing more modern and appropriate facilities for those who come to Ben Lawers, whether serious walkers or families on a ramble."

Pic copyright StuzzyW