Hundreds flock to snow resorts despite Covid travel ban

Hundreds of people have flocked to enjoy the snow at Scottish ski resorts and beauty spots despite coronavirus measures and travel restrictions.

The Lecht in Aberdeenshire experienced a surge in visitors on Sunday after snowfall created perfect skiing conditions.

The ski centre said only residents of Aberdeenshire and Moray are allowed in.

The ski centres will have to close when new lockdown rules begin on Tuesday.

The wintry conditions at the weekend saw many people heading out to parks and sledging spots.

One onlooker told the BBC: "The Lecht was absolutely mobbed today, very little social distancing. There were queues and the car park was full."

The resort's own webcam showed queues for chairlifts snaking all the way back to the resort's main building.

The Lecht's managing director, Pieter du Pon said that the resort had been operating within governing body guidelines.

He said: "According to the rules we are allowed to operate as non-contact outdoor sport and work according to the rules issued from Snowsport Scotland.

"We highlight on our website that we are only open for people from Aberdeenshire and Moray.

"We do operate a booking-only system for ski equipment and refuse anybody that is from outside our area."

He said that the resort had stopped children in their racing club who lived in Aberdeen accessing the slopes because only local members from Aberdeenshire could take part.

He added: "There were long queues on some lifts which are all outside and [people] generally, unless in the same household, will stand one behind the other. Skis are at least 1.6m in length so it is difficult to be less than 2m apart."

Andy Meldrum, owner of Glencoe Mountain ski resort said he only allowed 200 people into his resort per day for Covid safety reasons. He told the BBC he could have allowed five times that many in normal circumstances.

He said: "We spend time every day going through the bookings and we cancel those which have come from outside the allowed areas."

Snowsport Scotland chief executive Trafford Wilson said the frustration lay with people taking matters into their own hands. He said the ski resorts were doing everything they could but that some people would simply arrive at ski centres with sledges and walk onto the hills.

He said: "We have worked directly with Sport Scotland to develop guidelines to support a phased return of snowsports.

"To manage the risk of Covid transmission, Scottish ski centres have only taken bookings from permitted post codes and limited capacity to support social distancing requirements.

"Other measures on the mountain include; managing uplift, encouraging customers to pay contactless, wearing face coverings in areas where social distancing is not possible and enhanced cleaning routines.

"Demand for snowsports in Scotland is extremely high, with great conditions and the option to travel to Europe not currently being possible. The reality is that ski-centres are doing all they can to ensure that people that live close enough to access the mountains can ski/snowboard in a safe and controlled environment. "

Pictures have also emerged of crowded parking areas in Glenmore as people left their cars to go skiing, sledging, and hillwalking in the Cairngorms.

Current Scottish government coronavirus guidelines ask people to avoid crowded places and travel restrictions state that people must not travel into or out of Level 3 and 4 local authority areas except for essential reasons.

A maximum of six people can meet outdoors from up to 2 separate households.

In Glasgow, a frozen boating pond in Queen's Park attracted crowds over the weekend, with police called out on Saturday.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: "Officers received a call of concern about people skating on a frozen pond within Queens Park, Glasgow, around 12.10pm on Saturday, 2 January, 2020.

"Police attended, offered safety advice and the group dispersed."

However larger crowds gathered there on Sunday.