Dolphin-watchers and gamers are at the point of war

FUN-loving dolphins that frolic in the sea off Inverness are at the centre of a furious row.

For fans of the loveable creatures are now competing for space with Pokémon Go gamers.

The smiley-faced dolphins are so popular, people flock in their thousands to Chanonry Point on the Black Isle from all over the world for a glimpse of their antics.

The dolphin-watching hotspot becomes so busy that the car park and neighbouring golf course are regularly overrun by vehicles, despite Highland Council spending £273,000 on an upgrade last year.

Now Pokémon Go operator Niantic has introduced some of its weird and wonderful virtual characters such as Pikachu, Mew, Jolteon, Exeggutor, Dragonite and the legendary Mewtwo at the visitor magnet and there are claims this has worsened the traffic problems.

Volunteers who run the Chanonry Point Facebook site tried to warn off the Pokémon hunters – and a furious backlash erupted with almost 60 angry responses.

Chanonry Point posted: “We think people should visit the point to see real dolphins, and just not play Pokémon Go which doesn’t really have anything to do with the point itself.

“There have been some close calls with the car parking this year and tempers getting frayed.

“So please don’t come to the point by car just to hunt Pokémon, especially in these busiest summer months. This is one of the reasons visitor numbers have soared and car parking spaces are already in short supply in July/August.

“Park and walk or park and cycle are still the best bet for a happy and relaxed visit.”

But many attacked the plea.

Among them was Carrie Mudge who said: “Appreciate that you are volunteers trying to run an informative page, but this post is laughable at best, and utterly snobby at worst.

“Nobody has a right to dictate why people go down the point, and the insufficient car parking is not down to kiddos playing a game, but owes more to a redesign that focuses primarily on landscaping and a big chunk of carved stone, than the practicalities of providing for ever-increasing visitor numbers.

“Chanonry car park is too small. It’s not Pikachu’s fault that the local infrastructure is insufficient.”

James A Moore responded: “With the greatest of respect, who are you to tell people what to do in a public place? Blaming the car park chaos on Pokémon is actually a bit embarrassing.”

Verity Walker, one of the Chanonry Point Facebook volunteers, said: “Perhaps the post might not have been such a good idea because people got very angry and all hell was let loose. We accept it is a free country and we cannot stop people going there to look for Pokémon.

“I don’t mind criticism, but some of the responses were abusive and had to be removed.”

She agreed that better planning and signs at the site are required and highlight that the Sparks ice cream van at the point runs an easyJet bus as a free shuttle to and from the point.

Traffic congestion is so bad that a crisis meeting is being arranged.

Black Isle councillor Jennifer Barclay said: “The ward members are meeting Highland Council officials in Dingwall on Monday to set a date for an advisory forum to investigate how we can help alleviate the problem with cars.

“Members of Fortrose and Rosemarkie Golf Club, who have been extremely patient, and other interested parties will meet with local councillors and Highland Council officials to try and come up with a solution to the problem.”

Mrs Barclay said she thought it nice to see youngsters down at the point looking for Pokémon, but she thought few came out of cars.

Golf club secretary Mike MacDonald said that sometimes golfers could not play the fifth hole because of cars parking on the course.

He added: “It is the 15th oldest club in the world and we advertise it as an 18-hole course, so people who came from the likes of the USA are not well pleased if they can only play 17.

“The council work last year did not really help as it only gave about two more spaces.”

Highland Council said the work was to provide a generally enhanced visitor experience through refurbishment of the existing car park area, provision of disabled parking spaces, cycle stands and new seating.

It said land ownership constraints did not allow it to greatly expand the car park.

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