A SCOTS woman has dubbed an Outlander beauty spot the “Devil’s S***hole” after filling 20 bags full of discarded rubbish following an influx of visitors.
Michelle Haining couldn’t believe how much litter had been left at Devil’s Pulpit in Stirlingshire when she was visiting with her niece and nephew yesterday.
Finnich Glen and Devil’s Pulpit attracts up to 70,000 visitors a year due to the surge in popularity after featuring in the hit TV show, Outlander.
The towering rocks are the backdrop of a scene where Dougal MacKenzie, played by Graham McTavish, uses the ‘truth-inducing waters’ of ‘Liar’s Spring’ to determine whether he trusts Claire Balfour, played by Caitriona Balfe.
But 30-year-old Michelle was left fuming after spending hours tidying up after litterers who had left behind cans, BBQs, bottles, towels and food.
The taekwondo instructor, from Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, took to Facebook shortly after to share images of the rubbish and blast the “clatty” dumpers.
She wrote: “Got my niece and nephew up from England for the week and took them down the Devil’s S***hole today aka the Devil’s Pulpit.
“Not been down in about seven years, when it actually used to be a wee hidden gem that no one really knew about.
“Absolutely disgusted at the state of the place. Who do these clatty f****** think is going to lift all this? You carried it in so carry it out!
“Today’s life lesson for the kids was leave no trace, so using the bags already there we gathered up as much rubbish as we could and carried it out and took it to the tip.”
The post collected over 700 likes and 67 comments from fellow furious Scots.
One user said: “Well done to you all. There are so many selfish people who just ruin things for others.”
Another added: “Great job. Shameful that you’ve got to do that. Respect, morals and values at an all time low in society now.
While one said: “Thank you so much for cleaning up after mindless selfish idiots.”
Speaking today Michelle said: “We’ve taken them to Steall Falls, Glen Etive and there wasn’t rubbish everywhere there, so this was a wee shock to them at how much crap was left.
“We came out of the Pulpit and at the top of the staircase there were bags of rubbish as if the binmen we’re gonna come along and pick it up.
“We walked down to the other end and the place was a s*** tip with rubbish everywhere and I just got so annoyed.
“So, I went and started picking up the plastic bags that were there and filled them up and the kids helped me.
“We then carried them along to where the staircase was and we picked up as many of those bags as we could on the way past but we didn’t have enough hands to lift it all.
“We hoped that people would see us carrying some out and hopefully lift the rest of the mess and bag it up.
“We must have had nearly 20 bags of rubbish by the time we got back to the car.
“Most of these were bags we had bagged up by picking up all the cans, bottles, BBQs, towels, food etc.
“I’m a hill walker and if I’m on hills I lift litter from there too but this was off the scale.”
The Devil’s Pulpit has been linked to witches, druids and even stories of sermons from the devil himself.
The steps leading down to the glen are known as the Devil’s Steps.
