An outdoors broadcaster and writer who champions Scotland’s hills has revealed he is boycotting the Cobbler amid a row over a hike in parking charges at Arrochar.

Cameron McNeish has slammed the “draconian decision” by Argyll and Bute Council to charge £9 a day for the car park which climbers use before heading on to the hill.

In a post on his Facebook page, Cameron wrote: “I love the Arrochar Alps but I am going to boycott the area.

“The Argyll and Bute decision - Tories and Lib Dems, I believe - to charge £9 a day is draconian and a tax on access. I love the Cobbler but there are plenty of other areas to enjoy.”

And in a critical blast at the council, he said: “Apologies to the decent people of Arrochar but please don’t vote for a Tories and Lib Dem Alliance - we have already experienced the damage they do in a UK context.”

His post drew more than 1,000 “likes” and hundreds of comments, with many of his followers pledging to join the fight to stop the charge increase.

Cameron told the Reporter he first climbed the Cobbler as a teenager and had walked and climbed regularly in the area ever since.

He said: “Parking at the foot of the hill was a problem for a long time and various laybys were used until the present car park was created some years ago. That appeared to solve the problem and people were more than happy to pay the £1-2 that was the daily charge.

He said the escalation of the parking charge to £1 per hour sounded reasonable for someone stopping off for an hour or two but most hillwalkers would spend at least six hours climbing the Cobbler.

“Most will also climb Beinn Narnain and/or Beinn Ime so that will easily take them into the eight to nine hour bracket, or longer. Rock climbers will certainly spend eight to 10 hours on the Cobbler.

“At a time when the Scottish Government is trying so hard to encourage people to take healthy exercise this kind of drastic hike in parking fees will make people park irresponsibly, or as in my case, it will send us off to other areas where we feel more welcome.

“I am saddened any boycott of the area will affect local business but perhaps local folk will consider the consequences of voting in Tory and Lib Dem councillors and reconsider their vote at the first opportunity.

“As for me, there are plenty more hills in Scotland where I can park my car, support the local businesses through a tea or coffee at the end of the day, by using the local garage, or enjoying a beer after my hill outing, and where I don’t feel I’m being victimised by a council eager to continue the austerity campaign set out by their colleagues in London.”

Cameron’s intervention comes as a bid by Cllr Iain Patterson to limit the charges to £3 per day was defeated at a recent meeting by Helensburgh councillor Gary Mulvaney’s amendment, which said the charges would bring in an extra £600,000 of income.

Cllr Patterson has had more than 150 emails and phone calls, among them concerns expressed by the Ramblers Association and the Mountain Biking Association.

Meanwhile, Jackie Baillie questioned culture and tourism secretary Fiona Hyslop on the charges, saying they had the potential to exclude residents and visitors from accessing outdoor spaces.

Ms Hyslop told the Scottish Government any local authority hoping to receive additional funding from the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund should not oppose the fund’s aim of managing visitor pressure.

She said: “I encourage all local authorities expecting to receive additional Scottish Government support to take a holistic view; the funding is not to replace or indeed be contradicted by other activity that they are involved in.

Argyll and Bute Council say they would like to have maintained the charge at its current “very low level” but this unfortunately was not an option.