Changing Names
To protect our canyons future and maintain good relationships with landowners and local communities, we occasionally rename canyons on Canyon Log. As canyons gain online visibility through social media, many people, often unfamiliar with canyoning, use websites like Canyon Log to find ‘hidden’ waterfalls, ‘infinity pools’ or other locations they’ve seen online. This can lead to unintended foot traffic, trespassing, or tension with locals and landowners. Using unrelated names reduces Canyon Log’s visibility in casual searches and preserves the canyon’s integrity for responsible canyoneers.
Social Media
The rise of social media has completely changed the way people discover new places. Short videos showing scenic waterfalls and pools have resulted in areas once quiet, now packed. Locals are now, understandably, quite upset. Social media is the leading factor in the increase of issues with canyons in the UK.
Fortunately, we are able to work out unusual traffic visiting Canyon Log. Historically, once we have noticed a problem, changing the name of a canyon has resolved the issues as traffic returns to normal.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a great way to work out if the canyon’s name could be an issue. Canyons with names matching locations found in Google Maps are more likely to be an issue if targeted on social media. Typically, small stream names don’t have issues.
Land Owners
Some canyons have access issues. In parts of Scotland, landowners don’t like the idea of the right to roam and have been known to be aggressive towards canyoneers. In the long term, we hope to resolve these issues with landowners; however, in the meantime, reducing the online presence of the canyons reduces the chances of possible escalation.
We also spread awareness of these issues on the canyon pages to reduce unexpected encounters, which could further escalate the situation.
Original Names
Canyoneers living in the local area can choose to either keep the original canyon name or use the new name.