Aviemore

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Pete <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are staying in Aviemore for a few days at the end of
September. We don't know the area at all, and we'd like to have a decent
day out in the hills.

My wife likes waterfalls

I like a bit of excitement without too much risk. Striding Edge at
Helvellyn is about my limit

To get a flavour of what's on offer in the Aviemore region.
Drive up the Glen More road through Inverdruie, and just before Coylum
Bridge and just past the Hilton Hotel on the left, you'll see a layby on the
right (next to the opening for a campsite (recommended). Park in the layby
and take the track signposted 'Larig Ghru'. After a few hundred meters the
track forks, but don't take the Larig Ghru path, take the one signposted
'Glen Einich'. After another few hundred meters the forest opens out to one
of the finest vistas in the Cairngorms. I've been going to the region for
years, and always when I arrive in the evening and the last evening before I
depart, I take this route and drink in the view. It takes about 20 mins from
the road. You're really spoilt for choice of hills in the Cairngorms, but
they all have a long walk in. An alternative to a long walk in is to hire
bikes and take the Glen Einich track all the way up to the Loch (you'll
cross a couple of fords). Park the bikes and take the stalkers track on the
left (east), up past Corrie Dhondhail and eventually onto the Briariach
Plateau. You can then take in Briariach, Sgur an Lochan Uannie (spelling?),
Cairn Toul and Devils Point - all Munros with great views. It's been
described as the finest high-level walk in Britain, and IIRC you don't drop
below 3500 feet for 12 miles.

If you didn't have the bikes, you could then drop off (not literally!)
Devils Point to the Corrour Bothy (a bit squalid), spend the night there if
you're tired, then North out of the Larig Ghru, through the Rothiemurchus
Forrest and back to Coylum Bridge.

Regards: Jim Ford

"Jim Ford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Pete <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are staying in Aviemore for a few days at the end of
September. We don't know the area at all, and we'd like to have a

decent

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

day out in the hills.

My wife likes waterfalls

I like a bit of excitement without too much risk. Striding Edge at
Helvellyn is about my limit

To get a flavour of what's on offer in the Aviemore region.
Drive up the Glen More road through Inverdruie, and just before Coylum
Bridge and just past the Hilton Hotel on the left, you'll see a layby on

the

Quoted message said:

right (next to the opening for a campsite (recommended). Park in the layby
and take the track signposted 'Larig Ghru'. After a few hundred meters the
track forks, but don't take the Larig Ghru path, take the one signposted
'Glen Einich'. After another few hundred meters the forest opens out to

one

Quoted message said:

of the finest vistas in the Cairngorms. I've been going to the region for
years, and always when I arrive in the evening and the last evening before

I

Quoted message said:

depart, I take this route and drink in the view. It takes about 20 mins

from

Quoted message said:

the road. You're really spoilt for choice of hills in the Cairngorms, but
they all have a long walk in. An alternative to a long walk in is to hire
bikes and take the Glen Einich track all the way up to the Loch (you'll
cross a couple of fords). Park the bikes and take the stalkers track on

the

Quoted message said:

left (east), up past Corrie Dhondhail and eventually onto the Briariach
Plateau. You can then take in Briariach, Sgur an Lochan Uannie

(spelling?),

Quoted message said:

Cairn Toul and Devils Point - all Munros with great views. It's been
described as the finest high-level walk in Britain, and IIRC you don't

drop

Quoted message said:

below 3500 feet for 12 miles.

If you didn't have the bikes, you could then drop off (not literally!)
Devils Point to the Corrour Bothy (a bit squalid), spend the night there

if

Quoted message said:

you're tired, then North out of the Larig Ghru, through the Rothiemurchus
Forrest and back to Coylum Bridge.

Regards: Jim Ford

Thanks Jim

I've printed your reply to take with me

I like the idea of hiring the bikes then walking from the stalkers track

Pete

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Pete <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My wife likes waterfalls

Quoted message said:

I like the idea of hiring the bikes then walking from the stalkers track

If you do hire bikes and go up Glen Einich, be prepared to get your feet wet
at a couple of fords, especially if it's been raining. I forgot to mention,
there's a waterfall in Corrie Dhondhail and if you follow the Dee from the
Wells of Dee on the Briariach Plateau, you'll get to the Falls of Dee, but
they don't look much from the top. Another nice thing to do in the vicinity
is to walk round Loch an Eilean, which you can drive too (from Inverdruie)
or cycle to on the Rothiemurchus Forest Trails. The Loch has an island with
a picturesque ruined castle on it. If you do visit it, try the echo from the
nearest point. It's the best echo I've heard - you can even distinguish
individuals voices. Another nice leisurely walk in through the Ryvoan Pass,
at the end of Glen More - past the beutiful green Loch Uannie (spelling).

Regards: Jim Ford

If an person can't find a walk in Aviemore, then that person has lost the
will to live!

Seriously though, a good safe option thats wild, fairly level and rough is
Strath Nethy. It's a place that needs to be visited at least once in a
walkers life.

From Glen More Lodge (theres a few parking spaces near the Nation outdoor
centre) walk past An Lochan Uaine (unusual green lochan) take the path right
when it branches off, head for the hut at Bynack Stable and head straight
south, to Loch Avon.

And, back to same way.

Jhimmy

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Jhimmy <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Seriously though, a good safe option thats wild, fairly level and rough is
Strath Nethy. It's a place that needs to be visited at least once in a
walkers life.

.... but it's got the reputation for being a very boggy trek! For that reason
I've always avoided it. I'd rather keep going round to Bynack More for the
great views and the Barns of Bynack.

Regards: Jim Ford

"Jhimmy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

If an person can't find a walk in Aviemore, then that person has lost the
will to live!

I'm sure you're right, but I wanted to plan ahead

Quoted message said:

Seriously though, a good safe option thats wild, fairly level and rough

is

Quoted message said:

Strath Nethy. It's a place that needs to be visited at least once in a
walkers life.

From Glen More Lodge (theres a few parking spaces near the Nation outdoor
centre) walk past An Lochan Uaine (unusual green lochan) take the path

right

Quoted message said:

when it branches off, head for the hut at Bynack Stable and head straight
south, to Loch Avon.

And, back to same way.

Jhimmy

Thanks a lot Jhimmy, I'll check that out

Pete

"Jim Ford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Pete <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> My wife likes waterfalls

Quoted message said:

I like the idea of hiring the bikes then walking from the stalkers track

If you do hire bikes and go up Glen Einich, be prepared to get your feet

wet

Quoted message said:

at a couple of fords, especially if it's been raining. I forgot to

mention,

Quoted message said:

there's a waterfall in Corrie Dhondhail and if you follow the Dee from the
Wells of Dee on the Briariach Plateau, you'll get to the Falls of Dee, but
they don't look much from the top. Another nice thing to do in the

vicinity

Quoted message said:

is to walk round Loch an Eilean, which you can drive too (from Inverdruie)
or cycle to on the Rothiemurchus Forest Trails. The Loch has an island

with

Quoted message said:

a picturesque ruined castle on it. If you do visit it, try the echo from

the

Quoted message said:

nearest point. It's the best echo I've heard - you can even distinguish
individuals voices. Another nice leisurely walk in through the Ryvoan

Pass,

Quoted message said:

at the end of Glen More - past the beutiful green Loch Uannie (spelling).

Regards: Jim Ford

I've had a good look at this on the OS map. Wet feet or not, it looks very
appealing

Pete

a nice daywalk is to go from the Coire Cas parking lot up to Cairn
Gorm, past the Ptarmigan restaurant/summit station (which is in fact
quite a bit BELOW the summit of Cairn Gorm). The path starts behind
the base station of the mountain railroad as seen from the parking
lot. The first bit of the walk is on vehicle tracks and past skilifts
and not particularly inspiring, but if you take the railway up to
Ptarmigan they won't let you off the station - it's operated as a
'closed system' (see below). Once past Ptarmigan, you head up to the
summit of Cairn Gorm (great views). From there, you can walk via the
plateau over to Ben Macdui and back down to Coire Cas via a much nicer
path (past Lurcher's Crag, great views) that goes more or less above
Lairig Ghru. The path ends at the Coire Cas parking lot, so this makes
a nice circular walk.

For something less strenuous, and if your wife likes waterfalls, there
is a very nice walk that leads from Loch Morlich (opposite the Youth
Hostel) up to Coire Cas alongside a burn through some dense
vegetation. There are smallish but quite romantic waterfalls.

One last word about the mountain railway and the Ptarmigan station,
they are extremely walker unfriendly. Some weeks ago I descended to
Ptarmigan from Cairn Gorm (I had done the described walk in reverse).
I was "allowed to use the facilities" at Ptarmigen (ie leave my money
there) after having to sign in and leave my backpack in an
(unsupervised) room. I was told by the less than friendly staff that
"we can't prevent you from walking around Cairn Gorm" (!), but they
did not like people up there other than the masses of tourists hoisted
uphill by the railway. The tourists are forbidden to leave the
building, and the walkers are forbidden to use the railway. So, you
cannot get a lift up to Ptarmigan and then continue on, or come in
from the hills and get the train down in order to save your knees.
All I can say about that mountain railway is, BOYCOT IT!

"Birgit Kleymann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

a nice daywalk is to go from the Coire Cas parking lot up to Cairn
Gorm, past the Ptarmigan restaurant/summit station (which is in fact
quite a bit BELOW the summit of Cairn Gorm). The path starts behind
the base station of the mountain railroad as seen from the parking
lot. The first bit of the walk is on vehicle tracks and past skilifts
and not particularly inspiring, but if you take the railway up to
Ptarmigan they won't let you off the station - it's operated as a
'closed system' (see below). Once past Ptarmigan, you head up to the
summit of Cairn Gorm (great views). From there, you can walk via the
plateau over to Ben Macdui and back down to Coire Cas via a much nicer
path (past Lurcher's Crag, great views) that goes more or less above
Lairig Ghru. The path ends at the Coire Cas parking lot, so this makes
a nice circular walk.

For something less strenuous, and if your wife likes waterfalls, there
is a very nice walk that leads from Loch Morlich (opposite the Youth
Hostel) up to Coire Cas alongside a burn through some dense
vegetation. There are smallish but quite romantic waterfalls.

One last word about the mountain railway and the Ptarmigan station,
they are extremely walker unfriendly. Some weeks ago I descended to
Ptarmigan from Cairn Gorm (I had done the described walk in reverse).
I was "allowed to use the facilities" at Ptarmigen (ie leave my money
there) after having to sign in and leave my backpack in an
(unsupervised) room. I was told by the less than friendly staff that
"we can't prevent you from walking around Cairn Gorm" (!), but they
did not like people up there other than the masses of tourists hoisted
uphill by the railway. The tourists are forbidden to leave the
building, and the walkers are forbidden to use the railway. So, you
cannot get a lift up to Ptarmigan and then continue on, or come in
from the hills and get the train down in order to save your knees.
All I can say about that mountain railway is, BOYCOT IT!

Thanks Birgit

I'll check the walk on my OS map

I wonder why the rail company are so unfriendly towards walkers? When I go
there, I think I'll ask them!

Pete

"Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Birgit Kleymann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

a nice daywalk is to go from the Coire Cas parking lot up to Cairn
Gorm, past the Ptarmigan restaurant/summit station (which is in fact
quite a bit BELOW the summit of Cairn Gorm). The path starts behind
the base station of the mountain railroad as seen from the parking
lot. The first bit of the walk is on vehicle tracks and past skilifts
and not particularly inspiring, but if you take the railway up to
Ptarmigan they won't let you off the station - it's operated as a
'closed system' (see below). Once past Ptarmigan, you head up to the
summit of Cairn Gorm (great views). From there, you can walk via the
plateau over to Ben Macdui and back down to Coire Cas via a much nicer
path (past Lurcher's Crag, great views) that goes more or less above
Lairig Ghru. The path ends at the Coire Cas parking lot, so this makes
a nice circular walk.

For something less strenuous, and if your wife likes waterfalls, there
is a very nice walk that leads from Loch Morlich (opposite the Youth
Hostel) up to Coire Cas alongside a burn through some dense
vegetation. There are smallish but quite romantic waterfalls.

One last word about the mountain railway and the Ptarmigan station,
they are extremely walker unfriendly. Some weeks ago I descended to
Ptarmigan from Cairn Gorm (I had done the described walk in reverse).
I was "allowed to use the facilities" at Ptarmigen (ie leave my money
there) after having to sign in and leave my backpack in an
(unsupervised) room. I was told by the less than friendly staff that
"we can't prevent you from walking around Cairn Gorm" (!), but they
did not like people up there other than the masses of tourists hoisted
uphill by the railway. The tourists are forbidden to leave the
building, and the walkers are forbidden to use the railway. So, you
cannot get a lift up to Ptarmigan and then continue on, or come in
from the hills and get the train down in order to save your knees.
All I can say about that mountain railway is, BOYCOT IT!

Thanks Birgit

I'll check the walk on my OS map

I wonder why the rail company are so unfriendly towards walkers? When I

go

Quoted message said:

there, I think I'll ask them!

Pete

It's an old story but is essentially to do with both the case for the
existence of the railway and the funding.

Planning permission to take "lots" more people to the Ptarmigan - and hence
able to walk around/erode the summit - was never going to be possible.
Whatever one thinks of the railway itself, it HAS had the effect of reducing
the number of footfalls on both Cairngorm itself and over the summit plateau
as a whole.

The project was partly funded by EU cash and one of the conditions was that
it would be environmentally friendly - see above.

In theory, to start letting walkers use the railway would mean both paying
back the funding and, more importantly, further eroding the hills.

The moral?? If you'r a walker, treat Cairngorm like any other Scottish hill.
Walk up, walk down, don't expect to rely on any facilities. If you can't
manage that simple a walk, don't go.

druidh

In message <[email hidden]>, Pete
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Birgit Kleymann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

a nice daywalk is to go from the Coire Cas parking lot up to Cairn
Gorm, past the Ptarmigan restaurant/summit station (which is in fact
quite a bit BELOW the summit of Cairn Gorm). The path starts behind
the base station of the mountain railroad as seen from the parking
lot. The first bit of the walk is on vehicle tracks and past skilifts
and not particularly inspiring, but if you take the railway up to
Ptarmigan they won't let you off the station - it's operated as a
'closed system' (see below). Once past Ptarmigan, you head up to the
summit of Cairn Gorm (great views). From there, you can walk via the
plateau over to Ben Macdui and back down to Coire Cas via a much nicer
path (past Lurcher's Crag, great views) that goes more or less above
Lairig Ghru. The path ends at the Coire Cas parking lot, so this makes
a nice circular walk.

For something less strenuous, and if your wife likes waterfalls, there
is a very nice walk that leads from Loch Morlich (opposite the Youth
Hostel) up to Coire Cas alongside a burn through some dense
vegetation. There are smallish but quite romantic waterfalls.

One last word about the mountain railway and the Ptarmigan station,
they are extremely walker unfriendly. Some weeks ago I descended to
Ptarmigan from Cairn Gorm (I had done the described walk in reverse).
I was "allowed to use the facilities" at Ptarmigen (ie leave my money
there) after having to sign in and leave my backpack in an
(unsupervised) room. I was told by the less than friendly staff that
"we can't prevent you from walking around Cairn Gorm" (!), but they
did not like people up there other than the masses of tourists hoisted
uphill by the railway. The tourists are forbidden to leave the
building, and the walkers are forbidden to use the railway. So, you
cannot get a lift up to Ptarmigan and then continue on, or come in
from the hills and get the train down in order to save your knees.
All I can say about that mountain railway is, BOYCOT IT!

Thanks Birgit

I'll check the walk on my OS map

I wonder why the rail company are so unfriendly towards walkers? When I go
there, I think I'll ask them!

In order to build the railway the company behind it had to put in place
restrictions to stop people leaving the top station and entering the
fragile alpine environment where a large number of people could do
damage. Cairngorm Mountain are legally bound not to let people leave the
top station.

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway in
the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway and
restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive eyesore that
should never have been built. As it was £17 million of our money was
spent building the damned thing. Hopefully it will continue losing money
and have to be closed so it can then be removed.

"Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Birgit Kleymann" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

a nice daywalk is to go from the Coire Cas parking lot up to Cairn
Gorm, past the Ptarmigan restaurant/summit station (which is in fact
quite a bit BELOW the summit of Cairn Gorm). The path starts behind
the base station of the mountain railroad as seen from the parking
lot. The first bit of the walk is on vehicle tracks and past skilifts
and not particularly inspiring, but if you take the railway up to
Ptarmigan they won't let you off the station - it's operated as a
'closed system' (see below). Once past Ptarmigan, you head up to the
summit of Cairn Gorm (great views). From there, you can walk via the
plateau over to Ben Macdui and back down to Coire Cas via a much nicer
path (past Lurcher's Crag, great views) that goes more or less above
Lairig Ghru. The path ends at the Coire Cas parking lot, so this makes
a nice circular walk.

For something less strenuous, and if your wife likes waterfalls, there
is a very nice walk that leads from Loch Morlich (opposite the Youth
Hostel) up to Coire Cas alongside a burn through some dense
vegetation. There are smallish but quite romantic waterfalls.

One last word about the mountain railway and the Ptarmigan station,
they are extremely walker unfriendly. Some weeks ago I descended to
Ptarmigan from Cairn Gorm (I had done the described walk in reverse).
I was "allowed to use the facilities" at Ptarmigen (ie leave my money
there) after having to sign in and leave my backpack in an
(unsupervised) room. I was told by the less than friendly staff that
"we can't prevent you from walking around Cairn Gorm" (!), but they
did not like people up there other than the masses of tourists hoisted
uphill by the railway. The tourists are forbidden to leave the
building, and the walkers are forbidden to use the railway. So, you
cannot get a lift up to Ptarmigan and then continue on, or come in
from the hills and get the train down in order to save your knees.
All I can say about that mountain railway is, BOYCOT IT!

Thanks Birgit

I'll check the walk on my OS map

I wonder why the rail company are so unfriendly towards walkers? When I

go

Quoted message said:

there, I think I'll ask them!

They don't have any choice.
The whole thing was built with the aid if an EU grant of £2.7M, which is
repayable by the UK government if any of the grant conditions are broken.
The closed system is a condition that has to be kept for 25 years.

The main reason that the condition is to protect the vunerable ecosystem of
the Cairngorm Plateau from having masses of tourists, who would never
otherwise consider walking up from the car park, released to wander over it.

There is also the benefit that the same tourists don't get lost on the
plateau and need rescuing.

You might think that the arrangement is ridiculous, and you'd be right. Many
of us campaigned against the building of the thing in the first place. It's
a white elephant of Millenium Dome standard.

--
Duncan Gray

www.duncolm.co.uk
also The Mountaineering Council of Scotland
www.mountaineering-scotland.org.uk

It was boggy when I tried it, but there had been a hell of a lot of rain the
previous few days, so I assumed it to be that.

Still, a great walk and you'll not meet many people there (no-one when I did
it a few weeks ago) if those boggy rumours have been spread far and wide ;-)

Jhimmy.

"Jim Ford" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

* The air of uk.rec.walking was filled with the delicate perfume
* of violets, as Jhimmy <[email hidden]> descended on a shaft
* of golden sunlight, and announced:

Quoted message said:

Seriously though, a good safe option thats wild, fairly level and rough

is

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Strath Nethy. It's a place that needs to be visited at least once in a
walkers life.

... but it's got the reputation for being a very boggy trek! For that

reason

Quoted message said:

I've always avoided it. I'd rather keep going round to Bynack More for the
great views and the Barns of Bynack.

Regards: Jim Ford

"Pete" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

My wife and I are staying in Aviemore for a few days at the end of
September. We don't know the area at all, and we'd like to have a decent
day out in the hills.

Quoted message said:

I like a bit of excitement without too much risk. Striding Edge at
Helvellyn is about my limit

For the excitement bit you can do a bit of easy scrambling on large granite
blocks up the Fiacaill Coire an t-Sneachda ridge. You don't have to
actually do the scrambling if you don't want to, just walk up the side. If
visibility is good the view down to Loch Avon from the top of Shelter Stone
Crag is pretty impressive and worth going off the beaten track for.

"Chris Townsend" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway in
the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway and
restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive eyesore that
should never have been built.

I don't think the railway itself stands out as much of an additional eyesore
to all the ski stuff that was already there. Although I only visit once in
a while so haven't studied it too closely. There was already a building at
the top station wasn't there? I think the ski fences have a far greater
adverse visual impact than the railway.

In message <[email hidden]>, AndyP
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Chris Townsend" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway in
the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway and
restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive eyesore that
should never have been built.

I don't think the railway itself stands out as much of an additional eyesore
to all the ski stuff that was already there. Although I only visit once in
a while so haven't studied it too closely. There was already a building at
the top station wasn't there? I think the ski fences have a far greater
adverse visual impact than the railway.

The whole ski resort is an eyesore. However the fences can be easily
removed. The railway involved bulldozing masses of material, laying deep
concrete foundations and blasting a tunnel. Removing it will be a huge
task. The railway requires maintenance tracks too.

The railway catches the light and can be seen from quite a distance
away. Even worse is the large top station/restaurant/visitor centre,
which has a shiny roof that draws the eye from many miles away. The
original Ptarmigan restaurant was much smaller and less obtrusive,

"AndyP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Townsend" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway in
the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway and
restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive eyesore that
should never have been built.

I don't think the railway itself stands out as much of an additional

eyesore

Quoted message said:

to all the ski stuff that was already there. Although I only visit once

in

Quoted message said:

a while so haven't studied it too closely. There was already a building

at

Quoted message said:

the top station wasn't there? I think the ski fences have a far greater
adverse visual impact than the railway.

Hey - you aren't allowed to write things like that and call yourself a true
hill-walker. You should be strapped across the rails in time for the next
train up.

You are, of course, correct - compared with what the place looked like
before, I don't honestly think it makes a jot worths of difference. Now, if
you're coming from a place which is that all ski development is "bad" then
you might resent further development. As far as I'm concerned, there are
enough wild spaces to round. Now, the cost/subsidy issue is another
argument. I can see the ppoint in saying that if it can't pay its way it
shouldn't have been built - but then that could be said of much of the
infrastructure in the Highlands and Islands. Infrastructure which, as
hillwalkers, we take for granted.

druidh

Chris Townsend <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

In message <[email hidden]>, AndyP
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Chris Townsend" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway
in the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway
and restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive
eyesore that should never have been built.

I don't think the railway itself stands out as much of an additional
eyesore to all the ski stuff that was already there. Although I only
visit once in a while so haven't studied it too closely. There was
already a building at the top station wasn't there? I think the ski
fences have a far greater adverse visual impact than the railway.

The whole ski resort is an eyesore. However the fences can be easily
removed. The railway involved bulldozing masses of material, laying
deep concrete foundations and blasting a tunnel. Removing it will be a
huge task. The railway requires maintenance tracks too.

The railway catches the light and can be seen from quite a distance
away. Even worse is the large top station/restaurant/visitor centre,
which has a shiny roof that draws the eye from many miles away. The
original Ptarmigan restaurant was much smaller and less obtrusive,

If I may put a slightly more positive tone on to this, I would say
that we should be glad that there is very little in the way of obtrusive
development in the Highlands. Anything hydro-electric is more
obtrusive I would say but being socially necessary and generally older
it gets away with it.

How many of us have used the various ski centre car parks?
--
Adrian

In message <[email hidden]>, druidh
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"AndyP" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Chris Townsend" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

The solution to the problem would be to have not built the railway in
the first place. The best solution now is to remove the railway and
restore Cairn Gorm as soon as possible. It is a destructive eyesore that
should never have been built.

I don't think the railway itself stands out as much of an additional

eyesore

Quoted message said:

to all the ski stuff that was already there. Although I only visit once

in

Quoted message said:

a while so haven't studied it too closely. There was already a building

at

Quoted message said:

the top station wasn't there? I think the ski fences have a far greater
adverse visual impact than the railway.

Hey - you aren't allowed to write things like that and call yourself a true
hill-walker. You should be strapped across the rails in time for the next
train up.

You are, of course, correct - compared with what the place looked like
before, I don't honestly think it makes a jot worths of difference. Now, if
you're coming from a place which is that all ski development is "bad" then
you might resent further development. As far as I'm concerned, there are
enough wild spaces to round. Now, the cost/subsidy issue is another
argument. I can see the ppoint in saying that if it can't pay its way it
shouldn't have been built - but then that could be said of much of the
infrastructure in the Highlands and Islands. Infrastructure which, as
hillwalkers, we take for granted.

I think the top of the resort looks much worse than it did before and
the rest of the resort is more noticeable due to the fresh bulldozed
roads.

The situation of the ski resort takes a chunk out of one of the most
precious mountain landscapes in Britain, the Cairngorms. It should never
have been built in the first place but it would have been relatively
easy to restore the landscape before the railway was built.