Cairngorms "Snowed" under with awards
The "Snow Roads" over the Cairngorms have picked up two accolades at the prestigious Scottish Awards for Quality in Planning.
The honours celebrate achievements in planning, from the detail of processing to the bigger picture of creating places, and for the snow roads that meant awards in both the "Place" category and "People’s Choice" categories.
The mountainous journey links Blairgowrie (A93) to Grantown (A939) via Glenshee, Braemar, Ballater The Lecht and Tomintoul.
It is the highest A road route in Britain and already a destination for classic car, motor bike enthusiasts and road cyclists.
The journey traverses the eastern Cairngorms through breath-taking landscapes and vibrant historic communities, encountering castles, distilleries, ski centres and much more.
"The initiative was part of the Scottish Government’s Scenic Routes project," explained a Cairngorms National Park spokesperson. "It enhances the travellers experience of Scotland’s landscape through innovatively designed viewpoints. There are now three installations and updgraded lay-bys on the route at the famous Devil’s Elbow at Glenshee, at Corgarff and at Craighaulkie Quarry on the outskirts of Tomintoul."
The first installation was on the A939 at Corgarff – "The Watchers", a group of cowled seats where people can take in the views over Glen Avon and Deeside.
The work was led by the Cairngorms National Park Authority with Head of Visitor Services at the CNPA, Pete Crane seeing the project to fruition.
Mr Crane said: "It is a fantastic endorsement of the project to receive these two awards.
"Although the authority led the work, there were a number of partners involved, from the newly qualified architects who designed the viewpoints, supported by landscape architects Ian White Associates, to local landowners and the Cairngorms Business Partnership who now have the job of developing the route to offer visitors a truly immersive experience.
"We are particularly delighted to have won the People’s Choice award. It is a great drive through the park and should be enjoyed at a relaxed place to fully appreciate the landscape and the communities along the way."
Mark Tate of the Cairngorms Business Partnership added: "These are worthy awards for the exceptional work undertaken by the Cairngorms National Park Authority. The Partnership has been successful in securing Destination Development funding from Scottish Enterprise to bring the route to life and we will create a truly immersive visitor experience along the Snow Roads which will provide 90 miles of opportunity both for our visitors, our businesses and our communities."
