Parking charges require plenty of thought
PLANS for donation boxes at the car park at Coire Cas have raised the spectre of permanent charges for using the facility at CairnGorm Mountain.
Whilst Cairngorms National Park Authority planners have said that the introduction of parking charges is part of a growing trend in the strath and not a material planning matter, they confess that some users may find even voluntary payments controversial.
Owners Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the operating company will have to think long and hard if and when they come forward with proposals for parking charges.
There is still a long way to go on this one but there are several things for them to bear in mind.
Any payment system can’t add to the congestion and delay particularly in winter when Coire Cas is at its busiest.
And skiers and snowboarders already pay good money for ski passes to take to the slopes whereas other visitors venturing into the Cairngorms who use the facility do not.
Well done to the maintenance team
WELL done to the Highland Council team and members of the Kingussie branch of the Royal British Legion who look after the town’s Gynack Memorial Gardens so well.
They have just added the latest in a long line of awards to their list – the RBL’s best war memorial site for a large community in the Highlands and Islands.
It is important that the immeasurable contribution made by those in the first part of the 20th Century is not forgotten as the years start to roll by in the 21st Century.
The Gynack Memorial Gardens are a very fitting tribute to all those in the Armed Forces who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Great War and World War II and, of course, to those who continue to do so in Afghanistan and other conflicts in protecting our freedoms.
All the best, Dorothy!
BIRTHDAY best wishes to the strath’s oldest resident Dorothy Vardy who turns 107 years young tomorrow (Thursday).
We’ve already sang her praises in this column before for her stylish celebrations. In the past she has spent her big day dashing through the countryside in a motorcycle sidecar and kayaking down the River Spey!
She has more life in her than some people half her age – mind you, that’s not getting far off from being deemed a pensioner!
Dorothy is a great advert for having a cheerful outlook on life and proves that life is for the living.
