Plans to make access safer to beach hot spot
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A PROJECT aimed at helping to ease the pressure at a tourist hot spot in the strath has been awarded £226,000.
The Active Glenmore project has won the funding from the Scottish Government's new Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund.
The main project is for a multi-use tarmac path alongside the Cairngorm ski road linking Loch Morlich beach car park and Hayfield and joining the main visitor experiences – Loch Morlich Watersports, Glenmore Youth Hostel, the Forest Visitor Centre, Red Squirrel Café, Glenmore Campsite and the Reindeer Centre.
At peak summer times, the narrow road becomes a bottleneck because of cars parked along the length of the beach-side verge. Families and other visitors have to pick their way through as traffic on the 30mph limit road passes by just yards away.
Project leader the Cairngorms National Park Authority has identified both Glenmore and Aviemore as key areas requiring significant work to improve travel by foot and cycle, and the overall visitor experience.
Improving the connectedness of paths in the Glenmore area is one of the main objectives.
The new section will also help contribute towards an off-road path eventually running all the way from Aviemore to the Cairngorms.
The national park has seen a 25 per cent rise in visitors since it was created 15 years ago with the area now attracting 1.8 million people per year.
In Aviemore and Glenmore, the numbers have increased by 22 per cent in the past eight years and are expected to keep on rising.
Murray Ferguson, CNPA director of planning and rural development, said: "We are delighted with this further investment in the national park. Visitor numbers have increased across the Cairngorms in the last few years and it is essential that our infrastructure – the paths, bridges, car parks, etc. are in good condition so that visitors have the best possible experience.
"This is all part of our approach to the management of the park as a sustainable tourism destination. At Glenmore the project will provide a new and enhanced path, and associated parking arrangements, to link the visitor attractions and accommodation.
"This will make it easier, safer and more attractive for visitors to walk and cycle in the key visitor hot spot within the Cairngorms National Park."
