Country Diary: Cairngorm

We had lunch at 460 metres so we could see a number of snow patches around and just below us, and the views were inspirational. In a sense we had cheated as we had taken the funicular railway up to the aptly named Ptarmigan Restaurant. When we traveled on this 2km railway two years ago we were disturbed to find so much erosion of the landscape around the new railway and restaurant. However, those fears were partly allayed when we learned that much of the vegetation would be restored. The other problem was that, with the railway taking people up to 150 meters below the summit plateau, people would walk around and erode the landscape. A condition of the development was that nobody going up on the complex in the summer would be allowed to go out of the buildings, and this has been strictly observed.

The drive from Aviemore begins the build-up to what to expect from the top of the railway. The road is flanked by Scots pines as you go through the nature reserve and national park. Many of the trees are large but then occasionally you see a "granny pine", the very oldest of the trees that may be over 400 years old. Many limbs fell off many pines in the severe weather of February this year, but in the main they have been left to give more diversity to the woodland. The journey on the railway depends on the time of year, as in the winter the skiers ride up fast in around five minutes. In summer the train is much slower to give people chance to take in the views. Looking out from the viewing terrace is very emotive as you try to take in the vastness of the area. There is much talk and information in displays about this wilderness. In fact it is wildness as there is now no pristine wilderness left in Britain, even in the Cairngorms.