Riverside walk improves access for all in Carr Bridge

Significant improvements have been made to a popular walk along the river Dulnain at Carr Bridge. The route takes path users from the pony trekking centre and 'Gurkha bridge' 1500m along the river to the village shops and historic stone bridge.
Members of the community turned out on Friday 4^th June to celebrate the improved path and after hearing some local history and personal perspective from a couple of well-kent faces, took part in a walk along the path and on into the Carr Bridge Hotel for tea, cakes and a chat.

Improvements to the path include realigning the route away from the river to avoid flood damage, upgrading the path surface to a firm aggregate surface and providing seating and rest 'perches' to allow all-abilities access along the river bank. With a newly formed Health Walks group in the village as well as mums and tots, dog walkers and regular coach parties visiting the hotels the path looks like it will be greatly appreciated.

Riverbank access open at Street of Kincardine

A short walk from the main road through Street of Kincardine down to the banks of the River Spey has been improved by upgrading an existing path. Boat of Garten and Vicinity Community Council and residents of the small village of Street of Kincardine have welcomed the improvements which greatly enhance access to the Spey. The path through boggy woodland has been raised and resurfaced to give a dry walking surface.

Kingussie to Newtonmore via Loch Gynack - upgrade complete

An upgrade to the existing path along the shores of Loch Gynack above Kingussie is giving walkers the chance to follow the old drove route through to Newtonmore, with stunning views into Glen Banchor and the surrounding hills whilst keeping their feet dry!

The route which had previously existed as a muddy slog through peat hags and deer grass now winds along a higher route through leafy birch woods catching glimpses of the loch before opening out to stunning views up into Glen Banchor and beyond to Creag Meagaidh and Ben Alder. The walk follows the old drove route passing by the remains of historic townships before descending to join the wildcat trail in Newtonmore.

Members of Kingussie Community Development Company's Paths Group and Newtonmore Community Woodland & Development Trust met with COAT's Ewan Thain and COAT Director Peter Mackenzie to open the route. First off along the path were supporters of Kingussie Cammanachd Club raising funds for their team on a sponsored walk.

There still remains some work to be done at the Newtonmore end of the path to complete the link with the wildcat trail but for now the route is high and dry along the shores of Loch Gynack and makes for a great walk in itself.

Sir Robert Smith MP opens the new path from the Highland Society Bridge to Glenshee Road.

Photo courtesy of John Macpherson, Braemar

Sir Robert Smith, MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, formally opened the long awaited path linking Braemar to the Highland Society Bridge. The 1.2km route provides much needed and improved access for locals to the wider network from Glenshee Road, and had been identified as a high priority project by the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust (COAT).

The Bridge had been built in 2006, but lack of funding had meant that the path to it was never completed, leaving a bit of a muddy hike across the fields to it.  COAT have now remedied this by raising the necessary funding through LEADER, Cairngorms National Park Authority and SNH, and then managing the contract to build the route. Sir Robert Smith MP stated "I would like to congratulate all those who have made this path possible and thank them for all their hard work."

Invercauld Estate and Braemar Community Lld helped greatly in defining the final line of the path. Simon Blackett, Resident Factor for the Estate said ‘InvercauldEstate was delighted to make the land available for what has turned out to be a very popular circular walk along the Clunie and linking in with the Queens Drive’.

Local contractor Bob Fyvie constructed the path over the winter, using a snow plough at one point to clear the line of the route and keep the work on schedule.  Murray Swapp, East Cairngorms Access Projects Officer for COAT said ‘the community had long held the aspiration to have a path linking the village to the bridge, and we were delighted to be able to deliver it this year.  We are grateful to the support from Cairngorms LEADER, Cairngorms National Park Authority and Scottish Natural Heritage for funding this, and for Invercauld Estate for giving permission to build the route on their land.  It was a bit rough weatherwise at times this winter, but Bob did really well to get the job done in difficult winter conditions’.