Proposals to relax safeguards in protected areas on the Cairngorm Plateau pose threats to rare species.
The Cairngorms Plateau is a unique and extreme place, containing 10 Munros (mountains over 3000ft) and the five highest mountains in the UK after Ben Nevis. It’s home to rare birds, insects, plants, lichen and mosses, which are sensitive to damage and disturbance. The area is nationally and internationally important and is recognised as such by legal designations.
Currently, RSPB Scotland works to help protect the plants and animals that use this area through habitat restoration and path maintenance, and our Rangers help visitors undertake responsible access on the plateau. RSPB Abernethy nature reserve stretches onto the Cairngorm Plateau.
In the late 1990s, the developers of the Cairngorms funicular railway agreed that – if planning permission was granted – they would restrict the way that people could use the plateau to protect this sensitive habitat. Conditions were attached to the permission, and they signed a legal agreement which meant that, unless skiing down, people could not take the railway up the mountain to then walk out onto the plateau. Instead, they could view it from the facilities available or, in more recent years, through guided walks. Dogs and mountain bikes are currently not allowed to travel up on the funicular.
We are very concerned about proposals suggested in the Cairngorm Mountain masterplan. They threaten to remove the safeguards which currently restrict access from the Cairngorms funicular railway onto the plateau during spring and summer. This could result in tens of thousands of additional people in these areas at sensitive times. Historic and ongoing footfall has eroded many areas down to bare gravel and rock, leading to species loss. Ground-nesting birds are sensitive to disturbance by people and dogs.
More recently, it has been suggested that an app or GPS-based system could be used to control access. We have concerns about the effectiveness of this; any opening up of access would need to be accompanied by an increase in Ranger services. We currently work closely with Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Rangers to guide people who have accessed the area on foot away from sensitive areas.
Skiing in the mountain began in the late 1800s, with chairlifts installed in the 1960s. The Cairngorms was Scotland’s busiest ski area for decades.
In 1994, a planning application was submitted to build a funicular railway to replace the chairlifts, which could accommodate more people and was not subject to closure during high winds. The railway would run all year, being used by skiers during the winter while allowing access to more visitors to the plateau year-round.
At the same time as the planning process, the Cairngorms was designated as an internationally important site for nature. The EU funding attached to the building of the railway came with a planning condition. It meant there had to be a closed system, so that those not skiing down must return by the funicular. This condition was put in place to protect birds from disturbance and sensitive habitats from trampling, as the railway vastly increased the number of people accessing the plateau. A restaurant and visitor centre was also installed with the railway opening in 2001.
Environmental charities including the RSPB and WWF had concerns about the development, originally objecting, and supported the restrictions. RSPB members supported the costs of a legal challenge.
Many of RSPB Scotland’s concerns regarding disturbance have been addressed through the Visitor Management Plan, which is a requirement of the planning permission. Access restrictions were introduced as part of this plan when the mountain railway first opened in 2001, designed to protect the environment around the plateau.
A legal agreement under Section 50 of the Town and Country Planning Act led to the creation of a ‘closed system’ that only permits walkers who walk up Cairn Gorm on foot to continue past the Ptarmigan restaurant and on towards the summit.
The main purpose of the Section 50 legal agreement and ‘closed system’, required by the planning permission, is to ensure the development does not have unacceptable impacts on protected sites during spring and summer. The visitor management review by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in 2022 noted the positive impact of this existing system.
The operators of the railway want to change the requirements of their Visitor Management Plan as currently agreed. A recent report to Scottish Government suggested 70,000 visitors a year to the plateau via the funicular. This autumn, a trial of a GPS system to monitor people’s movements on the plateau with a view to keeping people away from sensitive areas by sending alerts advising them to return to the path has been undertaken. Once the trial has concluded, the monitoring data will be reported to a group which includes NatureScot and the Cairngorms National Park Authority. RSPB Scotland is concerned about the increased disturbance the trial and subsequent changes to visitor management as a result may cause, and the potential adverse impacts on wildlife.
The Cairngorms plateau is the UK’s largest area of alpine-arctic habitat. It is part of a wider protected area that is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and an internationally designated Special Protection Area (SPA) and Special Area of Conservation. It is home to populations of Snow Buntings, Dotterels, Dunlins, Ptarmigans, Ring Ouzels, Peregrines and Golden Eagles.
Due to its underlying geology and high altitude, it supports rare communities of snow-bed and spring-dependent plants, lichens and mosses.
RSPB Scotland supports responsible access that minimises the impact of visitors on sensitive wildlife such as guided walks, keeping dogs under close control and for visitors to stick to paths. However, we continue to oppose unrestricted access from the Ptarmigan restaurant for the additional tens of thousands of visitors who travel up using the railway during the spring and summer on Cairn Gorm mountain.
We have concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed app or GPS device-based approach. As noted in a report, which reviewed the Visitor Management Plan to explore access options, there are multiple issues with GPS tracking on smartphones, and it would be very difficult to prevent increased disturbance under this system. Additionally, if adverse impacts are observed, there is no discussion of an exit strategy.
We will continue to work with Cairngorm Mountain and others to ensure that damaging pressure is not put on this area and the wildlife of this unique mountain will remain for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.
October 2025 – Trial using mobile phones to track walkers launched
February 2025 – Funicular railway re-opened
August 2023 – Railway taken out of service for repair
January 2023 – Railway re-opened after repairs includes additional infrastructure for summer activities
2023 – Visitor Management Plan review carried out by HIE
2020 – Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) published the Cairngorm Masterplan
September 2018 – Funicular closed due to structural issues with the track.
2001 – Mountain railway opened with access restrictions in place to protect the environment
1998 – WWF and the RSPB initiate a judicial review of the planning consenting process. The court decision concluded that planning consent was valid.
March 1997 – Planning permission was granted, subject to conditions and a legal agreement
August 1994 – A planning application was submitted for construction of a funicular railway on Cairn Gorm mountain
1961 – First chairlift opened in the Cairngorms