Abstract
The Cairngorm Mountain Plateau is considered one of the most scenic areas in Scotland. Visitors are attracted year round to participate in outdoor activities or just to sightsee. The focus during the winter months is the ski area on the northern rim. The Chairlift Company is facing declining skier number due to the dilapidated state of the existing facilities. It has proposed a controversial funicular railway as a replacement for the main uplifts. A number of objections have been made and the planning process is currently held up in court. These objections are numerous but are centred on the negative impacts they expect the funicular to create. This research uses GIS to assess two of these, the visual impact and the impact on accessibility to the plateau. Using raster based DTMs an assessment is made to the existing viewshed of the chairlifts and this is compared to the projected viewshed of the funicular and the associated structures. If the top station is excluded the viewshed is decreases but due to the sky-lining position of the Ptarmigan restaurant the viewshed slightly increases. Using a model based on Nasmith's Rule for estimating walking times the present access time situation is determined and the then projected to take into consideration a car park management plan. A significant decrease in access is noted for hillwalkers.
Last Modified 16-03-99