The Cairngorm Gateway

Book excerpt: "The Cairngorm Gateway traces the history of Badenoch and Strathspey, from earliest times to the present. The whole area will have a new fascination and special importance with the signalling of the Cairngorms National Park.The Cairngorm Gateway has long been a "transit" zone with forest resources being a prime factor. When the railways came to the region, tourism, very soon became a major source of income for its population, bringing people from far afield to enjoy healthful air and mountain views. Over the centuries not every project has prospered, however, and so this is a story of success and failure, of wealth and poeverty in both war and peace. Now the landscape and natural history of this stunnigly beautiful region have come to the forefront of attention as a valuable part of Scotland's heritage while the new funicular railway on Cairn Gorm has polarised opinions about the mountains, access to them and to their management.