Rangers gather in the Cairngorms National Park

Ranger managers from 12 National Parks around the UK are spending three days (9 – 11 November 2011) in the Cairngorms National Park to share experiences of best practise.

They’ve travelled from as far as the South Downs, Britain’s newest National Park, to be here.

Tomorrow, (Thursday 9 November) the ranger managers will walk to the top of Cairn Gorm to experience first hand the unique mountains that make up our National Park. The group will be guided by Cairn Gorm Ranger Service.

Pete Crane, Cairngorms National Park Authority Senior Visitor Services Officer, said: “Some of the topics we’ll be discussing include visitor management in the mountains and path maintenance. There’s no better way of doing this than climbing to the top of Cairn Gorm and showing our visitors the newly restored path on Windy Ridge which the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust have nearly completed as part of a £2.1 million mountain path project.”

The Ranger managers will also be sharing their knowledge and experience of access management, volunteering and the Junior Rangers initiative.

Last week, the Cairngorms National Park Authority met with ranger employers from around the Cairngorms National Park to agree the role that rangers have to play in delivering the next National Park Plan.

Pete Crane said: “Over a million visitors to the Cairngorms National Park each year benefit from the work of ranger services in promoting responsible access and providing information about nature. Last year, over 6,700 pupils from in and around the Cairngorms spent time with a ranger learning about the National Park and its special qualities.”