WALKING, EXHIBITIONS, TRAIN FOR £1, XMAS SHOP & CLOCKS GO BACK!
LAST CHANCE THIS YEAR TO WALK AT THE TOP – ENDS SUNDAY 31ST OCTOBER
The Walk @The Top at CairnGorm: 11.20, 12.00, 14.00, 14.40 daily
Join a guide to take you up on the funicular to the Ptarmigan building then out on a guided 90-minute walk to the summit of Cairn Gorm and back, before descending by the funicular. Suitable clothing and footwear required. Meet at Ranger Base 15 minutes prior to departure time. Booking advisable on-line at www.cairngormmountain.org. or in person at the ticket office. Adults £13, Students/seniors £12, Children (6-16) £10. (Includes funicular travel.) Friends of CairnGorm £5. Visitors may only exit the Ptarmigan building when on one of these walks.
Summertime ends this weekend – Don’t forget the clocks go back one hour at 2am on Sunday 31st October. An extra hour in bed!
November opening – funicular open every day in November except 1st, 2nd & 3rd but the Cas Bar and Mountain Shop will be open on those days.
Ride the Train for £1 – On Saturday 6th, Sunday 7th, Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th November we have a special promotion for residents of Badenoch & Strathspey (Postcode areas PH19-PH26) offering a ride on the funicular for £1 on any of these 4 dates. Look out for the voucher in the next two weeks’ Strathspey and Badenoch Herald. Terms and conditions apply.
Website Survey – We would love your comments regarding our website. Please can you take a moment to fill out this 5 minute http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SWBNLVC
The Search and Rescue demonstrations with Benny and the lovable Moudy proved very popular and £316 was raised for SARDA. The duo will be back again with some more dates in the future.
Every day
Exhibitions 10.00am – 4.30pm
The Big Freeze exhibition of photographs taken by staff from last winter is on display in the T Bar and on the stairs up to it as well as in various other locations. Many of the pictures are for sale.
Jane Lannagan, Tomintoul based artist is back in the Base Station with her latest collection of batik artwork, some of which are inspired by Cairn Gorm itself. Pictures are for sale.
Euan Baxter, local photographer and snowsports enthusiast is displaying his collection of winter photographs Vanishing Tracks in the Ptarmigan Restaurant until the end of December. Inspired by 30 winters spent in Strathspey, Euan is transfixed by the beauty of these months and the ever changing conditions. Mounted and framed prints are on sale.
Walk Up, Train Down
Visitors can enjoy 90 minutes of rewarding walking up one of our self-guided paths, enter the Ptarmigan top station, before continuing their walk or purchasing a down only train ticket. (Dogs may come down on the train for a small charge). Appropriate clothing/footwear advised. NB Ptarmigan building will be closed 1,2,3 November
Camera Obscura: This free attraction is located in the Mountain Garden near the Base Station and enables visitors to see 360-degree real-time views of the surrounding landscape.
The Igloo: Get the kids to have a go at building the new all-year igloo in the T-Bar.
Shopping: Look out for clothing, walking essentials, fabulous gifts and accessories in our shops. Christmas shop in the Mountain Shop now open with lots of decorations, cards and gift ideas with more stock arriving each day.
Eating and drinking: Home-baking every day in our restaurant and cafe bar and hot meals featuring locally sourced ingredients in the mountain-top restaurant. ‘The Chocolate Mountain’, a huge concoction of hot chocolate, marshmallows and cream beckons in both locations.
Wildlife this week: Ptarmigan, now in half winter plumage can be found high up but mainly on the Windy Ridge. A few Snow Bunting can be seen on the summits and Black Grouse can be seen early morning on the approach road. Red Grouse can be heard in the moorland up to 800m and frequently seen and heard on the heather moor. A flock of approximately 30 Fieldfare can be seen near the Day Lodge. The alpine garden is dying back for winter.
MOUNTAIN WEATHER OUTLOOK
Friday 29th October: Wind S 40-60mph, gusts 70 possibly 90mph. Severe gales and wind chill. Showery rain will clear but extensive cloud on higher areas. Bursts of sunshine in afternoon, visibility will vary. Temp at 900m 8C dropping to 6C.
Saturday 30th October: Wind SW or W in the range of 35mph to 45mph, gusting 50-65mph. Continued upland gales and significant wind chill. A few showers which will fall as snow above 1000m. Cloud widespread on higher areas, with patches of sunshine. Visibility mainly very good. Temp at 900m 4C.
Outlook: Widespread severe gales on the hills and rain. The heaviest rain will move east slowly. Next week will bring more unsettled weather with upland gales and widespread rain persisting.
OPENING TIMES
Every day: Ticket Office and Cas Bar will be open at 10.00am. The first public train up will be at 10.20am, with the last train up at 4.00pm (last down at 4.30pm).
