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Date: 14 April 2004 
NEW DRIVE TO EXTEND SPEYSIDE WAY TO NEWTONMORE 

The Speyside Way Management Group is stepping up its efforts to extend the long-distance 
route from its current end in Aviemore on to Newtonmore and has employed a Development 
Officer to identify a route for the proposed extension. 

Alastair MacLeod, former District Forester with the Forestry Commission, has taken on this 
challenging new role. His wealth of experience includes time as Project Officer and Route 
Manager on the Great Glen Way, one of Scotland’s other long-distance routes. 

The Speyside Way already runs from Buckie to Aviemore - extending it to Newtonmore 
would complete the route joining the major townships on the Spey. One of his first tasks will 
be to look at all the potential options, both on paper and on the ground, and he will consult 
with landowners, communities, path groups and other interested parties. 

The Speyside Way Management Group, established in 2000, is a partnership between 
Highland Council, Moray Council, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), the Cairngorms National 
Park Authority (CNPA), Moray Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise and the Highlands of 
Scotland Tourist Board. 

SNH will be responsible for putting forward any final proposals for the extension to the 
Scottish Executive for approval. SNH’s Area Officer, Cattie Anderson, said: 

"With access to the countryside very much in the news at the moment, and new legislation 
covering the right of responsible access expected to be in place by the end of the year, the 
need for a long-distance route has never been greater. People feel comfortable using welldefined 
paths, and land managers feel happier knowing that the public can cross their land 
safely on a well maintained route."
 
The CNPA will be responsible for managing access rights in the National Park once the new 
legislation comes into force. Kristin Scott, Senior Access Officer with the CNPA, who will be 
managing the new post, said: 

"This project will have many benefits for both tourists and local people. I hope that we can 
finally unite Aviemore and Newtonmore so that the Speyside Way joins all of the major 
settlements in the Strath."
 
Alastair Macleod, the new Speyside Way Development Officer, said: 

"I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to bring the many threads together to 
establish a cohesive route for the Speyside Way. We have to work with all of the interests in 
the area to develop a route that is satisfactory for everyone."
 
Ends 

Notes to editors: 

SNH has just released a new leaflet ‘Enjoying Scotland’s Outdoors: on track for new access 
rights and responsibilities’ which describes progress in the implementation of the new 
access rights, and what we can expect in the future. Copies can be obtained from SNH’s 
local office in Achantoul, Aviemore. 

For further information contact Danny Alexander, Head of Communications, Cairngorm 
National Park Authority, on 01479 870526 or 07957 134046