The Cairngorms National Park – Scotland’s second – was officially opened on 1 September.

A formal transfer of powers to establish the park was completed at a ceremony near the summit of Cairn Gorm attended by deputy environment minister, Allan Wilson and Liz Hanna, great-great-granddaughter of National Parks founder, John Muir.

The park is the UK’s largest at 1,466sq miles and stretches from Grantown on Spey in the north to the heads of the Angus Glens in the south and from Laggan in the west to Ballater in the east.

However, the opening was not without contention. An original recommendation by Scottish Natural Heritage that Highland Perthshire be included within the park was ignored by the Scottish Executive – a decision condemned by the Perthshire Alliance for the Real Cairngorms (PARC).

The Alliance wants the park’s boundaries redrawn and held its own ceremony by climbing Carn Liath, a mountain in Perthshire.

Wilson said that a review could not be ruled out but felt that the five-year assessment of how the park was operating would be an appropriate time to do it.

Controversy has also surrounded a newly built funicular railway up Cairn Gorm. The Mountaineering Council of Scotland consistently campaigned against its construction, citing environmental issues, and – now that the railway is running – other protesters have complained about its ‘closed system’ of operation. Anyone who uses the railway during the summer is not permitted to walk on the mountain because of its sensitive environment. Details: www.cairngorms.co.uk