06 Oct Becky Wilson, Volunteering Manager with Cairngorms National Park, writes about volunteering days with OATS

Becky Wilson talks about the time spent in the summer maintaining paths with volunteers in the Cairngorms.

In July I ran a volunteer path maintenance day with the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS). Volunteers from Kinross to Canada all worked together to repair parts of the Coire Domhain path. As well as improving this popular path for walkers, a lot of fun was had by everyone involved.

Summer 2022 saw lots of exciting opportunities being offered by Volunteer Cairngorms, some of our most remote and challenging opportunities were done in partnership with OATS. Together, we created around 10-15 ‘path maintenance experience’ days, taking place across the National Park. These days were all open for the public to come and gain path maintenance skills, take in the scenery, and have a chance to leave long-lasting change in the National Park.

July saw a team of volunteers working together to repair parts of the Coire Domhain path, down into the Loch A’an basin, taking in the immense scenery, and building confidence on high-level routes. Members of the team came from Kinross, and as far as Canada, and had a brilliant day swapping stories, working hard and soaking in the surrounding mountains. Here are some stories from the team about why they chose to come out and try this volunteer activity with Volunteer Cairngorms and OATS…

To read Becky’s full feature go to the Cairngorms National Park website