A hillwalker has strongly criticised planning rules after he and his two young sons were stopped from boarding the new funicular railway on Cairn Gorm.

Graeme Gordon, 37, who produces the hit television detective series Taggart, said it was "bureaucracy gone mental".

Mr Gordon, a keen hillwalker and skier, said he was in favour of the �15m railway system, but was angry at being denied access as he and the children sought refuge from bad weather.

The company that runs the funicular, CairnGorm Mountain, said it was forced to operate to regulations laid down to protect the environment.

The sensible thing was to get to the restaurant building

Graeme Gordon

The access issue has been part of the debate about the affect on the Cairn Gorm plateau, which is home to a range of rare plants and birds.

During the summer season, 1 May-30 November, the funicular system is "closed", meaning passengers cannot walk around the plateau.

In winter, however, skiers with valid passes are allowed out.

Entry refused

Mr Gordon, from Kilmarnock, had planned to use the two-kilometre railway to go up to the Cairn Gorm plateau - part of Britain's largest nature reserve - with his sons Mark, eight, and four-year-old Rian last Sunday.

He wanted to get out at the Ptarmigan building 3,598ft (1,097m) up the mountain and walk the remaining 400ft to the summit.

Mr Gordon then planned to walk back down Cairn Gorm to the Coire Cas car park.

The system began operating in December

A ranger told him the funicular was a "closed" system, which meant that if they went up on it, they would be confined to the Ptarmigan station and would have to come down the same way.

He decided to make the ascent by foot but said the weather worsened as they went up. When they reached the Ptarmigan one-and-a-half hours later, he and the children were cold and wet.

"I couldn't get in and wondered why it was locked," Mr Gordon told BBC News Online. "I could see people inside eating and drinking.

"A man came to the door and said 'you need a ticket to come in here'.

'Stupid rule'

"I said 'I don't have a ticket but I'm willing to pay at the bottom'. He said I couldn't do that and refused me entry. He was very rude.

"I said that was a very stupid rule. He shut the door."

Mr Gordon, who was carrying water and chocolate, took an hour to reach the car park via the steep top part of the White Lady ski run.

Tight rules governed its construction

Asked why he had not turned back on the way up when the weather deteriorated, he said: "I believe it would have been foolhardy.

"The sensible thing was to get to the restaurant building. When we began, it was a lovely clear day.

"My impression of the whole thing is that it was bureaucracy gone mental.

"It gets embarrassing for foreign people when they encounter things like this.

"What must they make of what feels like quite cheap and nasty service?"

Rules publicised

Tania Adams, CairnGorm Mountain's marketing and sales director, said the funicular operated under an agreement involving Scottish Natural Heritage, Highland Council, her company and its bankers and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

She said there had been concern during the planning application process about the number of people the funicular would take to the plateau and the impact on the Alpine-Arctic environment.

This resulted in the "closed" system rule being written into the planning permission, confining passengers within the funicular.

Tourism Minister Mike Watson

However, an application had been made to alter the terms and allow people who walk onto the mountain to use the facilties, she revealed.

The rules on access to the system were on the company's website, in its literature and had formed part of a major public consultation exercise.

"Climbers seem to be very aware of it because they are the main ones that are disadvantaged by not being able to use the funicular as a quick means of access," she explained.

Complaint letters

There had been a small number of letters of complaint to MPs who had asked the company about the regulations.

Ms Adams said that American visitors in particular appeared more sympathetic to environmental management.

The funicular began operating last December and was formally opened on 24 June by the Tourism Minister Mike Watson.