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Museums and history
in the Cairngorms.

It’s 20:55 in the Cairngorms.
Cairngorms

Old bridges and a motte on the Don.

History in the Cairngorms lies along its rivers. At Carrbridge, a thin stone arch of 1717 still leaps the Dulnain, built so that funerals could reach the old church at Duthil, now the home of Clan Grant. Up Strathdon, a single high arch of 1715 crosses the Don, and nearby a great grass mound rises where the Earls of Mar built a castle around 1200. From Aviemore, steam trains run the old Highland line to Boat of Garten and Broomhill. Check the railway's timetable before you go, as it runs on set days.

Newtonmore Highland Games→
Strathspey Railway→
Poldullie Bridge→
Doune of Invernochty→
Duthil Old Parish Church and Churchyard→
The Old Packhorse Bridge→
Place of the day18 hours ago

Doune of Invernochty.

A huge earthwork castle mound at Strathdon where the Water of Nochty meets the Don, raised by the Earls of Mar in the late 1100s, one of the finest Norman...

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Newly discovered15 hours agoAberdeenshireBallaterAttractionCairngormsLaggan Stores Coffee BothyCafeCairngormsAbernethy ForestAttractionCairngormsCairngorm Reindeer CentreAttractionCairngormsSmarty ArtAttractionCairngormsAllt Mor CaféCafe

Some good places to go, newly added to the site.

The newest places on our pages in Cairngorms.

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From our guide12 hours ago

Newtonmore Highland Games.

Newtonmore's Highland games fill The Eilan, just south of the village, on the first Saturday in August. The day starts with the heavyweights and the solo pipers, then moves on to pipe bands, Highland dancing and the Creag Dhubh hill race in the afternoon. There is shinty to watch too, and craft and food stalls round the field. A Clan Macpherson march through the village adds a real sense of occasion. The games go ahead in most weather, so bring a waterproof just in case.

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Lunch9 hours agoCairngormsAndersons Restaurant3.1 milesCairngormsFoxfire Coffee5.2 milesCairngormsRoute 7 Café5.6 miles

Lunch near The Old Packhorse Bridge.

The three good places closest to it: Andersons Restaurant, Foxfire Coffee and Route 7 Café.

See The Old Packhorse Bridge
From our guide7 hours ago

Duthil Old Parish Church and Churchyard.

Just east of Carrbridge, in a walled churchyard, stands the old parish church of Duthil, the spiritual home of Clan Grant. A church is thought to have stood here since around 1400, and the present building went up in 1826 in place of the old one. Worship ended in 1967, and today it is the Clan Grant Centre, where the Clan Grant Society gathers each August. Wander the churchyard and you will find it full of Grant memorials, with a grand stone mausoleum topped by battlements over its door.

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From our guide1 hour ago

Strathspey Railway.

Few journeys feel as cheerful as a steam train puffing through the Spey Valley. The Strathspey Railway runs heritage trains from its own platform at Aviemore station to Boat of Garten and on to Broomhill, a ten-mile stretch of old Highland line brought back to life since 1978. The ride to Broomhill takes a little over fifty minutes, with the Cairngorms in view. Book afternoon tea on board, or try a local favourite: walk the Speyside Way between Aviemore and Boat of Garten, have lunch in the village and take the train for the other half.

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From our guideJust now

Poldullie Bridge.

Near Bellabeg in upper Strathdon, a narrow road crosses the Don on a single soaring arch of rough stone, climbing steeply to its crown and down again. Poldullie Bridge was built in 1715 by John Forbes of Inverernan, and a tablet over the keystone still carries his name and the date. He had little time to enjoy it. That autumn he followed the Earl of Mar into the Jacobite rising, fought at Sheriffmuir and ended up a prisoner in Carlisle Castle. A riverside path from Bellabeg leads to it.

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