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Walks
in the Cairngorms.

It’s 20:56 in the Cairngorms.
Cairngorms

Anagach pines and the East Highland Way.

Walking in the Cairngorms can mean an hour among the pines or a week on the trail. From Grantown-on-Spey, a short path leads through Anagach Woods, community-owned Scots pine and juniper, to a string of viewpoints with benches along the way. For something bigger, the East Highland Way runs from Fort William to Aviemore, past the beaches of Loch Laggan and along the Wildcat Trail at Newtonmore. If the rain sets in with small children, there's a soft play centre at Coylumbridge with slides and ball pits. Pack a waterproof whatever the forecast says, as the weather changes fast in the hills.

All places to visitCastlesVillages
Did you know17 hours ago

The writer Nan Shepherd is on the Royal Bank of Scotland's £5 note, with the Cairngorms and a line from her book The Living Mountain.

Shepherd was born at Cults, near Aberdeen, in 1893 and lived there for most of her life, a keen hill-walker who loved the hills of the north-east. In the 1940s she wrote The Living Mountain, drawn from her walks in the Cairngorms, but it was not published until 1977, when she was in her eighties. The polymer note, unveiled in April 2016, pairs her portrait with an image of the Cairngorms and a quotation from the book. On the back are two mackerel and lines from The Choice, a poem by Sorley MacLean, so two Scottish writers share one note. A book that waited decades to be printed is now on Scottish money.

Photograph: GariochTRead about it
Walk of the day13 hours ago

East Highland Way with Thistle Trekking.

The East Highland Way is an 82-mile trek from Fort William, the outdoor capital of the UK, to Aviemore, famous for its mountains and ski resorts.

Read about it
From the magazine9 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 06Issue 06Spring / Summer 2023

An Lochan Uaine, a small loch near Glenmore in the Cairngorms, is green, and one theory says fairies wash their green clothes in it.

The Gaelic name means 'Green Lochan', a lochan being a small loch, and its unusual colour makes it stand out from the other lochs in the area. The first theory is that algae, together with the reflected colours of the trees on the shore, tints the water. The second is the fairies, and the writer of our magazine piece put it plainly: 'Our money's on the fairies'. Geologists see it as a fine example of a glacial tarn, a lake left by a glacier, so it has been wowing people for at least ten thousand years. The walk from the Glenmore Visitor Centre climbs through Caledonian pine woods, but a wildfire in the summer of 2026 has closed the lochan and the Ryvoan path for now, so check with Forestry and Land Scotland before you go.

Read the full story in Issue 06
Did you know6 hours ago

Jonny and Daisy Ames, husband-and-wife falconers on the Rothiemurchus estate near Aviemore, let visitors fly their birds, including one of the largest eagles in the world.

Between them they have more than twenty years of falconry and wildlife teaching, and Rothiemurchus Falconry has been flying since the summer of 2022. Visitors meet at the Fishery car park and walk through to the Falconry Centre, where the birds are introduced one at a time, with their personalities, their stories and how each species is faring in the wild. Then comes a leather gauntlet and the chance to free-fly owls and hawks across the open ground among the pines. Those over twelve can fly the great eagle too. It is a gentle, hands-on morning for families with children of five and over, and booking ahead is essential.

See Rothiemurchus Falconry · Cairngorms
Stay2 hours agoCairngormsPark Cottage4.7 milesCairngormsKilliehuntly Farmhouse10.4 milesCairngormsThe Hayloft10.4 miles

Stay near Fun House at Hilton Coylumbridge.

The three good places closest to it: Park Cottage, Killiehuntly Farmhouse and The Hayloft.

See Fun House at Hilton Coylumbridge
From the magazineJust now

Polly Cameron, whose family runs The Dell of Abernethy near Nethy Bridge, in the Cairngorms, says you can walk from there to the top of Cairngorm without crossing a road.

Her pick for a first taste of it is the Ryvoan Circuit from Abernethy Forest: 'this walk takes you some of the way, taking in some huge views and then looping back through the forest'. A huge area of ancient Caledonian pine forest lies right on The Dell's doorstep, and Explore Abernethy have mapped out a network of trails through it, so you are never stuck for options. Polly's other tip is to get up early, because some of the most beautiful skies, peaceful lochs and displays of wildlife can be found at dawn.

Read the full story in Issue 7

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