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Your Guide to the Cairngorms National Park
The amazing landscape will just make you want to come back and explore the Cairngorms, all year round!
The Cairngorms National Park is to the North East of Scotland, and was designated in a National Park in 2003. It is larger than the Lake District and twice the size of Loch Lomond National Park, and has an amazing amount of wildlife.
The Cairngorms cover an areas over 3,800 square kilometres, and includes the spectacular Cairngorms range of mountains, Cairn Gorm, itself can be enjoyed by everyone if you choose to reach the top by Mountain Railway.
The Cairngorms National Park landscape is unique because of its
- The Cairngorms contains the finest collection of different landforms outside arctic Canada.
- Arctic Mountain Tops with 4 of Scotland's 5 highest mountains within the Park
- Ancient Pine Forests (found only in Norway and Scotland)
- Lochs, Rivers and moorlands
- Spot the Scottish Crossbill, the only bird unique to Britain, the Golden Eagle who hunts the wild uplands or the Slavonian Grebe who nests on forest Loch's. Osprey, Dotterell, Capercaillie, and Crested Tit are just a few of the bird species found here, so it really is a bird watchers paradise. It is well worth popping into the RSPB observation point at Abernathy Forest/Loch Garten Nature Reserve near Boat of Garten to find out more.
- The Cairngorms is home to a wide variety of animals - including pine martens, red squirrels, badgers, wildcats, water vole, and otters. Red and roe deer are the only two native species of wild deer within the British Isles. Both are common within the Cairngorms National Park and are valuable natural assets, although you may also see Sika Deer, and semi-domesticated reindeer.
Yet at the same time it has
- Aviemore - a popular winter skiing resort - ideal for winter sports with cable cars, snow boarding and experienced instructors, where as in Summer it is an ideal location for hill-walking.
- Newtonmore - this village is almost in the centre of Scotland. There are lots of trails here for mountain biking and walking - including the famous "Wildcat Trail".
- Pitlochry - a large Victorian town, which was discovered as a tourist resort by none less than Queen Victoria herself. Surrounded by mountains, it is the perfect location for climbers, yet it is equally popular with anglers and boat users, but maybe they are attracted to the Whisky Distiller's in the town.
- Balmoral, is the Queen's Country residence, and you are welcome to visit at selected times of the years, she is often in residence during the summer months, and can be sometime seen on a Sunday morning at Crathie Church (if your really lucky).
- A spectacular drive along the A9 through the Highlands to Inverness , will take you to Scotland's most famous Loch - Loch Ness, just outside the Cairngorms.
- There are some wonderful golf courses and adventurous pursuits that are unique to the Cairngorms such as dog sledging and skiing.
