Aviemore and the Cairngorms

The Cairngorms, in the heart of the Highlands, is a land of adventure, high mountains, scenic glens, lochs and castles, and home to some of the rarest alpine plants species in the British Isles.

 

Although Cairngorm is actually a single mountain, it has given its name to the National Park of which it is central. On the eastern side are the Dee and the Don rivers, and the Queens Scottish residence at Balmoral. On the western side the main tourist centre is Aviemore and our location for this adventure.

 

Within a few miles of Aviemore itself you are presented with a good choice of places to stay: Forest Enterprise’s Glenmore Forest Park, High Range, Rothiemurchus Camping and Caravan site or Dalraddy, just to the south of Aviemore at Kincraig to name but four.

 

The areas main income is from tourism and unfortunately prices often reflect this. Glenmore Forest Park, for example, charges £3 per dog per night and I have to wonder if the dogs get their own showers to warrant this?

 

It is possible to stay off site if you know where to look: The Coire Cas and the Sugarbowl car parks being the main places and overnight parking is otherwise quite heavily restricted.

 

On arrival we parked at the side of Loch Morlich and took the dogs for a walk around it before returning to the town to get our groceries. Aviemore has a fine butcher and bakery as well as a small Tesco and other shops. For those who believe a holiday shouldn’t involve cooking there are lots of restaurants including Indian, Italian, Chinese, and Australian as well as pubs serving food, and many hotels catering for non-residents.

 

I had fancied staying high up at the Sugarbowl in order to get a particular dawn photo as it affords the most wonderful view over the mountains north and across Loch Morlich. As the sun rises a glow slowly creeps across the land – it doesn’t last long but it is often quite magical and if you are really lucky you sometimes get mist or even a cloud inversion.

 

Being off site makes you totally dependent on the facilities in your van. Chemical toilet facilities are a must as irresponsible people creating waste issues is one of the main reasons why overnight parking is so limited. You also need a reliable leisure battery or other form of lighting as it gets VERY dark.

 

After a feast of sausages we bedded down waking the next morning in time for the magnificent sunrise. Camera readied I pulled open the curtains only to find we were totalling immersed in the cloud.

 

Coire Cas, slightly higher up the mountain is generally more popular with its access to the spectacular Northern Corries. Famous for the climbing routes there both in summer and winter, access to Ben Macdui, the ski area and the train up to the Ptarmigan Restaurant.

 

We had planned a glen walk today so we headed down hill, parking at Loch Eilean (£2 per person) and walked part way round the Loch and on to Glen Einich. There is a visitor centre and toilet facilities close to the carpark.

 

The whole area is excellent for hill walkers and mountain bikers but there are also routes that are gentler and some are wheelchair friendly. The full route around Loch Eilean is about 3 miles (5km) and makes a fine half-day or even evening walk.

 

Our route along Glen Einich to the loch of the same name, is an out and back route and is suitable for mountain bikes and fairly fit walkers. Many people think that out and back walks are boring but this one affords very contrasting views in each direction.

 

Red Deer and a large variety of birds are often seen in the woods and a mountain river passes through the glen. We stopped for lunch to the sound of water cascading over rocks, with the predictable bush dash afterwards.

 

On the return, it was still a wonderful cold but sunny day but behind us in the Glen things were changing. The temperature dropped and the wind changed to a north westerly while clouds gathered. The weather in the mountains of Scotland should be taken very seriously and people are caught out every year with very serious consequences. I have been on Ben MacDui in June, in heavy snow. The folks in Aviemore are eating ice-cream in shorts and you’re just a few miles away in a blizzard.

 

Returning to the Sugarbowl for a second night it wasn’t very late before we were in our beds. About 11.30 the van started rocking from side to side. Initially a gentle swaying it slowly mounted until it felt we were about to be blown clean off the mountain.

 

Although I doubt we would have really been moved we felt the skylights could become casualties and we so quickly restoring the van to a driving position we headed down the mountain to the only other parking area where you can stay overnight. It’s just a piece of rough ground with room for about 5 vans at the most but it’s sheltered, several hundred feet lower into the glen and often full in summer. You could feel the temperature rise as we descended.

 

Returning to our beds my husband said; “Why is going away never simple?”

 

“Auch, where’s your sense of adventure” I replied.

 

When we woke it was raining, grey and still rather windy.

 

As we ready the van for the day we looked back towards the Sugarbowl at the mountains turning white with the first snowfall of the season. Had we been planning another night we would have moved onto a site to make the most of facilities as it was showers can be had in the award winning public toilet block in the centre of Aviemore.

 

Aviemore caters for bad weather with an indoor climbing wall, several visitor centres and shopping or alternatively you can head for a day into Inverness only 30 minutes away.

 

For those who rather look at mountains than play in them local attractions include the Reindeer Centre, the Sled Dog Centre and the Highland Wildlife Park.

 

The Highland Wildlife Park has many animals suited to the climate, some of which were once native to the Highlands. There is a designated drive (please stay in your vehicle), and enclosures accessed from the car park, a visitors centre and café. If you do have pets with you it is advisable to contact the park in advance.

 

For the action minded the local Highland Estates offer activities as well as holiday parks. At Rothiemurchus you can try your hand at clay pigeon shooting, take a Landrover guided tour, as well as many other activities.   

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and will certainly be back as there are lots of things to see and do. Facilities in the area are designed with tourists in mind and I am looking forward to our next trip although I hope it’s not quite such a windy adventure.