Today is the second entry in a new series of articles providing you with itinerary ideas for various regions around Scotland, and I will be unveiling more over the next few months. I have largely focused on specific topics throughout the life of Traveling Savage, as I’ve found that kind of specificity is often lacking in travel writing. However, just as the timing of my Best of Scotland series felt right for the past couple of months, the time is right for me to provide information at a higher level to help you in your trip-planning, idea-generation phase.

These Scotland Itinerary Ideas articles will collect many of my previous articles on the selected region into one place, along with my assessment of their criticality for the visitor and a bevy of useful tidbits that might’ve gotten lost along the way. At the end of the day, these articles should be useful cheat sheets to refer to when you begin planning your next trip to Scotland.

As always, don’t hesitate to pepper me with questions.

The Cairngorms National Park

A Western View of the Cairngorms

Crack open any map of the United Kingdom and you’ll see a huge green blob in northeast Scotland, hemmed in from the east and west by Aberdeenshire and the A9, and from the north and south by Moray and Perthshire. This is the Cairngorms National Park, a spectacular landscape of mountain peaks, upland plateau, and rolling foothills still blanketed in forest. Covering more than 1,700 square miles, the Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in Britain, and you could easily spend weeks here on a visit, if not a lifetime. Everywhere you look you will feel the urge to stop the car and take a picture because you cannot bear to trust that image to your memory. There are no answers here, just awesome beauty and hermetic solitude.

Things You Can’t Miss

Rothiemurchus. Rothiemurchus, just southeast of Aviemore, is one of the largest tracts of ancient Caledonian forest remaining in Scotland. The Grants have been stewards of Rothiemurchus for more than 400 years, and by their stewardship they have managed to keep the estate much as it was in the distant past. Today, Rothiemurchus has just enough visitor infrastructure, in the way of trails and shops, to enhance the experience without impinging on it. Rothiemurchus is a great place to go biking, hiking, and fishing while you soak in the age of this ancient forest and get a sense for the grandeur of the Cairngorms.

Rothiemurchus' Wild Glory

Cairn Gorm. Cairn Gorm is the name of the most prominent mountain in the range at the center of the Cairngorms National Park, and it’s hard to imagine a visit to the park without a funicular ride up to this lofty peak. Cairn Gorm overlooks the ski town of Aviemore, and it’s northwest slope is a popular downhill spot. For those not interested in rapid, snow-aided descents, the funicular ride brings you to a nice cafe with excellent views across the top of the Cairngorms National Park (on a clear day). This a great scale-setting visit and slots in nicely with a day at nearby Rothiemurchus and Loch Morlich.

Balmoral Castle. Sheltered in a crook of the River Dee between Ballater and Braemar near the Cairngorm’s eastern edge stands Balmoral Castle, the Queen’s royal residence in the north. The royal family possesses 50,000 acres of land in this part of the park, and the castle provides a measure of escape even with a scattering of visitors ambling about the grounds. As you would expect, these grounds are immaculate, the castle stunning if dating only from the Victorian era, and the small exhibit open to the public well worth your time. It is a perfect stop as part of a day that takes in Mar Lodge and Royal Lochnagar distillery (see below).

Balmoral Castle

The Old Military Road. Roads are – thankfully – in short supply throughout the Cairngorms National Park. The main road from Speyside in the northwest down to Deeside in the east is The Old Military Road, a winding noodle with some incredible hairpins and unbelievable, wind-swept views of the park’s stark northeastern foothills. This is the primary route from Grantown-on-Spey to Ballater via the high mountain town of Tomintoul, where you ought to at least stop at the Whisky Castle (while it is most definitely not a castle, it is a shop loaded with scads of amazing, hard-to-find whisky). This section of the park is a very different and interesting landscape from the craggy, forested western edge between Aviemore and Newtonmore.

Corgarff Castle

Things You Shouldn’t Miss

Ruthven Barracks. The ruined Ruthven Barracks are a stunning sight as you drive north on the A9 along the park’s western edge. On a clear day, sn0w-capped mountains provide a gorgeous backdrop to the grey, 18th-century ruins perched on a small green plateau. The view alone should do it, but if you’re feeling curious Historic Scotland makes the ruins accessible at all times free of charge.

The Ruined Ruthven Barracks

Mar Lodge Estate. Deep in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, west even of Braemar, lies one of the last remnants of the ancient earldom of Mar: The Mar Lodge Estate. This estate comprises 73,000 acres and contains some of the most remote and scenic wilderness in all of Scotland, not to mention four of the five highest mountains in the United Kingdom. As a traditional highland estate, visitors can engage in activities like deer stalking, grouse shooting, and salmon fishing. Mountain bothies fleck the high hills for serious hikers in this ruggedly beautiful landscape.

The River Dee on the Mar Lodge Estate

Distilleries & breweries. The Cairngorms has its fair share of stops for those who enjoy a tipple now and then. On the distillery side of things, GlenlivetDalwhinnieRoyal Lochnagar, Tomintoul, and Tomatin all stand within the park’s boundary. You would regret missing Glenlivet and Dalwhinnie, especially. Glenlivet often wins best visitor experience among whisky distilleries. Aviemore is home to the Cairngorm Brewery Company, which makes some excellent cask ales like Trade Winds and Black Gold, and just a hair outside the park’s eastern border you’ll find the tiny but excellent Deeside Brewery.

Things to Do Off the Beaten Path

Hike the Glenlivet Estate. One of the most wonderful things about Scotland is the so-called “everyman’s right” or “right to roam,” which allows free passage across all lands in the country, even the 58,000-acre Glenlivet Estate which is part of The Crown Estate. America’s blight of ‘no trespassing’ signs are nowhere to be seen here, so why not take advantage of this perfectly sensible and wonderful right by exploring the smuggler’s trails around Glenlivet?

View from the Glenlivet Hills

Skiing and snowboarding. The Cairngorms National Park is home to three of Scotland’s five ski centers: Glenshee, CairnGorm Mountain, and The Lecht. CairnGorm Mountain is a reliable choice as the snow is good here much of the season. The Lecht is perfect for beginners and those who simply want to say they skied the Cairngorms, while Glenshee is the largest of the three ski centers and home to the gnarliest, most difficult runs. Please be careful.

Explore the Angus glens. The heads of the Angus glens reside within the Cairngorms National Park, and they make perfect places for hiking and wildlife spotting. The glens – Glen Esk, Glen Clova, Glen Mark, Glen Doll, and Glen Prosen – are wild, lonely places reaching toward the feet of the mountain range. This unpeopled and largely unvisited southeast area of the park is waiting to be found.

Logistics and Salient Bits

Bases. To explore the Cairngorms National Park thoroughly, you will want to consider multiple bases since roads and towns are relegated to the perimeter of the park, around the most massive peaks. Aviemore and Braemar are the most well-known and touristed towns in the Cairngorms, but I prefer the peaceful and beautiful Nethy Bridge, Grantown-on-Spey, and Ballater. Nethy Bridge is a collection of cottages in the forested slopes just west of the mountains with excellent proximity to many of the sights. Grantown-on-Spey is just to the north and performs convenient double-duty for exploring the western and northern edges of the park but also the Speyside region. Ballater is pretty town on the crossroads of the Old Military Road and the A93 along the River Dee in the east. Even Blair Atholl, which is now officially part of the Cairngorms, makes a good base in the south if you don’t plan on going much farther north. There aren’t many places in Scotland that I avoid, but Tomintoul has never warmed my bones.

Transportation. The western edge of the Cairngorms National Park runs along the primary road north from Edinburgh to Inverness, the A9, so even if your itinerary doesn’t include a stop in the park you’ll get a great look at snowy mountains and the Ruthven Barracks during the drive. A railroad mirrors the A9 all the way to Aviemore where it splits to Inverness and Speyside, but you’ll want your own car to explore the park.

Food & Drink. If you’re lucky enough to be in Nethy Bridge on a Monday night, keep your eyes peeled for the food truck serving piping hot fish and chips and mushy peas. By and large, I enjoyed standard fare at hotels in towns scattered around the park, and the same goes for drinks, but one bright spot was the classy dinner I enjoyed at Muckrach Lodge in Dulnain Bridge. Don’t miss the tartan waiting room with the whisky bar!

Venison at Muckrach Lodge

I hope I have been able to convey a smidgeon of the greatness that is this treasure of a national park. Some time in the Cairngorms should be part of any trip to Scotland.

Article Comments

  1. […] Scotland Itinerary Ideas: Cairngorms […]

  2. […] Speyside area bordering the northern Cairngorms National Park would be a destination even if it wasn’t populated with dozens of distilleries. This is a […]

  3. […] be the most awesomely beautiful area of Scotland. And that’s saying a lot. Drive through the Cairngorms, Perthshire, Skye, or Lochaber and you might scoff at this claim. I was unable to scoff because on […]

  4. […] a destination unto itself, and it just so happens to be in the ideal town from which to explore the Cairngorms National Park, Speyside, and much of Inverness-shire. The title of this post says it all. If there is another […]

  5. Christy July 31, 2016 at 7:00 pm

    Thank you for this website! My husband and I are going to Aberdeen the beginning of September for a work trip. I have found so many wonderful things for myself to do while he is working! I am so confused as to what to do on his one day of free time though! What would you suggest? I thought of traveling by train to Edinburgh with him but he isn’t much for the city.

    1. Keith Savage August 2, 2016 at 4:54 pm

      Hi Christy. Glad you’re finding the site helpful. Edinburgh is quite a long haul for a day trip. I assume you’ll be doing some of the ideas above, so Perthshire is another good option. It’s right at the edge of what I consider to be doable on a day trip, but it’s a beautiful place with much to see and do.

  6. Rish February 11, 2017 at 9:37 am

    Hey Keith!

    Your website is a wealth of wonderful, precise information about Scotland that is hard to come by no matter how hard one trawls the internet. My wife and I are eternally grateful 🙂

    We’re planning a thirteen (and a half) day trip through Scotland (our second one in 4 years). We have already visited Edinburgh and the Isle of Skye during our previous visit, and for this visit we’re trying to narrow down 3 areas and spend 4 days in each of them, with one day reserved for driving and exploring the far north-west coast (between Ullapool and Thurso)

    The candidate areas are
    1. The Orkneys
    2. The Cairngorms and Inverness district
    3. Outer hebrides
    4. Inner hebrides
    5. Glencoe/Oban

    Could you possibly help us in this regard? We love nature and gorgeous scenery, and are not necessarily big castle buffs. Also if you feel we missed something, please free to add it to our list of candidates!

    Look forward to hearing from you 🙂

    Sincerely,
    Rish

    1. Keith Savage February 11, 2017 at 10:42 am

      Hi Rish. Glad to hear you’re finding my site very helpful. Of your choices I like Orkney, the Cairngorms, and Inner Hebrides. If you’d like additional help in your trip planning process have a look at my trip-planning services. Cheers!

      1. Rish February 12, 2017 at 2:20 pm

        Thanks Keith!

  7. marge robertson April 6, 2017 at 10:39 am

    On a 3 week vacation I will be staying one week on a farm near Alyth so will explore all the above! Thanks!

  8. Shan May 26, 2023 at 4:34 am

    Hi Keith

    We are planning a full day trip to Cairngorms from Edinburg
    Can u please suggest which place we must visit?
    Would you suggest we stay at Cairngorms for the night and return the next day to Edinburg via Glasgow?
    From there we would like to go to Dublin.

    Pls suggest number of days and itinerary for 3-4 days trip to cover the following;
    Edinburgh-Cairgorms-Glasgow-Dublin

    Thanks in anticipation

    Shan

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