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AREAS - Cairngorms and Central Highlands
The Cairngorms and Speyside
The Cairngorms are Britain's largest mountain massif and are part of the Grampian Mountains, which are situated in the North-East Highlands of Scotland. It has a vast upland area, known as the Cairngorm plateau, which is arctic in character and contains four peaks over 4,000 feet.
This undulating high ground is composed of granite and has been rounded and gouged by glaciations to produce a very distinctive landscape. A walk to its highest top, Ben MacDui (4,296ft), gives an unsurpassed mountain panorama: tops capped with trademark granite tors, rocky cliff girded passes, corries, lochs and embryonic rivers.
The high ground is surrounded by a vast hinterland of heather covered rolling hills and glens with important large river systems such as the Don, Dee and Spey. There are extensive tracts of woodland: birch, Scots pine and juniper, which hide rare wildlife such as the capercaillie, crested tit, Scottish crossbill, osprey, badgers and pine martens.
On the higher ground snow bunting, dotterel, ptarmigan, golden eagle, red deer and mountain hare can be seen. The importance of this region has now been recognised and in 2004 it was designated a National Park.
The Cairngorms are an adventure playground for the outdoor enthusiast. For the walker the network of long distant tracks, many of which were major lines of communication in the past, give straight forward access to remote glens and hills. A typical days walking will be a journey through pine forest, beside clear lochans and fast flowing rivers, up over heather moorland and onto a grassy and mossy upland.
This leaves much of the central area unpopulated and therefore an ideal locality for wilderness expeditions. It is possible to walk for several days without meeting anything more than a rudimentary mountain shelter. To camp in the Old Wood of Caledon, beside rivers and lochs and to get away from civilisation, 3000ft up on the plateau, is a refreshing experience.
The large rivers, especially the Spey are ideal for canoeing and take paddlers through contrasting scenery and challenging waters. The nearby mountains provide an awe inspiring backdrop to any expedition.
Mountain biking facilities are excellent, with miles upon mile of natural singletrack trails through the forests and glens. The Cairngorms provide a whole range of trails to suit the both the newcomer and the experienced and they are increasingly gaining a reputation as a premier locality for this activity.
The Cairngorms are well known for downhill skiing but the topography also lends itself to ski touring or ski mountaineering. In good snow conditions, low level tours are possible on a variety of forest trails, while more demanding high level ski mountaineering trips to the plateau and summits are possible at most times during the winter.
For details of all of our holidays in this region, click here.
The Central Highlands including Glen Affric
This area encompasses the region west of the Cairngorms National Park and includes Loch Ness and the Great Glen, as well as the many wonderful glens in that area such as Glen Affric, Strathfarrar and Glen Cannich.
Loch Ness is famous worldwide for the monster that lives in the loch. As you might expect, most of the locals have seen it at some time! While parts of the loch are busy with monster-spotting tourists, there are many quieter spots along its banks where it is easy to escape the crowds and appreciate the loch for what it is - a striking incision across the heart of the Highlands. Surrounded by mountains and forests, it is a very beautiful location and one which is rewarding to explore on foot or by canoe.
The Great Glen almost splits Scotland in two with a series of lochs which run between Fort William in the west and Inverness in the east. The three main lochs are Loch Lochy, Loch Oich and Loch Ness, which is the longest of the three. There is a long distance hiking trail which follows the length of the Great Glen and gives a good hike which takes most hikers 6 days to complete, covering 117km along the way.
North and west of the Great Glen are some of Scotland's most wild and beautiful glens. Best known of these is Glen Affric, which boasts stands of ancient Caledonian pines and is known for having the most spectacular autumn colours in Scotland. There are many excellent hikes in this glen, with both low level and high level routes available.
Nearby are the less frequented glens of Strathfarrar and Glen Cannich. These glens are hemmed in by high mountains and again are home to some of the last remnants of the ancient Caledonian Pine forests which once covered much of the Highlands.
© 2007 Wilderness Scotland
