All things hiking Suggested things to do

Ascending Meall a’Bhucaille with 2 x 7 year olds and 1 x 4 year old.

Hiking in the Cairngorms

Many of our guests want to go hiking in the Cairngorms National Park. It is their primary reason for coming to stay with us. The most popular hike in the area is one lasting about 4 hours and preferably ascending a wee bit of a hill. This is the hike we usually recommend.

Be aware though – that this hike will not get you off the beaten track (as far as we are concerned) which is what Scot Mountain Holidays specialises in offering to our clients. You will see other hikers, particularly on the approach to the hill i.e. on the path up to Ryvoan Bothy.

Ryvoan bothy, at the start of the climb up Meall a’Bhucaille

Name:

Meall a’Bhucaille (Shepherd’s hill)

A popular “hill” hike suitable for almost anyone wanting to go hiking in the Cairngorms

Length:

3 – 4 hours

Maximum height:

810m

Views:

Glenmore, Loch Morlich, Cairngorm, the Lairig Ghru, Boat of Garten, Abernethy Forest

Parking:

in Glenmore either at the Visitor information centre or at the end of the road by Glenmore Lodge.

We would recommend starting the hike by passing in front of Glenmore Lodge but perhaps the better place to park would be the Forestry Commission visitor information centre, even though it is pay and display and the parking on the roadside outside Glenmore Lodge is free.

The path up Meall a’Bhucaille is steep but manageable for most people

The route:

Start by heading out from the Visitor Information Centre at Glenmore along the footpath which passes in front of the reindeer centre and then on towards Glenmore Lodge.

Continue on the footpath with takes over from the end of the road, heading towards the Green Lochan.

The path is wide and well-maintained. Before you reach Ryvoan Bothy, you’ll pass the Green Lochan, which is a pretty spot to take a breather.

You’ll turn at the bothy to head up the hill but you may want to make it your lunch spot as it will provide a shelter.

The path is obvious at the bothy. It heads up the hill towards the summit.

You’ll know when you reach the main summit as there is a large stone built shelter at the top with a magnificent view of Loch Morlich and the Cairngorms behind.

Instead of returning along the path you came up, head down to the saddle between Meall a’Bhucaille and Craigowrie and down the path from here back to Glenmore (this is a shorter return route).

Other options:

If you would prefer to get further away from the “crowds”, try joining a guided or self-guided trip with Scot Mountain Holidays. We specialise in exposing hidden gems for our guests to explore under the guidance of our expert and experienced local leaders.

Beautiful views and a clear path on the ascent of Meall a’Bhucaille

Guided private hiking in the Highlands of Scotland – a pub, a castle, a hike:

Hit the Hotspots in the Highlands of Scotland

If you’re in the Highlands on a business trip, and have a few days to spare here’s an idea for a personalised tour we could put together for you and your group.

Mary Jane Shankel and her son, Josh, were over in Aberdeen with her husband, who was unfortunately working so he couldn’t enjoy the same freedom to explore as them. They contacted us and we put together the following tour for them which Mary Jane has reviewed on TripAdvisor.

This trip took place at the end of April 2015 so don’t be surprised to see snow on the ground for the hikes – it wasn’t too much of a shock for the Shankels as they had come over from Canada.

The timing of Mary Jane’s trip was tight so their first day started late (around 11am – due to the travel time from Aberdeen)

Day 1: Hiking in the Aviemore area: arrive at Fraoch Lodge on the train from Aberdeen, via Inverness to Aviemore station, where Mary Jane and her son were met by Andy in our VW Caravelle. Andy brought the 2 Canadians back to Fraoch Lodge where they changed into hiking gear and chatted to him about the route for the day, the gear they needed and then they made up a lunch packet and set out for a half-day hike in the Cairngorms.

Ascent of Meall a’Bhucaille.

Mary Jane and Josh enjoying some predator free hiking in Scotland. In Canada, there are bears, wolves etc – serious predators to worry about. Here in Scotland we just need to worry about the wee predators (midges and ticks). On a day like this in the Spring, even they are not around, so hassle free hiking.

Day 2: A pub, a castle and a hill walk: Mary Jane had proposed in her first email to us that ideally she would like to include a pub and a castle in with the hiking as it was to be her son’s first experience of Scotland. By including this visit to Perthshire (a short drive from Fraoch Lodge – less than 2 hours) Andy hit all these highlights.

Mary Jane and Josh outside Blair Castle, Perthshire. The Duke of Athol is the only person entitled to retain his own private army.

On top of the world – an ascent of Ben Vraikie, Perthshire. A prominent viewpoint above Pitlochry.

The final tick – a pub complete with own brew and a log fire. What more could you ask for at the end of a busy day of culture (castle) and hiking (Ben Vraikie). The whole bucket list in a nutshell courtesy of Scot Mountain Holdays.

Day 3: a sad farewell – heading back to Aberdeen.

Here’s what Mary Jane had to say in her 5 star review of the trip:

“Andy and Rebecca are the most fabulous hosts, they made us feel like we were old friends on a short visit. We packed in really, really full days of hiking and sight-seeing. Being short of time, Andy skillfully managed our wish list of 2 half day hikes, a tour of a Scottish Castle and a trip to a traditional pub. Andy’s breadth of knowledge seems unbounded; Scottish history, geology and ecology kept us tuned in to the beautiful landscape and people of Scotland. Topping off the day with Rebecca’s wonderful cooking and wandering through their organic garden made the trip a seem like we had found a little piece of heaven. Weeks later we are still talking about it and planning a return trip…a longer one this time!”

Mary Jane and Josh enjoyed a private guiding package with Scot Mountain Holidays. They had no transport themselves so were able to benefit from our transport as well as Andy’s local knowledge. On their own and on their first tour, they would not have been able to complete their tick list. It’s only a shame that Mary Jane’s husband was not able to join them. Perhaps on a future trip they can tempt him to explore more widely when he is not as busy with work issues.

If you are short of time and want to pack in as much as you can on your visit to the Highlands, please contact us for a quote. Our trips are most frequently based from our own home in the Cairngorms National Park, but we can work further afield. Based with us you can access a wide variety of top attractions: a distillery, Loch Ness, beautiful scenery, castles galore, historic sites and boundless hiking opportunities as well as wildlife spotting.

VACATIONS WITH SCOT MOUNTAIN HOLIDAYS

Hiking Vacations across the Highlands of Scotland

Adventure vacation in Scotland for all the family

Mountain Biking in Scotland

Private guiding

July and August are the height of our season and this year we’ve been busier than ever, which does of course have its plus points; the down side being that we have had very little time together and time to get our heads together to plan for the autumn etc. Still we are well stocked with mushrooms (see below) and will be adding some top chanterelle mushroom recipes to the blog, just in case anyone else has been equally blessed.

Slightly less well-blessed on the weather front this year which has also meant that the fruit bushes have suffered. For the first time ever, our worcesterberries have not overwhelmed us in quantity and we probably won’t be able to restock with wine this year and will have to conserve all the fruit for jam making.

Our jam and marmelade skills have been in constant use since May as the downside to making your own jam is that people seem to eat enormous quantities of it with their breakfast.

Below if a selection of the activities and scenery we’ve been lucky enough to experience this month. We’ve saved all the wildlife and flora pictures for a seperate post. Look out for some very impressive reindeer antlers and some amazing wild flower shots to come shortly.

Always happy to hear any comments.

Nature’s bounty – chanterelles galore in the Cairngorms

Photo caption: Mushrooming in the Cairngorms – August 2015 is the month of the chanterelle; obviously a cool, wet summer does them a lot of good. So glad there are some benefits to this summer’s weather. (The photo above proved a popular Facebook post.)

Photo caption: what a lot of snow for August. Looks like it will be one of those years in which the snow will survive until the next winter season. Many more of them and we’ll see glaciers back here.

Photo caption: this might not be resort skiing but if you’re keen …

Photo caption: Hiking through the heather with Andrew Bateman of Scot Mountain Holidays to experience the hidden delights of the Cairngorms National Park. This route is part of the Complete Cairngorms itinerary.

Photo caption: Snow bridge which has developped in the Cairngorms. It makes for quite a dramatic photo.

Photo caption: dinner by candlelit is not a problem in August as we still have a fair bit a light streaming in from outside. This is our Mountains and Malts group sitting down to a revised dinner menu. Impromptu revision forced on us as we had a power cut just as our dinner was due to go in the oven. Fortunately the courgette rolls didn’t need any cooking preparation.

The Cairngorms is an amazing destination for biking. Be it road biking or mountain biking, there really is something for everyone. Not only are we surrounded by purpose built trail centres, but we also have miles of natural tracks throughout the forests and up on to the hills. There is more than enough to do for repeated visits or at least a week.

Related holidays by Scot Mountain Holidays

Hiking vacations:across Scotland

Mountain biking breaks: self-guided biking adventures

Family Adventures: a taste of everything for groups or families

Useful links:

Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland

Visit Scotland: about cycling

Visit Cairngorms: about cycling

Glenlivet Bike Trails

Laggan Bike Trails

Monster Moray bike trails

Grantown bike park

Inverness bike park

How do you measure wilderness?

Are there wolves in Knoydart? No – but then there aren’t any wolves in Britain so we can’t really use this as a measure of wilderness in this instance.

Are there bears in Knoydart? No – but again we don’t have bears in Britain.

So – no bears, no wolves, is it wilderness?

Knoydart is wilderness as soon as you leave the village of Inverie. There are no roads for 19 miles; you can’t take a car there; there’s no train station, no buses but courtesy of hydro-electricity there is electricity and there is a running water supply for the residents of Inverie.

Check out the video below made by the Guardian and Wilderness Scotland – then you can make your own decision.

Wild Knoydart

We’re returning to Knoydart on Saturday 9th May 2015 with a group of hikers. We haven’t been back for 2 years so it will be interesting to see what if anything has changed. When we first stated to visit Knoydart in 2008 there was no Wi-Fi access freely available. Now you can pick up a network at the pub (The Old Forge) and at the pottery/cafe across the road. Most self-catering properties also offer internet access. Seems like no one can be without their electronic entertainment these days and the thought of being unconnected with the wider world gives us the heebie-jeebies.

However, it is still not possible to drive on to the Knoydart peninsula. (Some of the locals in Inverie have motorised vehicles, but once you leave the hamlet, you won’t really see another vehicle until you return to Mallaig.

Knoydart definitely retains it’s sense of being a special place apart from the rest of mainland Scotland, because it has to be reached by ferry or on foot.

Remote = survival?

Knoydart might be remote and take a lot of time to reach (though not as remote as trying to reach Everst base camp), but this doesn’t mean that you need to feel in any way deprived or on survival rations.

The advantage of being in a smaller community, less easily accessed by the rest of the world, is that it is a safe environment for children to grow up in and one where security of your own assets does not need to dominate your daily life. Locking up is not essential as it is downtown.

The natural larder

Access to the internet and social media, does not provide any of the basics of life such as food. However living by the sea means that you need not go hungry. Seafood is amazing at Knoydart as you will have seen on the video and the platter at the Old Bridge Inn has to be seen to be believed, as below.

We hope you will consider joining us on one of our visits to Knoydart. We usually go in May and spend the majority of the time exploring the stunning surroundings and sampling some of nature’s larder. If we’re lucky we also get to have up close and personal encounters with some of the local wildlife – we have seen a pine marten fom the kitchen window of our accommodation.

Best seller in 2014: guided walking holidays in the Cairngorms

Guided walking holidays in the Cairngorms National Park are our speciality. The one which was most popular in 2014 was Complete Cairngorms. It has attracted bookings from France, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Russia … and only goes to show that the National Park designation has its own attraction. Guests from all over the world are choosing to spend their hard earned vacation on a visit to the Cairngorms.

Photo Caption: Exploring the Cairngorms on foot

Photo Credit: Scot Mountain Holidays

Visit Cairngorms: Complete Cairngorms

This trip is a fully guided hiking vacation in Britain’s largest national park. National Park designation has attracted a lot more visitors over the past 10 years than previously when though the British were, to some degree, award of the Cairngorm mountain range and the Cairngorm Ski Centre; even they had no idea of the extent and breadth of the Park itself.

Photo Caption: Loch A’an – hidden deep in the Cairngorms this is a viewpoint you can only reach on foot.

Photo Credit: Scot Mountain Holidays

Details of guided walking holidays in the Cairngorms

The Complete Cairngorms holiday takes place over a full week, but does have a rest day in the middle for clients to put up their weary feet or explore for a bit of retail therapy or souvenir shopping – if you’re lucky the trip might coincide with the summer sales in one of Aviemore’s multitude of hiking gear shops.

Essentially this is a hiking vacation with some culture, folklore and wildlife to enhance the hiking experience. A visit to the Cairngorms National Park would not be complete unless it took in the whole of the park. On this trip guests visit Glenlivet for the whisky and smuggler experience; Royal Deeside to walk on the Balmoral Estate (if the timing is right we may also visit the castle, though in August we may need to go to Braemar Castle instead – home of the largest Cairngorm Stone discovered)  August is the Queen’s annual vacation which she spends at Balmoral Castle, so the castle is not open then; and of course we visit Cairngorm mountain itself and the surrounding estates of Glenfeshie & Rothiemurchus, with its wildlife hide, where we hope to see the elusive pine martens.

One of the rate nocturnal pine martens viewed from the Wildlife hide used by BBC Spring Watch programme

Photo caption: Pine Marten at the Speyside Wildlife hide in the Cairngorms

Photo credit: Scot Mountain Holidays

This holiday has attracted visitors from: Germany, France,  the Netherlands, Denmark, Russia, and Finland which only goes to show how much the National Park designation attracts visitors in its own right.

Further guided walking holidays

Useful links:

Information about Royal Deeside: http://visitroyaldeeside.com/

Official Cairngorms National Park website: http://cairngorms.co.uk/

Visit Cairngorms website: http://visitcairngorms.com