With September now behind us and autumn storms bearing down, summer days are now a distant memory. Daylight is shortening and snow showers are forecasted for the high summits. And although it might be a few weeks yet before the ground is cold enough for snow to settle. Now’s the time to consider what extra items you’ll be carrying in your rucksack to hike through Scotland’s Autumn Mountains.
1. Headtorch
If you haven’t been carrying one up until now, now’s the time. Firstly, make sure the batteries are fresh and you’re carrying spares. What might appear as batteries with plenty of charge in a warm environment can quickly diminish in the cold of the mountains. Navigating in dark hill fog you’re bound to be using a head-torch on the highest beam. You’ll find this drains your power very quickly.
If your torch isn’t very powerful it may be worth thinking about upgrading. Don’t underestimate how much difference a quality torch can make to your journey when having to navigate. Your fingers will also thank you, as there is nothing worse then trying to change batteries and dealing with gloves in bad conditions.
2. Ski Goggles
There is now the chance of precipitation in the solid form on the wind both on fine and not so fine days. Remember, the wind doesn’t have to be too strong for drifting to occur. Do not underestimate how unpleasant it can be walking into the wind when snow, hail or spin-drifts are hitting you directly in the face.
Ski goggles are something you don’t want to skimp on either. Being able to see properly is of vital importance so make sure you get a decent pair of anti-fog (double lens) goggles. In a damp mountain climate you’ll find cheaper goggles will quickly fog up if they aren’t the right spec. A decent pair will also keep your face so much warmer in the biting Highland cold.
3. A warm hat
A warmer hat than you might carry in summer is both common sense, and of vital importance. We recommend one that pulls down over the ears!
4. Warmer Gloves
If you have ever suffered from the pain of hot aches you’ll know investing in a pair of really warm gloves is a must-make purchase. A pair of light liners inside thicker gloves works well as there is a play-off between warmth and dexterity. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you can get the best of both worlds with just one pair of gloves.
Gloves of adequate warmth for the coldest of Scottish winter days won’t have much dexterity left. So, it’s a case of whipping your hands out for fiddly activities and then putting them back into those cosy mitts. The liners also help to keep the gloves hygienic, making the task of cleaning your gloves so much easier.
5. An extra warm layer
Carry an extra warm layer for when you are immobile. By far the best way of keeping warm is to keep active but there will be times when you have to stop. Even a relatively short break of just ten minutes can mean you chill significantly.
In our damp and often cold and windy mountain environment, hypothermia is often an ever-present threat. But donning an extra thick fleece or even better, an overlay jacket will save you from the threat of a chill.
6. Get you navigational gear organised
This can pay handsome dividends and will mean less time hanging around immobile getting cold and more time on the move keeping warm.
Navigational judgment can start to be one of the first casualties of being cold, so it’s important to have a map case. It not only protects the map but it also is a means you can anchor the map to yourself. Make sure you have a compass with a decent sized base plate…
More on this in a later blog!
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.
Hiking Vacations across the Highlands of Scotland
Adventure vacation in Scotland for all the family
Now you may have heard or even believe the rumour floating around that Scotland’s mountains aren’t considered real mountains. Well we are here to put that rumour to bed once and for all. Scotland is a hikers paradise, and home to some of United Kingdom’s best climbs.
Scotland, the land of mountain and hills truly has something for everyone. No matter what your fitness level, or what kind of challenge you’re after you’ll find it in Scotland. Scot Mountain Holidays offers hiking trips ranging from easy to challenging and will guide you to the best peaks Scotland has to offer.
Known as the highest peak in the United Kingdom, there is of course Ben Nevis. But in additional to this, there are hundreds of other peaks worthy of a mention. The next highest peaks in Scotland are all in the Cairngorms, making Fraoch Lodge, the home of Scot Mountain Holidays the perfect base. If wanting to explore the Cairngorms there are a number of tours to choose from, for families and individuals. Depending on the duration, season and additional challenges, options include, The Gentle Giants, Easter Snowshoeing in the Cairngorms and Cairgorms discovery. For additional guided walking/hiking option in the Cairngorms check out Scot Mountain Holidays tours.
Although the Cairngorms have five of the highest peaks in Scotland you are still rich for choice upon leaving the national park. Skye has a stretch of peaks unlike anything else in the United Kingdom and the views will leave you breathless. Tours such as Superlative Skye are thorough, informative and perfect for the keen hiker. The Munros is another must do hike and a speciality of Scot Mountain Holidays.
So for those who think Scotland doesn’t have real mountains, we suggest you come and experience them for yourself. There are a range of options, challenges and seasons that’ll suit all walks of life.
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.
Hiking vacations:across Scotland
Mountain biking breaks: self-guided biking adventures
Family Adventures: a taste of everything for groups or families
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
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
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
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
Information about Royal Deeside: http://visitroyaldeeside.com/
Official Cairngorms National Park website: http://cairngorms.co.uk/
Visit Cairngorms website: http://visitcairngorms.com
The advantage of the Cairngorms with kids in tow is that the walking opportunities are almost endless at all levels depending on your child’s level of interest and energy. Almost every village in the Park has had a network of paths put in with the support of the National Park to give both locals and vistors extensive opportunties to explore through the woods, across the moorland, around the lochs etc. And if you want to do a wee bit more of an adventure you could try one of the Treasure Trails or try the permanent orienteering course at Glenmore.
There’s as wide a range of walks to do with the kids as you have time for here in the Cairngorms and the majority of the walks are circular so you don’t have to retrace your footprints. Walks vary in length but the majority are aimed at being no more than a half day’s activity so you could also do something else with the rest of the day – visit a castle, see Dolphins, go to Landmark Forest Adventure Park, go for a wild swim or a swim/slide in the swimming pool, try another activity, visit the polar bears and tigers at the Wildlife Park ….. The plethora of opportunities mean that we have trouble understanding why anyone would only want to spend one night with us; but perhaps not everyone is into the scenery and the outdoors.
Treasure Trails have produced a series of mystery/adventure stories where you solve the clues/puzzles along your walking route. The trails are available all over the UK, even in the Cairngorms National Park. We have a stock of the local trails here at Fraoch Lodge so if you want to spice up a local walk instead of just admiring the scenery and seeing what nature you can spot (giant anthills, ripe bilberries, raspberries, mushrooms, red squirrels etc) you can try one of these trails or purchase your own from http://www.treasuretrails.co.uk/scotland-northeast/things-to-do.html There are trails available in Aviemore, Kingussie, Newtonmore, Forres & Grantown on Spey among others – all of which are easily accessible from our base in Boat of Garten.
Loch an Eilean – voted Britain’s most popular picnic spot. The Loch is a very attractive spot with a ruined castle on it. The path around the loch is a forest path. There are rocks and tree roots along the way but then that’s nature. The root is not really suitable for push chairs but can be managed by relatively young children. Full details are available on the link provided.
Craigellachie Nature Reserve – a lovely wee walk for all the family which passes a wee lochan and can be extended up the hill if the enthusiasm is there.
Loch Garten and Loch Mallachie – Just a wee stretch of the legs, but in season the break can be extended to include either a loop through the forest or visit to the RSPB visitor centre (open Apr – Aug) to see the Ospreys.
Farleitter Crag and Uath Lochans – This route must be access by car as there is no public transport down Glen Feshie.
There are several way marked routes in the woods behind Fraoch Lodge and they are all marked out. You can even see the Capercaillie statue made from wood with the help of the pupils at the school. We also have a woodland ranger who leads walks and produces a blog for the village (on the website). The walks have a minimal charge associated with them but are extremely informative. Examples of the routes are: The Salmon trail – or the Red Squirrel trail.
Further details:
Walks around Boat of Garten woods – no transport required as these can all be accessed from our front door
Information about the Boat of Garten area
The Speyside Way (sections)
1. Boat of Garten to Aviemore – This is a lovely section of the Speyside Way which if done from Boat to Aviemore means you’re facing the Cairngorm Mountains the whole way and if you’re lucky the steam train will puff past you as you walk. The route comes into Aviemore past the Spey Valley Golf Course and Cairngorm Brewery before getting close to the centre of Aviemore.
2. Boat of Garten to Nethybridge (or extend to Grantown on Spey) – the main problem with extending the walk through to Grantown on Spey is the number of gates you have to go through along the way – but you never know that could turn it into more of an adventure for the kids. There are also several fixed information points through Balliefurth Farm explaining a little more about the countryside and the bonus is that you’ll come down to Grantown past Spey Valley Smokehouse where you can view the workers producing packs of smoked salmon to be distributed across the country.
Anagach Woods in Grantown on Spey – http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/anagach-woods.shtml
Glenmore to Aviemore – can be accessed by bus. Ask for details while staying at Fraoch Lodge.
Ord Ban – http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/sub2000/ord-ban
Carn Eilrig – see Andy for route description and full details. May be for older kids or for a bike/hike combination.
Meall a’Bhucaille – http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/meallabhuachaille.shtml
Cairngorm – from the ski car park to the summit. Children from age 5 or 6 can probably manage this walk on a fine day. The bonus is that they or all of you can summit your/their first munro without actually climbing up 3000ft.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. A great many other options are available. Andy will be very happy to discuss with you as many options as you wish when you come to stay. He’ll then be able to tailor all his suggestions to your experience, ambitions and weather.
For some other options which you may like to read about before you visit, you could always try the Walk Highlands website. We have worked closely with Helen and Paul Webster who run the site. They too are experts on the walking opportunties in this area as they live in Grantown on Spey.
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