Aviemore describes itself as "well known and popular holiday destination with beautiful scenery and an abundance of things to do for all ages." It is a winter ski resort and a base for many year-round outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling.
There are at least three ski-related stores (usually in their preseason sales mode when we are there), coffee shops, a bakery and pubs, of course. If you want some true fish and chips, Smithy's across from Tesco is the place to go!
We recommend you check out the Woolen Store before you go anywhere else in the area just to get an idea of what they have before you shop. They carry all the standard gift shop souvenirs, as well as wools and wool blend products at every price range. If you forget a gift for someone on your list while you are out touring, you can always make a last minute run to the Woolen Store.
There's a Tesco grocery store in the center of town and an Aldi in the new shopping center to stock up your lodging.
The Cairngorm Brewery is on the north of town and offers a fun little tour. (It's not very big, but they tell great stories during your beer tasting.) Just past the brewery is "the Kilted Fudge" -- not a place to go if you need to watch your blood sugar!
There's also a stone cairn in the middle of the subdivisions -- not as big as the one in Outlander, but you can at least see if it will take you back in time by a day or two so you'll have more time in Scotland!
It's easy to fill a day's activities without leaving the estate! There are beautiful hiking trails, a 26-station clay shoot,
and much more on the estate. Sign up on line or at the Rothiemurchus Center. A trip to Loch an Eilean (Castle in the Lake) is a must as is the 15 minute drive to the base of the ski slopes. (The funicular train is under repair right now so you can't go to the top of the mountain unless you walk!)
You can pet "coos" and reindeer, visit the "Doune", home of the Grant family, or take a run on the "quads" -- what we call four-wheelers.
Feona Laing, who you will all meet as our "bash planner", owns the "trekking" facility -- again, what we call trail riding. She offers a variety of experiences for all riding levels. The various levels of rides are described in the "Nitty Gritty" notes on the Rothiemurchus site. Of special interest under the Experienced Rider Hack is the note: Please note that if you are an experienced ‘western style’ rider only, this is not a suitable ride, we would suggest ‘Rothiemurchus on Horseback’. Interpretation: If you can't ride like a bat out of hell in an English saddle, don't even consider this ride.
Please talk to Jackie before you book through Rothiemurchus Center for any of the riding experiences. We may arrange some separate group rides.
Discover how Highland people lived, worked and played at the open air Highland Folk Museum. Experience life portrayed from the early 1700s to the mid 1900s. Find the difference between a “cruck” and a “croman”, smell the “reek” of a peat fire, relive early school days and life on the farm, or just enjoy a “blether” and reminisce with our friendly staff. Extensive play area, shops, café, and picnic sites throughout grounds. This was a filming site for OUTLANDER.
About "cat-hunting" -- the Scottish Wildcat is an endangered species with less than 400 left in the wild. They look like sweet cats, but they are not! To both help with the preservation of the cats and to bring attention to the village of Newtownmore, the town has placed more than 100 painted "wild cats" for visitors to find. It's a great way to explore the area and also meet people. They love to show you where more cats are hidden. Stop in at the tiny visitors' center in town to pick up your Cat Hunting package with a book with a map of the town and pictures of all the cats. Mark the spots on the map where you find the cats and see if you can earn a "Hunting Certificate."
Head out early in the morning for an easy trip up the A9 toward Inverness to visit a battlefield sacred to the Scots, tour a 16th century castle, and have a great lunch with a little shopping on the side. Both the battlefield and castle are managed by Scotland Historic Trust, so this is a good opportunity to save money with your pass, which you wisely purchased from Scottish Heritage USA. Entrance to both sites is $60 for two people and your pass is only $50 for a couple!
If you are a history buff or a fan of Outlander, a visit to Culloden Battlefield is a must. Really, it is a must for everyone. The presentation of the exhibition in the Visitors’ Centre takes you into the days before the conflict as you “listen” to both the Jacobite and British camps prepare for battle. The center tour ends in the immersion cinema, placing you in the center of the battle. You leave the battle experience and walk out upon the moor itself where memorials are placed to mark the sites where entire clans of Scots were slain.
With all that action, you should be ready for lunch so hop back in the car the continue on up the the A96, through Nairn and on to the Brodie Country Fair. It’s a small, upscale shopping mall with a great cafeteria. From there is less than a mile to Brodie Castle. This rose-coloured, turreted castle stands on land confirmed to the Brodies by Robert the Bruce in 1567. The castle’s rooms, passageway and towers are treasure troves of priceless antiques and unusual artifacts. Acres of formal gardens surround the castle.
Just reverse your route when you leave the castle for the trip back to Aviemore. (There is a shorter way for those who feel experienced enough to drive a “B” road.) A stop in the city of Nairn is fun if you have time on the way back.
The Wildlife Park includes drive-through and walking routes to discover both Scottish wildlife and endangered animals of the world's mountains and tundra. The "star" is the polar bear cub "Hammish", the first cub born in the UK in more than 25 years. He isn't much of a cub anymore, but it still fun to watch his antics. There are also Amur tigers, snow leopards, red pandas, Arctic fox and Scotland's own Wildcats. Plan on at least half a day here - preferably in the morning. Most of the animals are fed around noon and tend to disappear for naps.
http://www.highlandwildlifepark.org.uk
Close out the day with a visit to Dahlwhinnie Distillery. If want want to tour one distillery just to "say you did", this is it. It's small, the tours are more personal and they pair the whisky tastings with CHOCOLATE!
This trip is a must for those of you with your own transportation and time! You can't say you were in Scotland without looking for Nessie!!
The best way to make the trip is to drive on through Inverness to Urquart Castle, come back to the Loch Ness Center and Exhibition in Drumnadrochit. (You get an extra Tennents at the bar that night if you can pronounce the town name correctly.) Finish out the rest of the day in Inverness.
Urquart Castle is one of the most photographed castles in Scotland. It was one of the largest castles in Scotland and figured in multiple battles in the wars of independence. It is well worth viewing the introductory film in the visitors center before going out to the castle. (Historic Environment pass works here.)
The website for the Loch Ness Centre and Exhibition touts their "state-of-the-art exhibitions" -- which they were in 1965. But, it is still fun tour and you really do learn a lot about the formation of Loch Ness and all the attempts made to find Nessie. Taking home a Nessie refrigerator magnet from the gift shop is a required Scotland souvenir.
Inverness is a beautiful city and it's easy to get in and park at the Eastgate Shopping Center. You can walk all through town from there. Don't miss the Victorian Market!
Explore a “noble ruin”, experience the medieval art of falconry and tour a well known distillery and you’ve hit some of the highlights of Scotland all in one day!
Get out and gone early for the 90 minute drive to the market village of Huntly where you will find (with some careful searching) the ruins of Huntly Castle. And, yes, when you find it, you will have to drive through the middle of a school to get to the castle on the other side. The archway through the high school is one car wide and you come out on to the playground on the other side! The castle was once home to most powerful families of Scotland and has a rich (and fun) history. Look for the “pointing fingers” on the façade – the earl wanted everyone to take note of his new title! The castle opens at 9:30 am and you can easily spend about an hour exploring. (£6.00 or use your Historic Environment pass here.) https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/huntly-castle/
Stop for a quick bite in Huntly before back-tracking to Carnie and the Huntly Falconry Centre. There’s a 12:45 pm demonstration of the many birds of prey raised at the Centre, including a gigantic bald eagle. You will have the opportunity to “fly” the birds or have them perch on your well-gloved hand. When we visited, the wind was too strong for flying so they brought several of the birds inside for us and let us get up close and personal with the eagles! (£7.50 per person)
https://www.huntly-falconry-centre.com/
Now, it’s back down the road to Dufftown, the heart of the Speyside whisky district, and a tour of the famous Glen Fiddich distillery. Be sure you book your tour well ahead of time on the website. You have a choice of two tours at 3:00 – an hour-long tour for £10 (with three malt tastings) or a two-hour tour for £25 (with five malt tastings).
If you want to purchase a special whisky to take home, The Whisky Shop in Dufftown has more than 600 varieties!! They close at 6:00 pm so figure that in your schedule.
Provided you weren’t tasting your whisky samples as well as someone else’s (Mike doesn’t drink liquor ) make your way back to Coylumbridge to sample a few more whiskys in the Woodshed.
One of the reasons we chose to visit Scotland eleven years ago was they conveniently scheduled the Autumn Whisky Festival in Dufftown to coincide with our trip --lucky for me, a wealth of funny stories for Mike. For those in the crowd arriving on Sep 27-29 time frame, you should be able to catch part of the festival events. They don't have anything posted right now because the focus is on the Spring Speyside Fesltival. But, the 2018 facebook page should work for 2019: https://www.facebook.com/events/142327326388377/
Even if you don't attend the festival, Dufftown is the place to go for distillery tours. You can book the short Glenfiddich tour with a couple drams to sample, or have a much smaller group in a longer tour at Balvenie. I highly recommend the Balvenie tour, even though it is 50 pounds plus more if you want to bottle your own! From their website:
"We host two tours a day, costing £50 per person from January 2018, and pre-booking is essential. Bottling your own Balvenie in Warehouse 24 costs £30 and is available exclusively as part of The Balvenie Distillery tour. "
The tours are a 10 am and 2 pm Monday to Thursday and at 10 am only on Friday. They are not open on the weekend.
BOOK THESE WELL IN ADVANCE!
https://us.thebalvenie.com/crafting-the-balvenie/tour-the-distillery
If you want to go full immersion in to Speyside malts, check out the information on the Malt Whisky Trail. You can build your itinerary right on the website to visit nine distilleries!
If you just want the "been there, done that" bragging rights for visiting a Scottish distillery, check out my notes on Dahlwhinnie distillery on the top of the page.
Harry Potter fans, here's your chance to ride the train to Hogwarts!! Or, at least you can imagine the Hogwarts trip as you cross the viaduct at FT William where the scenes were filmed. the steam train crosses the viaduct as it travels from Ft William to Mallaig.
BIG CAUTION HERE:
Book this trip well in advance!
You can have "high tea" on the train but, from the Sherwood's experience, it consists of a box lunch and it's very disappointing.
https://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/jacobite-steam-train-details.cfm
You can easily fill a day in and around the city of Ft. William. Many travelers come just to walk to the top of Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in Scotland, but there's much more to do there.
High Street has fun shopping, traditional fare as well as some eclectic finds.
Ask Feona for recommendations around the area since she grew up nearby. It's a popular filming site for TV and movies. (Outlander, Harry Potter, Monarch of the Glen to name a few.)
https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/fortwilliam/fortwilliam/index.html
If you want to see other movie locations, check:http://static.visitscotland.com/pdf/highlands-movie-map.pdf
more to come
more to come
more to come
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