Visiting Cairngorms National Park in Scotland
The Highlands of Scotland have been on my "to visit" list for a long time. Despite visiting Edinburgh, Stirling and the East Coast, I had never made it to the Highlands until last year. And oh what a beautiful place it is! Come along as I visit Cairngorms National Park in Scotland:
Cairngorms National Park is the largest national park in the United Kingdom. Located in the Scottish Highlands, it is home to a quarter of the UK's rare and endangered species and five of the UK's highest mountains. The National Park includes charming villages like Aviemore, whiskey distilleries and castles such as Balmoral and Braemar. You can even ski here at the Cairngorms Mountain Resort.
We departed our cute little cottage in the Speyside area and headed for the mountains. Our first stop was lunch in the village of Tomintoul, the highest village in the Highlands. We picked The Clockhouse Restaurant right in the center of town and were the only diners there. The food was delicious and once fortified, we started our drive.
The first stop was an art installation on the Snow Roads - the highest public roads in Britain and named because they are the first to be affected by snow. Both art installations that we saw were near Corgarff Castle. One was The Watchers by John Kennedy which consists of four "cowls" made from steel and mimicking standing stones. The other was A Moment in Time by Louise Gardiner, a telescope to view the above castle. It was incredibly windy and then there was some precipitation so it was a very short, but unique, stop.
We kept driving and came upon the famous Balmoral Castle entrance. Balmoral is the Highland home of the Royal Family. Purchased by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1852,it is said to be the favorite home for the royals, where they can get away from it all - especially King Charles. We decided to park and walk up to the entrance - we didn't have reservations to go in - and see what we could see. You walk over a bridge and come to the guarded gate and can go inside to the Visitor Center. So that's what we did. There were just a few things to purchase and restrooms so we didn't stay long. Had we thought to make reservations, you can tour the castle, gardens and restaurant. Since we didn't do that, it was onward and upward.
Our next stop was just a few miles away - Braemar Castle. This was not a planned, "oh we have to go here" visit - we just drove by and said Let's Stop.
Just outside the village of the same name, Braemar Castle is a possesion of the chief of Clan Farquharson. It has been leased to the local community since 2006 and is staffed by volunteers while restoration work is ongoing. The goal of the community is to save it from ruin. It's a very unique looking castle - in fact, I don't think I've ever seen one like it. Built as a tower house, it includes a round stair tower. Your tour will include 12 furnished rooms and a roam around the grounds.
It was built in 1628 as a hunting lodge and has served as a garrison during the Jacobite rising, was ceded to the Crown after the Scottish loss, became a garrison again, lay abandoned and then was returned to the Faquharson Clan again in 1831.
One of the most unique features is the Fog House. Built using wood, moss and heather, this structure gives a panoramic vantage point of the surrounding Highlands. (the origin of the name "fog house" is undetermined but believed to come from feugh, meaning thatched, house)
Now it was time to venture deeper into the Highlands and the national park. The weather had perked up and our driver did an excellent job of navigating these mountain roads. There were plenty of sheep and so many rock walls - we had to discuss how much work was put into stacking all these rocks! And there was even a stop at an adorable pink Cakebox trailer - food purchased was Scottish tablet. Have you heard of this treat?
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| One of those rock walls - going straight up hill |
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