demm42's WebPages - Tour around the Cairngorms

Ballater - Aviemore Map Leaving a soggy Ballater (after the heavy rain shower), we then headed back to the A939 which was to take us to Grantown-on-Spey.

Once again, as the road heads across the hills, there isnt actually much to see, although the scenery is as beautiful as ever.

About 10 miles up the road Corgarff Castle can be visited. Believed to have been built around 1550, the castle has had an eventful history, as can be seen on by clicking the link into the Undiscovered Scotland website. A small admission charge is made for entry to the castle and opening times should be checked before making a journey especially to visit the castle.

The road then climbs up to the second ski centre (Lecht Ski centre), which obviously looked just as deserted as the Glenshee Ski centre it being late spring. However the photos on the website show a different scene in the winter.

The road then drops down to the village of Tomintoul which looked like another place worth having a walk around. However the weather had now turned against us so we didnt stop. Attractions at the village include the Tomintoul museum (the highest museum in the Highlands) which has various displays, and the Glenlivet Estate, a landscape to enjoy thoughout the year (you'll ideally need the weather with you to visit this one). A detour to the Glenlivit Distillery (about 8 miles up the B9008 or B9136) can also be made (winter opening may be limited).

Anyhow, as the weather was so bad as this point we carried on to Grantown-on-Spey, another 14 miles down the A939.

Grantown-on-Spey

Grantown-on-Spey is another small Scottish town that hasnt been spoilt by tourism and thereby still retains its original character. While the town didnt seem as picturesque as Ballater (probably due to it not having a church surrounded by a grassed area as it's centrepiece), it was still nice to have a walk around and have a look around the shops (The picture really doesn't do it justice).

Also as the weather was dry once again, it was an ideal place to stretch our legs (as well as visit the toilet).

The only visitor attraction we could find in the town was the museum which charts the history of the area. However it was late afternoon when we arrived, and everywhere was getting ready to shut up. This said, we did manage to quickly get in the sweet shop (on the main street) which had jars a plenty of scrumptious treats to succumb to.

Grantown-on-Spey to Aviemore.

The majority of visitor attractions around Grantown-on-Spey can be found on the three routes that can be taken to Aviemore.

Firstly you can travel down the A95 which follows the River Spey, passing the Heather Heritage centre and running alongside the Strathspey Railway.

We took the A938 to Carrbridge, then the B9153 back down to the A95 Aviemore road. Before Carrbridge this passes by the Clan Grant Mausoleum and church (which we didnt visit). The Landmark Heritage and Adventure Park can also be found on the road between Carrbridge and Aviemore. Once again, we didn't get time to visit it, but from the leaflets we saw it certainly looked like an attraction that had something for every member of the family.

The third route (B970) takes you past Nethy Bridge (and the pottery workshop) onto Loch Garten (and its nature reserve) before arriving at the southern end of Aviemore.

Well that conclude page 4 of the Tour around the Cairngorms. To continue the tour, check out page 5 which covers Aviemore and the surrounding attractions/towns.

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