Posts for May, 2024

‘Rise, winds of autumn, rise; blow upon the dark heath! Streams of the mountains, roar!’

Join a walk to explore the importance of the oral tradition in the Highlands and learn how everything is connected to our landscapes. Experience Ossian’s bardic tales in their natural environment. Listen to history, tales, and Ossianic poetry, while looking at the scenery that surrounded the bards and storytellers. Think about the concept of Dùthchas, a feeling of belonging, understand, how the Ossianic stories generated a fascination with our Highland landscapes far beyond the Scottish borders and why all these stories still matter, today.

On this walk, you will hear stories and have a chance to share your own. You will also be encouraged to participate in a dialogue about our understanding of landscape, culture, and belonging.

There will be ample opportunities to express your understanding of the land in creative photography.

Children: Children are very welcome to join. Please make sure, they are comfortable with the physical demands of the walk and are accompanied by an adult at all times.

Dogs: Friendly dogs are very welcome on these walks and they will likely be in the company of our Landscape Lore dogs, who usually come along on the adventure (If this poses a problem for you, please get in touch, so we can arrange for a dog-free walk).

Meeting Point: Kingussie (accessible by public transport), more details will be provided after booking.

Route Description and Accessibility: These walks usually cover approximately 5-7km and an ascent of 200-300m. We will walk through the foothills of the Monadhliaths and enjoy the views of hills, glens and valleys.

Please be aware that you will need sturdy footing and footwear, as the paths we take can be uneven, steep and rocky in parts.

At an average fitness level, these walks would take about 2 hours, however, I always plan with some extra time, as we will be taking breaks to chat, take photos and share stories.

In case of severe weather conditions, we reserve the right to change the route of the walk or cancel the event.

What to bring: Please bring waterproof clothing, as well as sturdy shoes, and be aware that sections of the path can be rather boggy. We recommend some additional layers, as the weather in the Highlands can change very quickly and be unpredictable at times.

Please also bring a protective cover for your camera, if needed and some snacks.

Come and join us every Friday and Saturday in May for live music and a good craic! Check out out facebook page for any updates to the line up.

Come and join us in the food court for all of the big matches:

2nd May
Chelsea v Tottenham – 19:30

5th May
Rangers’ vs Kilmarnock – 13:00
Liverpool vs Tottenham – 16:30

11th May
Celtic vs Rangers -12:30

12th May
Man Utd v Arsenal – 16:30

13th May
Aston Villa v Liverpool – 20:00

14th May
Rangers v Dundee – 19:30
Tottenham Vs Man city – 20:00

15th May
Kilmarnock v Celtic – 19:30
Man United v Newcastle – 20:00

Join us for a complimentary taste of Angels’ Nectar Scotch Whisky at the recently reopened Aviemore Gift Company.

A chance to taste:
Angels’ Nectar Blended Malt Scotch Whisky – Original 40%.
Our blended malt created from a selection of highland and speyside malts. The Angels’ favourite dram.
Angels’ Nectar Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Oloroso Sherry Cask Edition 46%.
Morish sherry cask elegance.
Angels’ Nectar Single Malt Scotch Whisky – Cairngorms 4th Edition.

From our series of speyside single casks bottled in partnership with the Cairngorms Trust to support environmental and community projects in the Cairngorms. Perfect for those who love the Cairngorms and a dram.

Angels’ Nectar – Selected by Angels, Shared with Friends

BERNARD BUTLER, NORMAN BLAKE AND JAMES GRANT are three of the most renowned and respected musicians in Britain. Bernard; songwriter-producer, Norman; a centrifugal force in TEENAGE FANCLUB and James; songsmith supremo of LOVE AND MONEY. They will play a selection of each other’s songs and will preview the first new material written together from their forthcoming album.

Kris Drever originally comes from Hrossey in the Orkney Islands. Over the years, he has taught himself to be a songwriter, guitarist and singer of note (and sometimes many notes).

As well as creating award-winning original songs and instrumental pieces with the trio Lau, he has had a fruitful solo career exploring the cracks between classic and modern songwriting and the traditional music that he comes from.

The Ghillie’s Larder is Braemar’s Farmers’ Market and will be held in June, August and December in 2024.

Passionate about the amazing local produce available here in Highland Aberdeenshire, Federica Bertolini and Jasmine Sherry connect the best food and drink makers with buyers — creating a thoughtfully curated, unique market experience for locals, day-trippers and tourists exploring this magical part of Scotland.

There’s always something new to try at the Ghillie’s Larder, with regular guest stallholders complementing monthly favourites that keep visitors returning again and again to the village.

The beautiful surrounds of St Margaret’s Braemar provide indoor market space for you to peruse the stalls on a rainy day, with plenty of outdoor space to relax and enjoy a picnic when the sun shines.

The Ghillie’s Larder regularly features live music from local artists, there to serenade you while you shop and you can combine your visit with a walk or cycle around the hills, glens and forests of Upper Deeside — the perfect family day out!

Details of upcoming markets can be found on social media at facebook.com/theghillieslarder

Those of a certain age will remember the popular 1960’s TV programme “Dr Finlay’s Casebook”. The stories of the colourful rural practice seem like a bygone age. In many ways they are but even today some GPs are modern-day Dr Finlays, working alone or with little support at the heart of their communities.

Now a major new exhibition in Braemar will take a close look at that history and trace the substantial changes in the provision of remote and rural single-handed general practice over the past 25 years.

”Dr Finlay I Presume?” has its roots in 1999 and a collaboration between the Royal College of General Practitioners and Dundee University. That resulted in the publication of ‘Single-Handed’, a book containing black and white photographic portraits of 46 single-handed GPs from throughout Scotland from Shetland to Stranraer with a written description of their background and experiences.

The exhibition includes some of the material from 1999. It traces how general practice / primary care services are now delivered in a number of remote and rural areas in Scotland which were originally featured in the book. It also revisits some of those doctors first interviewed in 1999 and asks where are they now.

Image credit BBC

Encounter the amazing history and wildlife of the beautiful area around Tomintoul on a short to moderate guided walk (2 – 4km) 1.5 – 2 hours. Led by a local expert who will share their local knowledge and expertise to ensure you get the most from your visit to Tomintoul and Glenlivet!

Meet at Tomintoul & Glenlivet Discovery Centre, The Square, Tomintoul AB37 9ET every Saturday 10am.

Please dress according to the weather, good footwear recommended.

Free but donations to Tomintoul and Glenlivet Development Trust very welcome

Join us in Abernethy Forest for a behind the scenes masterclass with Cairngorms Connect Venison.

Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers will talk about the methods, equipment, ethics, and sustainability of deer stalking for conservation management and will give a hands on demonstration of lardering the deer.

A local butcher will then teach us about preparing all the different cuts of meat and what they are best used for, and you can even have a go yourself.

We will then relocate to the tepee at the Dell of Abernethy for a live cooking demo over the fire by a local professional chef. Discover creative venison dishes and different ways to incorporate venison easily into our diet. And finally, we’ll share a meal of delicious dishes at a long communal table.


Please note the exact location of the event will be provided upon booking.


It is important that all people have equal access to Cairngorms Connect events.

We don’t want finance to be a barrier to people attending and so have made some tickets available for free or by donation – please take advantage of this if you need to.

Donations go towards our ongoing community engagement work, supporting more people to connect with this landscape. We’re able to offer these ticket options thanks to funding from the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme.

We are happy to provide for your requirements, wherever possible eg. BSL interpreters, off-road wheelchairs, adapted bikes etc. If have any accessibility requirements, please get in touch.