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 at times 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: Glen Banchor, Newtonmore. The nearest bus stop is 25minutes walking distance away from the meeting point, or you can access it by bike or car. The exact meeting point will be shared with instructions and a pin on google maps after booking.

Route Description and Accessibility: These walks usually cover approximately 2-4km and an ascent of 100-200m. Parts of the route can be very boggy and there are some short, steep sections. 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 1 hour, 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.

‘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.

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.

For almost 200 years, the Braemar Gathering has been a highlight of the sporting calendar in Scotland. Nestled beneath bucolic, heather-strewn mountains, it is the most prominent and well-attended Highland games in the world, drawing vast crowds from across the globe.

Held at The Princess Royal and Duke of Fife Memorial Park each September in the beautiful Cairngorms village of Braemar, it is the proud continuation of an ancient tradition of Gatherings here — one that can be traced back to the time of King Malcolm Canmore, over 900 years ago.

The Gathering has been run in its present form since 1832. Queen Victoria attended in 1848, and since then it has been regularly attended by the reigning Monarch and members of the British Royal Family.

Celebrating everything 2 wheeled and 3! With a bit of rock and roll thrown in. 2nd weekend in July – go to our facebook page to find out more.

The Braemar Nature Festival 10-19 May programme has landed!

Through a fantastic collaborative effort we have been able to pull together over 20 events over the week covering everything from health and nature walks to film nights, bat and moth safari’s to a Wood Ant walk. Several of our local estates are offering exciting events to learn more about the work they are undertaking, show you some of their wildlife and have the opportunity to assist with some conservation volunteering.

Discover more about Braemars past with a fascinating glaciology walk, learn how to use camera traps to their full extent and become a mountain hare surveyor; these are just a few of the events we have planned.

A full programme complete with booking links is available here: https://wild-discovery.com/…/braemar-nature-festival-2024

If you are an individual, organisation or business who would like to get involved then please do get in touch either here or explore@wild-discovery.com; the more people we can engage with nature the better!

And finally please spread the word. You can save this jpeg and circulate it to any groups and individuals who may be interested or print it out and place in your business window for everyone to see!

We look forward to seeing you all in May.

A 10 mile race with a mix of road and trail running.

Starting and finishing in Monaltrie Park, Ballater.

Entries will open later in the spring…all details will be on the Deeside runners website
www.deesiderunners.com

🌟 Calling all Bluey and Bingo fans! 🌟

Don’t miss out on a fantastic opportunity to see your beloved animated characters in real life. On May 11th and 12th, Landmark Forest Adventure Park will be hosting a special event featuring Bluey and Bingo. Get ready to play, explore, and make new friends with the cutest Heeler duo. 🐶🐾

So, as well as a visit to the park and accessing all the usual attractions you can also get to see two favourite characters.

Remember and bring your camera!

Book tickets to the park at: www.landmarkpark.co.uk

Join one of our experienced rangers on a half day walk into the stunning Northern Corries leaving from Cairngorm Mountain. You’ll gain an insight into the landscape and environment and discover amazing views and facts about this wild mountain environment. Walking at a gentle pace you will also stop for lunch with plenty of stops for photographs too.

The first TweedLove Enduro Series round on 27 – 28 April heads north to Laggan – look forward to some legendary natural trails, lots of rock, technical features and new flow. This is also the first BNES round so it’s going to be busy. We’re very pleased to be working with Laggan Forest Trust to make this happen.

The race will be based in Laggan Wolftrax, with Practice on Saturday and Race Day on Sunday. Detailed information is emailed to participants in advance. Click here for more info on the TweedLove Enduro Series or Round 2, Round 3 and Round 4.