Posts for May, 2023

Join us for a walk around Moray’s earliest surviving tower house reputed to have been built for Scotland’s vilest man- Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch. Drumin Castle is an impressive medieval fortification standing on a commanding bluff overlooking the confluence of the River Livet and the River Avon. Once we get to the castle, you’ll learn a bit about the architecture, history, and the notorious Wolf, whose evil deeds continue to cast a long shadow in Moray’s history.

“Cathedral and Toun

Wyld wrath did engulf

Lone Lochindorb Castle

The lair of the Wolf”

This castle has recently reopened after masonry repairs. Access to the first floor is once again possible via a narrow, stone staircase. `Sensible footwear is recommended.

Please park at the The Drumin Castle car park. This short circular walk will start from the Drumin Castle sign in the car park. Access is by foot along a pedestrian trail and will return by a set of steps. Please dress appropriately for changeable weather.

Toilets are not available on site.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Well behaved dogs are welcome.

Funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

“Glenlivet it has castles three, Drumin, Blairfindy and Deskie”. This Heritage Ranger led castle walk will take us to the 16th century tower house of Blairfindy and begins outside the iconic Glenlivet Distillery. On the walk in we’ll enjoy fantastic views over the glen. You’ll learn a bit about Glenlivet’s rich history and some whisky history too.

Blairfindy Castle was completed in 1564 by John Gordon. In 1586 Blairfindy passed to the Earls of Huntly, another branch of the family, who used it as a hunting seat. A panel above the arched doorway bears the Gordon arms and this date. In its heyday Blairfindy was a fine example of a three storey L-plan tower house and even today shows a remarkable degree of preservation.

Research has shown that the castle was probably burned by troops after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and it was never repaired or occupied after this time. A project to stabilise Blairfindy Castle took place in 2019, funded through the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Landscape Partnership, a programme supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The castle is now open to visitors for the first time in decades and has been specially adapted to encourage nesting birds and pollinators.

Please park at the The Glenlivet Distillery car park. The walk will start from outside the stillhouse under the green signpost marked ‘Blairfindy Castle 1/2 mile’ (see last photo).

Access is by foot along a dedicated track. Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing for changeable weather.

Toilets are available inside The Glenlivet Distillery Visitor Centre.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Well behaved dogs are welcome.

Funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

Join one of our experienced rangers on a guided walk at Cairngorm Mountain. This incredible half day experience will take you on a breath-taking walk exploring the Northern Corries. You guide will walk at your own pace and stop to allow you to take photographs and learn about the local environment. These walks run every Thursday from June – October.

Join Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia for an introduction to Pictish art and symbol stones. We will be looking at four Pictish Stones discovered in the churchyard of Inveraven, which has been a site of spiritual practice and pilgrimage for centuries. This tour will provide an overview to Pictish art and culture and will show how the Picts contributed to the shaping of modern Scotland.

Access to Inveraven Church is off the A95 about half a mile north of the entrance to Ballindalloch Castle, and can be found by following the brown tourist sign directing visitors down the single track road to the Inveraven Pictish Stones.

Parking is available at the bottom of the drive before you arrive at the church or in front of the church building.

As we will be outside, please dress appropriately for changeable weather.

Children are very welcome to attend. Please note that toilet facilities are not available on site.

Well behaved dogs may attend but must be leashed.

Funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

Scalan was originally the site of a secret Roman Catholic seminary where priests, known as ‘heather priests’ were trained in the 1700s when Catholicism was prohibited. Following the departure of the priests in 1799, Scalan reverted to a farm. Two steading buildings were built housing corn threshing mills which served the Glenlivet farming community. The threshing machines and water wheels are still in place along with a wealth of historical graffiti telling the story of farming life in the 19th and 20th centuries. A major project to conserve the mill buildings took place in 2019, restoring the waterwheel and lade in North Mill and improving visitor access to the site. This was funded through the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Landscape Partnership with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Join members of the Scalan Association and Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia on a guided tour of the site and the mill buildings. In addition to being a special area of historical interest, this area of the Glenlivet Estate abounds with oystercatchers, curlews, and lapwings in the spring and summer months – be sure to bring your binoculars if you have them.

We will be meeting in the Carrachs car park before proceeding by foot along a farm track, 1km from the car park at the end of the public road. Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing for changeable weather.

Donations to the Scalan Association on the day are most appreciated and help them to care for this special place.

Children are very welcome to attend.
Toilets are available on site in the summer months.

Well behaved dogs are welcome in the mill buildings, but are not permitted in the seminary. Please note that sheep and other livestock live on site. Please be aware that there may be cattle present on the walk in.

Funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

In partnership with the teams at the GORE-TEX brand, Grangers and Scottish Mountain Gear. We’ll have qualified experts on hand to assess and advise on repairs for your GORE-TEX clothing. We’re charging £5 per item for a repair / clean that would normally be £30+

We are celebrating all things dinosaur, with FIVE full days of festivities from the 15th to 19th of May. Come join in the fun and explore our 20 attractions, including NetworX; Scotland’s first aerial challenge-suitable for children as young as 3!

We have a roar-some line up of extra activities which are included in the ticket price. Starting with a Triceratops scavenger hunt, Glitter Face Painting, Dino Hatchery, Dino Dress-Up & Photo area, Dinosaur colouring activities, cool competitions and pterrific prize giveaways!!!

You can also meet Rexi, our resident Dino-pup, whilst out on his daily walk. Don’t hesitate to say hello, Rexi is very friendly and likes to be pet.

If you fancy dressing up- why not join us as your favourite dinosaur. We are giving away an ‘Annual Pass for 4’ to the ‘Best Dressed Dino’! Simply send us a dino-selfie of your visit or tag us in your social posts and use #landmarktoddlerfest to enter the photo competition.

Look no further if you have an energetic little one you would like to tire out, our ‘Toddlerfest’ event will not disappoint. One Child or Toddler ticket comes free with every Adult or Senior ticket, we recommend you book in advance as tickets are limited. Sending you all ‘BDE’- Big Dinosaur Energy in advance!

Artists, crafters and musicians welcome to take part in this inaugural fayre at the stunning Castle Roy in Nethy Bridge. It should be a fun family day out with plenty of quality art for sale. Food and drink.

Celebrate National Meadows Day with us on a walk to enjoy the beauty of summer wildflowers!

We will walk the Invertromie Trail and see lots of different flowers, from the common, such as bird’s-foot trefoil, bedstraws and stitchworts, to the uncommon, such as rockrose and petty whin. The highlight of the walk will be gorgeous Tromie orchid meadow where we will hope to see five species of orchid, including heath fragrant orchid and small white orchid.

Some areas may be rough underfoot. This 5k/3mile route is unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies, and we recommend sturdy footwear.

Feel free to bring a packed lunch with you as we will be having a lunch stop. There are no facilities to buy food on site – the nearest shops and cafes are in Kingussie.

Under 12s free.

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


Together we will experience the whole journey, from forest to fork:

*Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers will talk about the methods, equipment, ethics and sustainability of deer stalking for conservation management and will demonstrate lardering the deer.

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

*We will then settle down in the tepee at the Dell of Abernethy for a live cooking demo by a local professional chef, discovering unusual venison dishes and different ways to incorporate venison easily into our diet; before finally tasting all the dishes.


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 – please take advantage of this if you need to.

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.