Posts for August, 2022

Join us in the beautiful Cairngorms for Aviemore Triathlon: enjoy an open water swim in the cool, calm waters of Loch Morlich and enjoy mountain biking and running on the trails of Glenmore Forest.

The loch has been chosen for its superb water quality and spectacular surroundings. Coupled with fantastic MTB trails (forest road, easy track as well as sections of singletrack) in the forest, this is one of the very best locations in the UK for off-road racing.
“The Long Hard Durty”, this Standard distance race will be a stiff challenge on a tough course in a spectacular location. .

Long Hard Durty:

1,000m Open Water Swim, 18km Technical Mountain Bike, 9km Trail Run

“The Short Fast Durty”, this Sprint distance race will be a stiff but achievable challenge on a great course in a spectacular location.

Short Fast Durty:

500m Open Water Swim, 12km Mountain Bike, 5km Trail Run

Scalan was originally the site of a secret Roman Catholic seminary where priests, known as ‘heather priests’ were trained during 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 Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia on a guided tour of the site and the mill buildings. You will learn about the history of the site and the mill buildings and we’ll touch on the history of illicit whisky distilling and smuggling too. In addition to being of historical interest, this area 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 at 1:00pm 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.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Toilet facilities are available during 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.

How to get to the Carrachs car park:
Turn east off the B9008 at Auchnarrow (signposted for Scalan) and follow this road right to the end ensuring to follow sign for Chapeltown of Glenlivet. If you are using a navigation system, the postcode AB37 9JS will take you most of the way to Chapeltown of Glenlivet. Drive past Braeval Distillery and at the road end follow the 90-degree right hand turn which leads to the car park. This track is quite potholed and uneven in places so please proceed slowly and carefully.

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 during 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 Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia on a guided tour of the site and the mill buildings. You will learn about the history of the site and the mill buildings and we’ll touch on the history of illicit whisky distilling and smuggling too. In addition to being of historical interest, this area 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 at 1:00pm 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.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Toilet facilities are available during 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.

How to get to the Carrachs car park:
Turn east off the B9008 at Auchnarrow (signposted for Scalan) and follow this road right to the end ensuring to follow sign for Chapeltown of Glenlivet. If you are using a navigation system, the postcode AB37 9JS will take you most of the way to Chapeltown of Glenlivet. Drive past Braeval Distillery and at the road end follow the 90-degree right hand turn which leads to the car park. This track is quite potholed and uneven in places so please proceed slowly and carefully.

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 , Smugglers Trails’.

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.

Featuring over 20 UK and international Carvers competing for the Claymore Trophy.
Trade, craft and food stalls.vintage buses, Beer Tent and Tea Tent Home Baking, Children’s activities. Pipe Band and Grand Auction.

Don’t miss Thunder in the Glens Rocky Mountain High as they ride up to visit us on Cairngorm Mountain on Sunday 28th August. Enjoy food and drink at The Cairngorm Cafe.

Experience Insh Marshes from a new perspective!

Under the guidance of an instructor from Loch Insh Outdoor Centre, our team member will lead this special guided tour through the reserve, where you can experience the unique habitats and species at Insh Marshes from the water.

Feel free to bring your own paddleboard if you have one, but don’t worry if not – Cairngorms Connect has kindly sponsored this event so equipment hire is included with your ticket, if needed.

Participants will also be welcome to claim 10% off a meal or snacks in the Boathouse Restaurant to refuel after the event.

Children over 12 welcome, under 18s with an accompanying adult. We will meet at the Loch Insh Outdoor Centre car park.

Riverwoods is a spectacular and compelling visual journey that shines a light on the perilous state of Scotland’s salmon and the degraded river catchments we have come to accept as normal. Riverwoods shows how Scotland’s life-rich rivers have been greatly diminished but crucially, how they could be reborn through a shared vision of restoration and recovery.

The feature-length documentary filmed and produced by rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, tells the story of an inextricable relationship between fish and forest. It is a rallying call for restoring native woodland to Scotland’s river catchments and all the life they support.

Join us after dark to discover more about the nocturnal species that live in our woodlands!

We will head out for an evening mammal walk in Loch Insh Woods, using night scopes and bat detectors to see who we can spot among the trees and by the loch.

Then we will retreat to the comfort of an apartment at Loch Insh Outdoor Centre with bats roosting in the rafters to watch them up close as they head out to feed.

Light refreshments will be provided by Loch Insh Outdoor Centre. Participants will also be eligible to claim 10% off a meal or snacks in the Boathouse Restaurant before the event.

Unfortunately the woodland paths and the apartment are not accessible for people using wheelchairs. Children over 12 welcome, under 18s with an accompanying adult. We will meet at the Loch Insh Outdoor Centre car park.

Celebrate the wonders of the night sky with a weekend of stargazing activities taking place across Tomintoul & Glenlivet Cairngorms Dark Sky Park in a new and exciting Star Party event. There’s something for everyone from complete novice up!

Our exciting programme includes naked eye stargazing and telescope viewing; talks; walks; mobile planetarium; film and a range of workshops and practical family friendly activities including bottle rockets, sun lab, meteorite handling, spectroscopy, and solar observing.

Activities will take place in a range of locations across Tomintoul and Glenlivet including Tomintoul Field of Hope and The Carrachs Dark Sky Discovery Sites, Tomintoul Lying-in Field, Tomintoul & Glenlivet Discovery Centre, Richmond Memorial Hall, Glenlivet Public Hall, and The Scalan. Full details can be found at our Eventbrite listing.