Posts for January, 2023

This year, the Cairngorms Nature BIG Weekend has evolved into a whole ten days of events, challenges, activities and fun across the National Park.

Running from the 12th-21st May, there will be family events, guided nature walks, adventure activities, Estate tours, conservation highlights and more!

Check out our new website for everything that is going on – ‘Cairngorms Nature’ on Facebook and Twitter are also great for updates!

Image credits Rachel Keenan/CNPA

Come and say goodbye to winter time and hello to Daylight Saving Hours in the magical landscape of the Northern Cairngorms. In collaboration with Alison from Adventures for the Soul, we’re marking the change of time with a trip back in time to walk around the Northern Cairngorms at twilight into night. We’ll be exploring our senses using some mindfulness techniques to give us the wow factor, and if we get clear skies, we’ll look at the universe and our place in it.

Winter is never far off in the Cairngorms. It is Britain’s highest, coldest and windiest plateau, retaining relics from the ice age. This time of year it could still be full winter up on the plateau. However, unless we get a calm night and some snow-free lower hills, we’ll be lower down in the forests among the pine.

During these evenings, we explore deep time geology, deep history, the stars and planets as well as our own senses walking at night.

Late winter, early spring in the Cairngorms is absolutely incredible. The winter snow often still glitters in the setting sun whereas it can get warm in the glens lower down during the day.

Join Cairngorms Astronomy Club and TGDT in The Square, Tomintoul for a moon viewing session.

We’ll have the Celestron telescope and a smartphone bracket that will allow you to take the moon home in your pocket!

Join Cairngorms Astronomy Group and Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust for a night of stargazing at Inveraven Church & Pictish Stones. What did the Celts see in the night sky? Can these enigmatic monuments shed any light on Pictish astronomy? Come along to find out more.

Blow away the cobwebs and start the New Year with a guided walk of historic Grantown-on-Spey. Discover the history and heritage of this planned town dating from 1765. The walk will start from the war memorial in the Square and head down through the beautiful Anagach woods to the River Spey. Return by a different route to the High St and Square.

Discover the history and heritage of this historic planned town dating from 1765. The guided walk will commence in the Square and lead down through the beautiful Anagach woods to the River Spey. Return by a different route to the High St and Square.

Join Cairngorms Astronomy Group and Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust for a night of stargazing at Inveraven Church & Pictish Stones. What did the Celts see in the night sky? Can these enigmatic monuments shed any light on Pictish astronomy? Come along to find out more.

Discover the magic of the outdoors after dark in the Cairngorms National Park with our star-gazing experience. Loch Insh is a great dark skies area being just outside the local village.

The emphasis is on naked-eye observation, but we will also teach you how to use your smart phones (make sure they are fully charged) and you could bring binoculars if you have them.

Wrap yourself up well as we will spend a good hour outdoors weather permitting. Bring a low light torch to make walking in the woodland trails easier. Our guides will lead you to some magical local places to capture some cool night photos on your smart phone or camera. The dark trees provide a dramatic contrast to the night sky.

In Scotland, cloudy skies are a fact of life, but we do get some clear skies to and even the Northern lights. You just never know what you’re going to get.

We’ll do everything we can to create a memorable experience for you and your loved ones. You’ll leave knowing a great deal more about stargazing than the majority of people.

Join us for a festive family fun stargazing session. We will be meeting at the Discovery Centre at 6pm on the Thursday and Friday evening before Christmas. Come and enjoy a hot chocolate and a walk down to the Field of Hope to take in the night sky with our red light head torches. Santa hats, reindeer horns, and festive attire encouraged!

As part of Wee Walks Week, I will be taking a guided tour from the West Lodge of Castle Grant, through the castle grounds to the site of old Grantown, Pictish stone and views of Castle Grant. Return via a stretch of the Dava Way on the old railway line back to the start. Easy walking with no hills following tar road, estate tracks and Dava Way.