Posts for May, 2023

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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

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.

Discover Curlew secrets throughout the breeding season with the Curlew LIFE team! Get a great view of the birds with our binoculars and scopes and put your questions to us about these curious birds.

No need to book – just drop in any time from 9am to 11am.

For more info, email us at insh@rspb.org.uk.

An evening with Markus Stitz – author of Bikepacking Scotland, Great British Gravel Rides and round the world singlespeed cyclist.

Markus will talk about his new book Bikepacking Scotland, which features routes of different lengths which take in the best of the country, from the Ayrshire Alps, Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders in southern Scotland, through Perthshire’s unique drovers’ roads and the grand architecture of the Central Belt, across to Argyll’s islands on ferry-hopping adventures around Islay, a paradise for whisky connoisseurs, and Jura and Mull to spot magnificent golden eagles.

And of course the Scottish Highlands with an epic tour of the Cairngorms National Park, home to 25 per cent of Britain’s rare and endangered species, as well as the author’s own take on the North Coast 500 and more.

You will also hear more about Markus’ childhood growing up behind the Iron Curtain, his round the world trip on a singlespeed bike and bikepacking races in Kyrgyzstan, Morocco and Scotland.

Our time in the field will be spent enjoying our passion for Lepidoptera whilst learning more about identification, ecology and trapping techniques all of which will add to your overall enjoyment of natural history and your knowledge of the subject.

We will search for target species: Sword Grass, Scotch Flatbody (Exearetia ciniflora) and secondary species include Juniper Carpet.

Our time in the field will be spent enjoying our passion for Lepidoptera whilst learning more about identification, ecology and trapping techniques all of which will add to your overall enjoyment of natural history and your knowledge of the subject.

Over two days and nights we will look for Dark Bordered Beauty in the Aspen stands of the Dee, Aberdeenshire. This species is scarce and will require a focused trapping effort as well as daytime searches. We will also operate traps at higher altitude to try for a couple of Scottish specialities.

Target Species include Dark Bordered Beauty, Northern Dart and secondary species include Northern Arches, Cousin German, Chestnut-coloured Carpet, Grey Mountain Carpet, Pretty Pinion, Dark Tussock and Scotch Annulet.

Join us for a day full of learning and experience. We’ll give you the downlow on key things we have learned about:

how to plant a tree
small and large scale planting schemes
planning an orchard
creating shelterbelts
grazing of herbivores and pigs in woodlands
pasture planting
creating and establishing hedgerows
planing and harvesting tree hay for livestock
firewood processing
the basics of making charcoal

There is a HUGE amount of material to cover so this will be intense and fast paced. The day starts at 9am and finishes at 5pm with a BBQ lunch in between.

Booking Essential