Cairngorms National Park

Aviemore was a small village, but I couldn’t believe how many outdoor shops there were. I guess it pays to have competition in the national parks. I decided on staying at the Rothiemurchus caravan and camping park in Coylumbridge. It was a nice place to pitch a tent. I selected a pitch close enough to the stream to hear it, but under the trees. I had lots of space to myself. Quite happy with this campsite. The facilities were well kept as well. Always a bonus.

Once I was all set up, I drove up to the base of Cairngorm mountain, parked the car and chose which  path to hike up. I decided on Windy Ridge path. And I tell you, it was justly named! The wind hiking up along here was really strong! I felt like I was going to blow over through most of hike. It was an interesting 1.5 hour hike to the Ptarmigan building. This building is where the funicular ride ends from the base station. There was a cafe up here, so I popped in for 10 mins to warm up a bit. That wind was very cold, and of course the rain came and went so a quick thaw was just what I needed.
From there, it was just another 20 mins to get to the summit of the mountain. Cairn Gorm summit is 1245 m, but seeing how I had to drive to the car park, I felt like I only walked half that.
What view I could see was very nice. Many mountain tops and overlooking the lochs were gorgeous. Low clouds and fog passed through frequently, taking away visibility both in the distance and around me. I descended towards the gully, following a well worn trail that could be seen through the fog. Mind you, I moved slowly so that when the clouds broke I could get a sense of where the trail headed so not to venture in the wrong direction. Of course, would be difficult for me to do so as I was going downhill. Anywhere else in the gully would go up if I lost my path. So, I wasn’t too worried.
I followed the Coire Cas Mountain Trail back down to base. After a quick gander in the gift shop, I drove to Loch Morlich. There was a lovely 3.5 mile trail going around the loch, passing through Glenmore Forest Park. My starting point lead across a lovely golden beach that eventually became engulfed by tall Caledonian pinewood. This native tree specie once covered most of Scotland and is now carefully managed. Following along the trail were beautiful multi-coloured bracken and purple heather. Other flowers were seen as well. And with that strong wind blowing the clouds around, more rainbows came and went. It was lovely. No one out on the lake doing any water sports though. The wind would have been good for sailing.The next morning I decided to spend the day on another hike. The Loch an Eilein & Inverdruie trail. It was 8.5 miles long. I parked near the Rothiemurchus visitor centre and started the first section towards Lochan Mor. The woodland trail consisted of more ancient native pine, spruce, juniper, common lime, yew and birch trees. Lots of heather, flowers and bracken. Can also see the some hills that form part of the Monadhliath range.

Once at Lochan Mor (also known as Lily loch due to all the waterlilies) I took the path link to the Loch an Eilein.
An interesting fact about these little lochs is that people once built dams, blocking up the loch to cause them to flood the lands. Once flooded, they'd transport logs on the River Spey downstream. That's how Lochan Mor was formed. By artificial floods.
Once at the lake I could see castle ruins on a tiny island. It's over 600 years old. But the old stronghold is more of a place for the birds to nest now. Many native red squirrels around as well. They were chirping and scurrying around across the trail to get to other trees. Dropping pine cones here and there. Cute little guys. Very much like the ones in Canada.
Once at the south point of the loch, I took a small little bush path to walk a loop around Loch Gamhna. I was ahead of the clouds and was walking at a good pace, so figured I had plenty of time to add an extra bit to my walk.

The tiny loch was very nice. Lots of tall grass and cattails along the shoreline. The woodland opened up more as well so there was more light and a view of some hills. I was careful to stick near the rough water path as hunters were in the area looking for deer. Didn't want to accidentally draw their attention.
Then I continued along the main trail, this part known as Thieves road. Centuries ago, cattle raiders used this path for an access to Strathspey. Locals used to tie a couple cows to the trees along Loch Gamhna (why it's also known as Loch of the Stirks, meaning young cattle) to hopefully spare their main herd.
I then continued out into the open heathland enjoying the hill range as I made my way past the occasional cottages to Whitewell, then Upper Tullochgrue and Blackpark where a small cattle farm of Highland cows were. It was sweet watching a mother cow groom her calf. From there I walked to Inverdruie to my car and headed back to camp.
This morning, I took the secondary road through the small towns past Kingussie to the Highland Folk Museum in Newtonmore.
There was an introductory presentation at the at the main building and then you could walk though an old township from the 1700's. The school and a small farm house were from 1930's but the rest was older.
Volunteers were dressed in traditional wear and gave you information of the daily routines and pastimes of the villagers.
The stone houses had thatched roofs. The inside filled with beds, kitchen tables, china wood stove fireplaces and wooden spindles for wool.
There was a an old sheep fank and shepherd's bothy. A place were the farmers had multi-purpose areas for lambing, dipping, shearing, etc. They could separate individual sheep or make a production line so to speak. Pretty useful. To construct it, they layered rocks to make strong walls. Must have taken a long time to build.
The Drystone dykes as well. There were various designs displayed. These hand made stone walls kept there stability by the tight construction and correct placement of stones. Some styles, like the Isle of Skye had a rock pointing up at the top, called a cope layer. Another had turf on the cope layer, allowing the roots to knit the walls together.
Next I came to an old post office which they now sell candy in for the tourists and children. After was the farmhouse. Many old tractors from 1930's and ploughing devices. Also typical horse gear for farming, crop tools and butchering tools.
The village had a watchmakers, tailor, church, school and a joiner (a person who makes wooden components to buildings like stairs or doors). From there, I walked through a wooded area that had a camping pitch example of the old Scotsman. A pond as well where curling was once played, but now a home to ducks. Also learned that curling was invented here in Scotland.
Passed a waterwheel and eventually, I came to more old traditional homes that had heather used for roof thatch. Not many people have the skills to thatch houses anymore, especially knowing how to do it with heather. It was really neat to see. A few woman were there to invite us inside the houses were a fire burned in a pit inside. It was really smoky. Don't know how people tolerated it back then. But, I suppose they get used to it. Either that or freeze!
Bedding and brooms were also made of heather. The woman made thread with their spindles and wool. Also, were some animals for the farm. Chickens and sheep. A rotating rock grinder was outside the houses in a shelter for the grains. It was very interesting to learn how the highlanders lived, dressed, built their homes and tilled the soil.
After my visit, I headed to Ballinluig (passing some really cute cottages!) where I then took a secondary road towards Killin. Now that I've reached the end of my driving stamina, I'm camping outside of Ardtalnaig at a nice logging spot overlooking Loch Tay. Full moon tonight and it's a big one. I don't even need my flashlight! So peaceful here, it will be a good night sleep.