There are lots of opportunities for skiing, rock and ice climbing, abseiling, etc. in the Cairngorms. The Cairngorm Hill Race (10 miles on foot) takes place in June each year. The road up Glen More past Loch Morlich leads to the funicular railway which was opened in December 2001 to replace the old chair lift. At the top there is a panoramic restaurant, visitor exhibition and shop.
The Strathspey Steam Railway runs between the Boat of Garten and Aviemore. Morning coffee, afternoon tea and lunch can be taken on the train. It is advisable to book in advance for this. Timetable depends on the time of year. Closed November – March.
Aviemore is a popular mountain resort with many facilities and all-year round activities such as winter skiing, dry-ski slope, theatre, Highland Castle and deer farm and a reindeer centre. Every January there is a sled dog rally with over 250 teams competing in various races in the Glenmore Forest Park.
The Aviemore walking festival takes place in May. It offers guided walks in beautiful scenery and with wonderful wildlife. You will walk in the glens, foothills and at over 4,000 feet in the Cairngorms amid sparkling lochs, fragrant pine forests and open moors.
Loch-an-Eilein Pottery can be found 2.5 miles south-west of Aviemore. Pottery classes are available.
The Cairngorm sled-dog adventure centre is open all year round and offers sled trips, a sled-dog museum and kennel tours which are three times a day.
The Rothiemurchus Visitor Centre is just south of Aviemore at Inverdruie and is open daily throughout the year. Mountain bikes are available for hire to explore the forest tracks. Guided walks are available with the Countryside Ranger Service. Other activities available are clay pigeon shooting, off road driving, fishing, bird watching and Land Rover tours of the Estate.
Six miles east out of Aviemore is the Reindeer Centre situated in the Glenmore Forest. Guided visits on foot take you right to the herd. The centre is open all-year round.
The Tomatin Distillery Visitor Centre is open all-year round from Monday to Friday and Saturday morning between May and October. Displays, tours and tastings are available. The centre is located between Aviemore and Inverness.
Clava Cairns near Inverness is a well preserved Bronze Age cemetery complex of passage graves, ring cairns, kerb cairn and standing stones in a beautiful setting. History states that ancestor worship became the centre of people's lives in the New Stone Age. Magnificent tombs were built as houses for the dead as great emphasis was placed on their burial.
Cruise down the Caledonian Canal from Inverness to Loch Ness or take a boat out to watch dolphins from the Moray Firth Wildlife Centre at Spey Bay.
The resort beach at Nairn has won seaside awards issued by Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Tidy Britain Group, which will enable them to fly the prestigious yellow flag.
Explore the dunes at Culbin Sands which overlook the Moray Firth. They form the largest shingle and sand dune bars in Britain, behind which there is an extensive salt marsh. Much of this reserve is remote and largely undisturbed. Culbin Forest has a unique and fascinating history, shaped by man and nature. It covers a vast area between Nairn to the west and the Findhorn Bay to the east.
The area has been occupied since the Bronze Age 3000 - 4000 years ago. Originally an area of vast moving sand dunes, this was stabilised by the Forestry Commission by tree planting between 1922 and 1960. The area offers a chance to see a wide variety of plants and animals including roe deer, red squirrel, crested tits, badgers, pine martens and wildcats. There are over 500 species of flowering plants and 130 species of lichen. The whole forest is designated a Forest Nature Reserve and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Some of the information on this page has been provided by the Internet Guide to Scotland.