*In light of COVID-19, please check each location’s hours of operations before finalizing your travel plans. Before you travel, please check any travel advisories and local, state/province and country government mandates, such as vaccination and face-covering requirements, which might impact your vacation plans.

This article was originally published in August 2022, before the death of Queen Elizabeth II in early September. We send our condolences to the British Royal Family and join our Members around the world in remembering the late monarch.

With its dramatic peaks, whisky distilleries and star-speckled night skies, Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park is a spirit-soaring joy

Words: Photography: Video:

Robin McKelvie

Epic Scotland

Ella Howlett

All seemed to breathe freedom and peace, and to make one forget the world and its sad turmoils.

This was what Britain’s Queen Victoria eulogized on her first visit to Cairngorms National Park in 1848. The monarch fell in love with the area so much, she built her Scottish holiday home, Balmoral Castle, here. Today, as I stand atop Craigendarroch Hill on a beautiful morning, it soon becomes clear what draws the British royal family back to the park every summer. At 1,748 square miles, the Cairngorms isn’t only Scotland’s biggest national park — it’s also the largest in the United Kingdom. The massive landscape is dotted with epic mountains, including over 50 of Scotland’s 282 Munros (peaks standing at over 3,000 feet tall). Then there are swathes of Caledonian Forest, the original woodland that covered Scotland well before today’s commercially forested Scandinavian pine. This wilderness is teeming with animals, from red squirrels to pine martens, ospreys and even red deer, the largest land mammal in Britain. From Craigendarroch Hill, I gaze over rich oak and pine forests that sweep upward from the roar of the fast-flowing River Dee. Above it all presides Prince Charles’ favorite mountain, Lochnagar, which the English poet Lord Byron hailed as “wild and majestic.” It’s the sort of scene you may recognize from films such as “Braveheart” — and indeed, being in the Cairngorms is like immersing yourself in a movie.

Above, top row: Loch Morlich Beach Bottom row, left to right: Loch an Eilein; River Dee

Caption

Below, the village of Ballater sparkles in the sunshine: all stoic local granite, trim streets and neat green spaces, the salmon-rich River Dee framing the foreground. Construction on the rail line from Aberdeen was halted here, so Queen Victoria wouldn’t be disturbed at the nearby Balmoral Castle. Today, the Old Royal Station still stands — or rather, a brilliant rebuild of the wooden old dame that was ravaged by a fire in 2015. Walking around the village, I can’t help but notice the Royal Warrants (granted to establishments that supply goods and services to the British royal family) proudly displayed outside bakeries, butchers and delis — even the store where Prince Philip apparently sourced his barbecue coals. And, as a manager at a local pub tells me, Princess Anne was purportedly a regular at the bakery across the square. Clearly, the monarchy has left its mark around Ballater, so a visit to Balmoral Castle is very much in order.

Above, left to right: A bakery in Ballater; Glenmuick Church; the Old Royal Station

Cutting west, the River Dee’s ice-clear waters guide me to the castle, where I spend a few hours learning how the late monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has brought her own style to the country property. Then, after a lunch of smoked salmon infused with Ballochbuie Gin — spiced with botanicals foraged from the castle’s surroundings — I tackle the estate’s two new walking trails. New too are the Land Rover safari tours, which culminate in decadent style with afternoon tea back at the castle. I can’t resist returning to those forests, so I end my first day exploring a stretch of the 41-mile-long Deeside Way, a walking route that follows the disused railway line from Ballater to Aberdeen. But of course, there’s no such thing as “just” a walk in the Cairngorms. A deer startles across my path and I spot an eagle soaring high above me, a distant speck in the sky.

Above: The grounds of Balmoral Castle

The next morning, I find myself yearning for whisky — and adventure. In the village of Newtonmore, Dave Craig, who runs canoeing tours through his company Spirit of the Spey, promises both. “Rather than just visiting a distillery, Spirit of the Spey literally immerses people in our rich whisky heritage with canoe trips on the river, where all that glorious water goes into the famous Speyside whiskies,” he says with a smile. As we glide downriver under big Highland skies, the world of cell phones and tarmac roads dissolves, and time seems to stand still. We pause twice — once to help a lamb that has slipped down a muddy bank and been separated from its worried mother, and again to sip Balvenie whisky right in the middle of the river. It’s an experience I know I will dream about every time I taste Balvenie anywhere in the world. We eventually return to the world of man, paddling into the resort town of Aviemore. In the summer, mountain bikers and hikers fill the streets; in the winter, skiers and snowboarders take over. Here, I hop on the heritage Strathspey Railway, which transports me away from Aviemore with a toot of the whistle and a puff of steam. We chug back to a gentler time, easing through Speyside toward Broomhill station, passing mountains and wildlife along the way. We stop only at Boat of Garten, famous for its golf club, which has arguably the finest views of any golf course in Scotland.

Stepping off the train, I’m greeted by Ian Kirkbride, the senior project manager at Scottish whisky company William Grant & Sons, which owns the Balvenie and Glenfiddich distilleries. He’s accompanying me along a section of another long-distance walk, the 85-mile Speyside Way, which follows Scotland’s fastest-flowing river out to the North Sea. Admiring the views, we chat about the local whisky culture and how it’s influenced by the environment. “The distilleries have always worked with the landscape,” Ian explains. “Indeed, we rely on the purity of the water for our whisky.” I decide to end the day in spectacular style. I’d read that Glenlivet and Tomintoul are designated as International Dark Sky Parks, so I drive to the Field of Hope in the latter, which is one of the highest villages in Scotland. Given its low levels of light pollution, it’s a stargazer’s dream, with constellations and planets visible to the naked eye. I’m not expecting shooting stars, but I witness a trio, and spend a moment marveling at their enigmatic, teasingly fleeting beauty.

Above: A canoeing tour with Spirit of the Spey

Above: A star-speckled night sky in the Cairngorms Image by Getty Images

My third and final morning takes me back around the Cairngorms massif to the Rothiemurchus estate, a 7,000-acre wild wonderland of forest and flowering moorland that is perhaps best explored on horseback. Here, I seek out the impossibly pretty Loch an Eilein (“loch of the island”), a sinewy, pine-shrouded lake with a 13th-century island castle. In this land of myriad adventures, I still have one more afternoon of action left, so I decide to hike up the mountain of Meall a’ Bhuachaille. Under the vivid blue skies that bring out the best of the Scottish landscape, I trek past the shimmering An Lochan Uaine (“green loch”). The panorama from the summit is awesome in the truest sense of the word, with the Cairngorms towering above Aviemore below, and the Spey valley slipping toward the sea. Reluctant to leave this land of epic mountains, gushing rivers and thick forests, I think back to the oak- and pine-clad Craigendarroch Hill, where my adventure began. At its summit, there’s an information board reciting Lord Byron’s verse, which, if anything, surpasses even Queen Victoria’s lavish praise for the Cairngorms:

England! Thy beauties are tame and domestic To one who has roved on the mountains afar. Oh for the crags that are wild and majestic! The steep frowning glories of dark Lochnagar!

Above: Horse riding at the Rothiemurchus estate

Above: The Cairngorms is home to diverse wildlife including reindeer, sheep, robins and Highland cows

Where to stay

Soak up the charms of the Scottish countryside with a stay at Craigendarroch Suites, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club. The country house is set in a private, 36-acre resort within the Cairngorms National Park, so you’ll be perfectly placed to experience all that the park has to offer. After a day out in nature, unwind in your spacious studio or suite, enjoy a relaxing treatment at the on-site spa or take a dip in the indoor pool.

A dish of citrus-cured Scottish salmon at Craigendarroch Suites

Lodges at Craigendarroch Suites are ensconced in greenery

Around the Area

Three notable attractions and events you shouldn’t miss while in the Cairngorms

Royal Lochnagar Distillery

Visiting a whisky distillery is a quintessential Scottish experience. At the Royal Lochnagar Distillery, you’ll learn how only three ingredients are used to conjure up its delicious single malts — yeast, malted barley and water from the Scarnock springs. Choose from a number of tour options, including one that features a whisky and chocolate pairing.

The Braemar Gathering

Crathie Kirk

On September 3, 2022, the most famous event on the Highland Games circuit will take over the village of Braemar. It’s something of a tradition for the British royal family — Prince Philip was said to have been especially enthused by the tug o’ war. Other sports include the caber toss and the hammer throw.

This charming parish church in the village of Crathie — which is constructed in the Gothic Revival architectural style — counts the British royal family among its summertime attendees. Queen Victoria first worshipped here in 1848, and every subsequent British monarch has done the same ever since.

An HGV Explorer’s Scotland Experience

“My fiance and I, plus three of our teenagers, spent nine days in Scotland in June 2021, staying at Dunkeld House Lodges, a Hilton Grand Vacations Club. We absolutely loved the resort’s proximity to nature — we could see mature forests and mountains right from our balcony. Also, the nearby village is a gorgeous little place with kind locals and great food! I’d highly recommend renting an all-terrain vehicle and driving through the fields, woods and hills. The scenery is beautiful and if you’re lucky, you’ll come across a herd of red deer that will race with you. Another must-see is Blair Castle. Just 30 minutes north of Dunkeld by car, it’s filled with exquisite furnishings, decor and artwork.” — Irene C., Connecticut

*In light of COVID-19, please check each location’s hours of operations before finalizing your travel plans. Before you travel, please check any travel advisories and local, state/province and country government mandates, such as vaccination and face-covering requirements, which might impact your vacation plans.

Club Traveler

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