A week in Aviemore
In September I was lucky enough to take a trip to Aviemore in the Cairngorms region of Scotland. It was a trip originally planned for June, but covid had other plans. We managed to reschedule for September and got incredibly lucky with a dry and sunny week of weather (we had to actually wear suncream for the last couple of days!) and we got the perfect combination of stunning autumn foliage on the trees, and beautiful purple heather on the ground, and it was mostly midge free too!
Loch Morlich
The idea for the trip came about when I was thinking of taking a solo trip to Scotland ahead of what should have been my busiest wedding season yet. I wanted to give myself a chance to have a real break, and recharge both emotionally and creatively, before wedding season kicked off again. Scotland seemed like the perfect place to do this. However, life had other ideas, and as a mother of 3 young children there aren’t always enough hours in the day, let alone weeks in the year, so finding time to go away by yourself isn’t the easiest. So when a friend said she was planning her own trip to Scotland it seemed like kismet. Our two trips were merged, and a child free holiday, and some well overdue quality time with one of my best friends, was realised.
I am so glad we made it happen, and that my husband and kids were supportive of me going. Speaking to other women ahead of my trip, I quickly learnt, this isn’t the case for everyone! But I shall save raging against the patriarchy for another day!
Loch Morlich
Not having children with us on this holiday meant that we were able to fill our days to the brim with walks, and most days we visited more than one place. However, I appreciate such jam packed days wouldn’t suit everyone, so instead of doing a day by day itinerary I thought I would just share a little bit about each of the places we visited, so if you are planning your own trip to Aviemore you can get an idea of what things you can see and do there.
Even though my children weren’t there, I couldn’t help but think just how family friendly Aviemore is, and I can’t wait to go back again with my kids in tow, as I really think it is the ideal base for a family adventure holiday in Scotland.
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This was the closest loch to where we were staying in Aviemore, and the place we visited the most. It also gets my vote for my favourite of all the lochs we saw. That combination of heather filled forests, sandy beaches and clear waters, all with a backdrop of mountains, was just heavenly. It’s well worth walking all the way around the loch to fully appreciate it.
Loch Morlich
Useful Information:
Parking: There is ample parking alongside the loch at a cost of £2 for the day.
Amenities: There is a watersports centre at the loch where you can both hire equipment and get lessons too. There are also toilets.
Walks: There are lots of paths around the loch, but if you follow the red markers you will be able to do a loop around the entire loch. Well worth doing in my opinion!
Loch Uaine, also known as the green loch, is another stunner. There is a bit more of a walk to get there, but it is worth it to see the beautiful green waters. My photos can’t quite do the colours justice, but it really is very green in appearance. There is even a gorgeous balcony area that makes the perfect viewpoint to admire the loch.
In the car park there was a map of a circular walk you can take to get to the loch and back. It was really easy to follow the markers but the walk to the loch was quite steep in places. I’m glad we went that way as it offered stunning views, but if you need a more accessible path you may want to follow the other path there and back, rather than doing the circular walk.
Loch Uaine (The Green Loch)
Useful Information:
Parking: You can park at The Glenmore Visitor Centre and it costs £2 for the day.
Amenities: There is a cafe and a shop in the car park.
Walks: Just look for the map in the car park to see a range of way marked walks you can do in the area. They are all colour coded and have the coded markers along the route too so you can’t go wrong. We did the blue circular walk.
I think this is the loch we did the least research on, we just headed in the general direction of Loch Garten and parked as soon as we found a car park. It was free to park and we were able to easily follow the green way marked paths along Loch Garten and then round to Loch Mallachie as well. The whole area is part of an RSPB nature reserve, and it is well worth exploring.
There was definitely a different feel to these woods, it felt a little wilder somehow, but it was still stunning.
Useful Information:
Parking was free and easy to find along the Loch.
A guide to walks in the area can be found here.
We didn’t have long at Loch Insh, but we managed to have a nice walk around the beach area there. They had lots of water sports activities there as well as a holiday camp right on the loch. It didn’t seem quite as accessible as the other lochs, but it did have a fun looking kid’s park and a dry ski slope.
As well as seeing a plethora of lochs in Aviemore, we also wanted to see the mountains. Without the best map reading skills though we weren’t sure how accessible it would be. However, we headed up to the Cairngorm Mountain and found it was a very accessible base from which to explore. There were a range of paths to choose from, and we followed one of them for quite a while and got to enjoy amazing views of the mountains as well as discovering a waterfall, and getting to look down over Aviemore. As much as I would have loved to get to a summit, this was the perfect compromise, and it is well worth an explore if you visit Aviemore.
Useful Information:
Parking: There is a large car park that has a box for donations.
Amenities: There is a cafe, shop and toilets.
I’m obviously spoilt for beaches back home in Wales, but my friend lives in London and she requested that we try and visit the sea one day. I did a bit of research for the best beaches on the east coast, and Hopeman sounded like the perfect choice.
A cute little harbour town, but with an unexpectedly wild stretch of beach, lined with the cutest beach huts. We followed the coastal path until we reached a little lighthouse, and enjoyed some incredible views along the way.
We could see Lossiemouth in the distance but weren’t quite prepared to walk all that way knowing we would have to walk back, so decided to drive there instead. It was a surprising little beach town. The perfect spot to sit and enjoy an ice cream, whilst admiring the most unusual little spit of wild beach in the middle of the harbour.
I’m so glad we took a day to visit the coast, it didn’t disappoint, and the hour and a half drive from Aviemore was made even more enjoyable by the stunning views we enjoyed along the way.
Useful Information:
It was a quiet day when we visited Hopeman so we were able to park along the road, but there was a large car park there too.
In Lossiemouth we were able to park for free in one of the car parks along the main road. There are lots of shops too, and you can also visit the lighthouse which is on the road into town.
The walk we followed can be found here.
When I heard there was a loch that had an island in the middle of it, with a castle on it, I knew we had to visit it. We did a lovely circular walk around Loch an Eilein, that also took in Loch Gamhna too. It is well worth extending your walk to take in both lochs. The woods there were just stunning, and the castle did not disappoint either.
The castle at Loch an Eilein
Useful Information:
Parking at Rothiemurchus costs £3 for the day, and when we were there they had a person taking the money, and you could pay on card.
There is a cafe and shop a short drive away at the Rothiemurchus centre, that is well worth stopping at too. I managed to get some lovely gifts from there for the family.
The walk we did around the two lochs can be found here.
We had one day of rain in Aviemore, but the forecast was dry at Loch Ness, so we decided to head there instead. It was actually our first full day and I’m glad we did it this way around, because, and I mean no disrespect to Loch Ness, but I don’t think we would have been impressed if we’d already seen any of the Lochs in the Cairngorms.
There is an amazing stretch of road (the A82) that runs all the way along the loch, and we pulled over several times to take in the view. However, we really weren’t sure how exactly to get to the loch itself, so we decided to try and get some tickets to visit Urquhart castle, and luckily enough my Cadw membership was valid for our visit, so we got in for free. It was definitely worth visiting as it meant we finally got to go to the loch itself, and the castle and the views were really something to see.
We also did a little bit of research ahead of our visit and found out there was a waterfall nearby. Once we found the car park it was just a short walk through the woods and we arrived at an amazing viewpoint, where we could admire the Divach Falls.
Useful Information:
It is well worth a drive along the A82 to enjoy the amazing viewpoints looking over the loch.
Urquhart Castle definitely had the best views of the loch that we found, and it is well worth a visit.
If you want to try and find Divach Falls then you can find more information here.
We made the most of being child free and had a take away most nights on our trip. It is so much cheaper to get a take away for just yourself! These were the places we ate, and they all had amazing food. I would definitely recommend them.
Takeaway pizzas from “La Taverna.”
Chinese Takeaway from “Snow Mountain.”
Indian Takeaway from “Royal Tandori”.
Fish and Chips from “The Happy Haggis” which we then took to Loch Morlich to enjoy on the shore.
We found an amazing 2 bedroom flat on Airbnb, which made the perfect base for exploring. I would highly recommend it if you are looking for somewhere clean, comfortable and affordable. (If you want a referral code for airbnb to get some money off your stay then you can use this link.)
Loch Morlich
If this trip has taught me anything it is that I will never tire of Scotland. I have spent so many holidays here, as both a child and an adult, and my parents even lived in Scotland for a while. Scotland will always have a special place in my heart, and I will never be able to tick it off my bucket list.
I hope this blog has helped inspire you to take a visit to Scotland, or has helped you to plan your trip to The Cairngorms. I know I am already dreaming about my next visit!
Loch Insh