Walking holidays in Scotland
Cairngorm Classics
 Based on Speyside in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, this weekend trip offers truly spectacular high level guided walking over the wild and remote peaks of the Cairngorm Plateau, in the centre of the Cairngorms National Park.
Trip Summary
Scotland’s newest National Park offers a superb range of facilities and attractions to visitors. While we will be concentrating on summiting the Classic Mountains in the area, there will also be the opportunity to see some of the broad range of flora and fauna for which this area is renowned. These include eagles and osprey, ptarmigan and snow bunting, together with a wide range of sub-arctic plants.
Our 3 treks into the Cairngorm Mountains will take us to 4 Munros (Scottish mountains exceeding 3000ft), including Ben Macdui, the second highest mountain in Scotland. Despite the relative speed of access to the Cairngorm Plateau, there is a real feeling of remoteness here, providing a startling contrast with every day life.
Tour Itinerary
Your trip includes 2 nights’ bed and breakfast accommodation in the Aviemore area, 3 days of guided walking and transport from Edinburgh. On each of our 3 walks we will be on the hill for up to 9 hours and you will need a high level of fitness together with good reserves of stamina to get the very best out of this holiday.
Mostly we will be following mountain paths which can be rough and steep, and on occasion we will be negotiating unpathed areas. The itinerary below follows our expected programme for the weekend. Any changes to this will reflect your guide’s judgement as to what is best in the conditions for the group’s safety and overall enjoyment of the holiday.
Day 1 (Friday): Depart Edinburgh to Cairngorms for ascent of Sgorr Goaith (Peak of the Wind).
We leave Edinburgh at 8.00 am for the .2.5 hour drive to the Cairngorms. Our walk starts from Auchlean in Glen Feshie - surely a contender for one of Scotland’s most attractive Glens. Ospreys have recently taken up residence by the river, and the higher reaches of the glen are popular spots to see red deer and eagles.
Excellent paths take us up 730m to Carn Ban Mor, where extensive views open over the Moine Mor (Great Moss) towards some of Scotland's highest mountains - Braeriach, Sgor an Lochain Uaine, and Cairn Toul - all over 4000ft (1220m). We then swing north to the summit of Sgor Gaoith, perched at the cliff edge, 620m above Loch Einich. Our route back takes us out to Sgoran Dubh Mor, before descending over rough ground to the path which follows the line of the Allt a' Chrom-alltain back to the minor road in the glen.
11m/17.5kms, 950m/3130ft, 8 hrs.
Day 2 (Saturday): Cairngorm, and Beinn Mheadhoin. (Blue Mountain, Middle Mountain)
A real day for the connoisseur! Our trek today takes in 2 Munros, a visit to the very heart of the Cairngorm Plateau, a paddle across the icy cold Fords of A'an, a visit to the legendary Shelter Stone, and more glorious mountain scenery than anyone can possibly cope with!
We leave our transport at the high level car park at Coire Cas, giving us a 'leg up' to the 620metre mark. We follow an easy angled ridge, walking parallel to the new funicular railway, towards Cairngorm - our first summit of the day. Here at 1245m (4100ft), we get a good picture of our intended circular route around the secretive Loch A’an lurking just out of sight and some considerable distance below us. We descend steeply to the lochside for a shallow paddle across the loch outflow. Beinn Mheadhoin (1182m/3900ft) is our next target, requiring a steep pull up from the loch to the summit tors. This is a wonderfully wild and remote area, visited only by the fit and determined hill walker.
We descend again to Loch Etchachan, at 900 metres/3000 feet, the largest body of water this high anywhere in the United Kingdom, then a further descent to the head of Loch A’an, and a visit to the Shelter Stone. This massive rock, propped above other boulders forms a low cave that has provided a claustrophobic shelter for generations of walkers and climbers. The final ascent of the day takes us up through Coire Raibeirt and back to our outward route, and the descent to the car park.
10m/16km, 1495m/4930ft, good but rough paths, 9 hrs.
Day 3 (Sunday): Ben Macdui (MacDuff’s mountain), Return to Edinburgh.
 We have an early start at the high level car park at Coire Cas, heading east below the northern cliffs of the plateau before climbing up to Cairn Lochan – a ‘Top’ at 1215metres/4000ft.
Then it’s on to Ben Macdui on paths that are well defined and easy angled. Views from Ben Macdui - at 1309m/4320ft thought for a long time to be Scotland’s highest mountain - are the best in the Cairngorms, and you will be tempted to linger here, your eye in particular being drawn to the panorama to the west to Cairn Toul, Sgor an Lochain Uaine and to Braeriach. Our route back across the plateau will take us to the lip of the coire overlooking Loch A’an, giving us spectacular birds eye views over the country beneath us and our previous days route.
11m/17km, 850m/2800ft, good but rough paths, 8 hrs.
Our return to Edinburgh should see us back in the city for around 8.00 pm and we will be happy to drop guests off at Edinburgh Airport or in the City Centre.
Your Guide
Your trip will be led by a fully qualified Mountain Leader (ML) with an intimate and extensive knowledge of the Cairngorms area. Your guide’s objective will be to ensure the group’s safe enjoyment of the best of the area’s hillwalking routes, depending on weather and any other issues which may give rise to possible departures from the planned itinerary.
Accommodation and Meals
Your bed and breakfast accommodation is in one of the area’s many welcoming and comfortable guest houses with which we deal regularly. Evening meals are not included in the trip price, however we will arrange to eat together in a local bar or restaurant. (Budget around £15 per night for dinner). Packed lunches will be provided each day.
Grading description
This trip is graded as “Challenging” - “Strenuous”. On each of our day walks we will be on the hill for up to 9 hours, with daily distances of between 16-18km/10-11miles and between 850-1495 metres/2800-5000feet of ascent in a day. You will need a high level of fitness and good reserves of stamina to get the most out of this holiday and recent mountain walking or hiking is a definite advantage. Mostly we will be following mountain paths which can be rough and steep, and on occasions will have to negotiate unpathed areas. Please refer also to our Gradings page. If you have any questions at all about your suitability for this trip then please contact us for further information or to talk things through.
You can book your trip online now! If you need more information, please do contact us.
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