Cairngorms National Park (Scottish Gaelic: Pàirc Nàiseanta a' Mhonaidh Ruaidh) is a national park in northeast Scotland, created in 2003. It was the second national park formed by the Scottish Parliament, following Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, which was established in 2002. The park includes the Cairngorms mountain range and nearby hills. It is the largest national park in the United Kingdom and was expanded into Perth and Kinross in 2010.

Approximately 18,000 people live within the 4,528-square-kilometre (1,748 sq mi) park. The largest communities are Aviemore, Ballater, Braemar, Grantown-on-Spey, Kingussie, Newtonmore, and Tomintoul. Like other national parks in the UK, Cairngorms National Park is classified as IUCN Category V. However, it includes several national nature reserves with IUCN Category II (national park) statuses, such as Abernethy Forest and Mar Lodge Estate.

In 2018, 1.9 million visitors traveled to the park. Most visitors are from the UK, with 25% coming from other parts of the UK and 21% from other countries. Tourism contributes about 80% of the park’s economy.

Geography

The Cairngorms National Park covers an area of 4,528 km² (1,748 sq mi) in the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Moray, Highland, Angus, and Perth and Kinross. The Cairngorms mountain range is at the center of the park but is only one part of it. Other hill ranges, such as the Angus Glens and the Monadhliath, and lower areas like Strathspey and upper Deeside, also make up the park. Three major rivers begin in the park: the Spey, the Dee, and the Don. The Spey, the second-longest river in Scotland, starts in the Monadhliath range. The Dee and the Don both originate in the Cairngorms themselves.

The Cairngorms are a beautiful landscape with large, flat areas of high ground, similar to the Hardangervidda National Park in Norway. The range includes three main plateaus at about 1,000–1,200 meters above sea level. Above these plateaus, rounded mountain peaks rise to about 1,300 meters. Many of these peaks have tors, which are rock formations that stand alone on the rocky ground. The edges of the plateaus have steep granite cliffs, making them good places for skiing, rock climbing, and ice climbing. The Cairngorms have an arctic-alpine environment, with features similar to tundra regions and areas where snow remains for long periods.

The Monadhliath mountains are located north of Strathspey. They form a wide, flat plateau that rises to between 700 and 950 meters above sea level.

Two major transportation routes pass through the park. The A9 road and the Highland Main Line railway cross the Pass of Drumochter and run along Strathspey, connecting the western and northern parts of the park to the cities of Perth and Inverness. The Highland Main Line is the only main railway route through the park. Other important roads include the A86, which links Strathspey to Fort William, and the A93, which connects the Deeside area of the park to Perth and Aberdeen.

Geology

The majority of the rocks in Cairngorms National Park are part of the Dalradian Supergroup, a thick layer of sand, mud, and limestone that formed between about 800 and 600 million years ago along the edges of the ancient continent of Laurentia. Rocks belonging to the Moine Supergroup are found along the northwestern side of the park. These Dalradian and Moine rock layers were deeply folded, broken, and changed by heat and pressure during the Caledonian Orogeny, which occurred between about 490 and 430 million years ago. A geological event called the Grampian event, around 470 million years ago, caused the first major changes to the Dalradian rocks. This event was linked to the collision of a volcanic island arc with Laurentia over about 20 million years. Later, the collision of the landmass Baltica with Laurentia caused the Scandian event, which led to more folding and breaking of the Dalradian rocks. At this time, faults such as the Great Glen, Ericht-Laidon, and Glen Tilt acted as strike-slip faults, possibly allowing large masses of granite to rise through the Dalradian rocks and cool in place.

The largest of these granite masses forms the Cairngorms themselves and was placed there around 427 million years ago. It is believed that this granite mass was exposed within 20 million years of its formation, and the current landscape of the Cairngorms began to develop by about 390 million years ago. Evidence suggests that the granite now found at the surface was originally located between 4 and 7 kilometers deep.

Other than a small area of Old Red Sandstone, no younger solid rocks exist in the national park. However, the ice ages of the past 2.5 million years have left visible signs, such as erosion features and deposits of soil and rock. After the glaciers melted, features like peat bogs and landslides formed.

Nature and conservation

The Cairngorm Mountains have a special kind of highland area called alpine semi-tundra moorland. This habitat is home to many rare plants, birds, and animals. Birds that live here include breeding ptarmigan, dotterel, snow bunting, golden eagle, ring ouzel, and red grouse. Mammals found here are red deer, mountain hare, and a herd of semi-domesticated reindeer. This herd, the only one of its kind in the British Isles, now lives in the high Cairngorms. They were brought there in 1952 by a Swedish herdsman. The herd has grown to about 150 animals, some born in Scotland and others from Sweden.

The valleys and forests of the national park contain an ancient type of woodland called the Caledonian forest. A large area of this forest, stretching from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, is the biggest remaining section of this habitat in Scotland. The park holds more than half of all surviving Caledonian forest. This forest is home to birds such as capercaillie, black grouse, Scottish crossbill, parrot crossbill, and crested tit.

The entire River Dee is protected as a Special Area of Conservation because it is important for salmon, otters, and freshwater pearl mussels. The River Don also supports fish like salmon, sea trout, brown trout, eels, and lamprey. In upper Strathspey, the Insh Marshes are one of the largest areas of floodplain mire and fen vegetation in Scotland. This area is important for many bird species that breed there each summer. Breeding birds include osprey, wigeon, shoveler, goldeneye, redshank, snipe, curlew, and lapwing. The marshes also welcome winter visitors, such as greylag geese from Iceland and up to 200 whooper swans.

The national park is classified as a Category V protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This means people have lived and worked in the area for many years, and the land is managed to protect the habitats and landscapes shaped by human activity. The IUCN defines "National Parks" as areas in Category II of its classification system, such as the Hardangervidda National Park. However, Scotland lacks such areas because thousands of years of human activity, including farming, deforestation, overgrazing by sheep and deer, and planting non-native tree species in the 20th century, have created landscapes that are best described as semi-natural.

Within the national park, many areas have extra protection through other conservation designations. These include 19 Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, and 46 Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Nine of Scotland’s national nature reserves are located in the park: Abernethy, Corrie Fee, Craigellachie, Glen Tanar, Insh Marshes, Muir of Dinnet, Invereshie and Inshriach, Glenmore, and Mar Lodge Estate.

History of the national park

The idea that parts of Scotland with wild or remote areas should be protected to help the environment and allow public access became more popular during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1931, a group led by Christopher Addison suggested creating a national park in the Cairngorms, along with similar plans for England and Wales. After World War II, ten national parks were created in England and Wales, and a committee was formed to study the possibility of national parks in Scotland. The committee’s report, published in 1945, recommended five areas for national parks, one of which was the Cairngorms. The government labeled these five areas as "National Park Direction Areas," allowing central government to review planning decisions made by local authorities. However, these areas were not given full national park status. In 1981, the Direction Areas were replaced by national scenic areas, of which there are now 40. In 1990, the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) released a report about protecting Scotland’s landscape, suggesting that four areas were under such pressure that they should be designated as national parks, each with its own planning board to preserve their heritage. These four areas were similar to those proposed in 1945, again including the Cairngorms.

Although there were many recommendations over time to create national parks in Scotland, no action was taken until the Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999. The two current national parks were officially established by the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, one of the first laws passed by the Parliament. Before the park was created in 2003, Scottish Natural Heritage asked the public for their opinions on the park’s boundaries, powers, and structure.

After the park was created, many groups and local communities believed a large area in Perth and Kinross should be part of the park and worked to make this happen. On 13 March 2008, Michael Russell announced that the park would be expanded to include Blair Atholl and Spittal of Glenshee. The expansion was completed on 4 October 2010.

In 2015, 53 kilometers (33 miles) of a 132 kV power line running through the middle of the park were removed, while another section near the park’s edge was upgraded to a 400 kV power line.

Sights and attractions

Tourism is a major part of the economy in the park area, providing jobs for 43% of the people who work there. In 2018, 1.9 million visitors traveled to the park for tourism activities. The park’s goal is to promote sustainable tourism, which means protecting and improving the natural and cultural features of the area. The Cairngorms Business Partnership includes 350 businesses from the private sector. In early 2017, the park was named one of the top seven eco-tourism destinations in Europe by Hundredrooms and described as a place that attracts many outdoor enthusiasts. The Visit Scotland website highlights the park’s many natural features, such as mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, wildlife areas, small villages, and distilleries.

The village of Carrbridge is located within the park. In 1717, the Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge was built across the River Dulnain to allow funeral processions to reach the Duthil Church. This stone bridge is now a popular attraction for visitors.

The park offers many outdoor activities, including walking, cycling, mountain biking, climbing, and canoeing. There are 55 Munros (mountains over 3,000 feet high) in the park for hillwalkers. Two of Scotland’s Great Trails, the Speyside Way and the Cateran Trail, pass through the park.

Winter sports are a major industry in the Cairngorms, with three of Scotland’s five ski resorts located there: the Cairn Gorm Ski Centre, Glenshee Ski Centre, and The Lecht Ski Centre. The construction of the Cairn Gorm Mountain Railway at the Cairn Gorm Ski Centre caused controversy. Supporters believed the railway would bring income from tourism, while others argued it was not suitable for a protected area. To reduce damage to the environment, the railway only allows skiers to leave the upper Ptarmigan station during the winter season. Other visitors must take guided walks to access the mountain.

The Cairngorm Mountain Railway funicular was closed in October 2018 because of health and safety concerns or structural issues, as reported in summer 2019. At that time, an investigation was ongoing to see if repairs could be made. The same situation was reported again in December 2019. The railway opened in 2001 and connects the base station to a restaurant on Cairn Gorm Mountain.

Aviemore is a busy tourist destination near Glenmore Forest Park and the Cairn Gorm Ski Centre. The Strathspey Railway is a preserved railway that runs steam and heritage diesel trains between Aviemore station and Broomhill, passing through Boat of Garten along part of the old Highland Railway.

The Highland Wildlife Park is also located in the national park. The Frank Bruce Sculpture Trail is near Feshiebridge. This short path through the woods includes sculptures made by Frank Bruce between 1965 and 2009.

In addition to the Cairngorm Brewery, six distilleries are in the park area: Dalwhinnie Distillery, The Glenlivet Distillery, Tomintoul Distillery, Royal Lochnagar Distillery, Balmenach Distillery, and The Speyside Distillery. Royal Lochnagar, Dalwhinnie, Cairngorm Brewery, and Glenlivet regularly welcome visitors. Tomintoul, Balmenach, and Speyside require visitors to make an appointment in advance.

Administration

The National Park is managed by a government organization called the National Park Authority. This group is part of the Scottish Government and operates independently. According to the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, national parks in Scotland have four goals:

• To protect and improve the natural and cultural heritage of the area.
• To use the area’s natural resources in a way that can last for many years.
• To help the public understand and enjoy the special qualities of the area, including through activities like recreation.
• To support long-term economic and social progress for the area’s communities.

The first two goals are the same as those in the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, which applies to England and Wales. However, Scottish national parks have two extra goals (goals 3 and 4). The National Park Authority’s main job, as stated in the 2000 Act, is to work with others to achieve these goals together in a coordinated way. While all four goals are equally important, the first goal (protecting and improving heritage) is considered more important if there is a serious conflict with the other goals, following the Sandford Principle.

The National Park Authority works with groups such as businesses, landowners, communities, and charities. The Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2017–2022 includes three long-term goals: conservation, improving visitor experiences, and supporting rural development.

The National Park Authority shares some planning responsibilities with five local government areas that cover the park. It can also review planning decisions made by these local areas. The Authority also manages access to the countryside, a task usually handled by local governments. In addition to planning and access, the Authority has many ways to meet the four goals. These include buying land, creating rules, making agreements, offering financial support, giving advice, and conducting or paying for research. The Authority is based in Grantown on Spey.

The National Park Authority is led by a board of 19 members. Five members are chosen by the public, seven are appointed by the Scottish Government, and seven are nominated by local governments. Highland and Aberdeenshire councils each select two members, while the other three councils each select one member.

Filming in the park

Some scenes for Monarch of the Glen (which aired from 2000 to 2005) were filmed in the park and nearby areas, including Loch Laggan and Ardverikie House.

In 2012, some scenes for the movie The Dark Knight Rises were filmed at Cairngorm Gliding Club's site in Feshiebridge. Parachutists jumped from a jet and landed at the club's airstrip.

During the summer of 2019, filming for No Time to Die took place in the town of Aviemore and in the surrounding park area. Some scenes were also filmed at the Ardverikie House Estate, which is just outside the park.

Other films and TV shows that have filmed in the Park area include Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Outlaw King (Netflix, 2018), Outlander (TV series), Victoria (TV series, Episode 7), Mrs Brown (1997), Centurion, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Queen (2006), The Crown (Netflix series), and Victoria & Abdul (2017).