I have wanted to visit the Cairngorms for a very long time, and it is definitely an area to return to as I only had a glimpse at its beauty.

The trip from Skye westwards took me first to Fort Augustus, at the end of Loch Ness. I had been there before, briefly with Jacky two years ago, but wanted to revisit, partly to stay at a new aire just outside the town.

The journey was so beautiful, passing through Glenshiel and past Loch Cluanie.

Fort Augustus is famous for being the other end of the Caledonian Canal, I visited Neptune’s Staircase a couple of weeks ago, and here are the five locks that complete the journey, allowing boats to enter Loch Ness, and travel to Inverness and the sea.

There is a great information centre about the canal, and also lots of lovely shops and cafés. I was lucky enough to see another group of boats go through, both the locks and the swing bridge into Loch Ness.

If you look at the map of Scotland, this is where it nearly spilts in half, a fault line known as the Great Glen. The canals allowed ships to cross Scotland without having to follow the often dangerous northern coastline.

This was an enormous undertaking, these canals were dug by hand and it took 19 years to complete, overseen by Thomas Telford. There are a total of 29 locks along outside length. It is just amazing that this has been preserved and restored so it can still be used.

I stayed overnight at the very nice Loch Ness caravan park. Like many aires this has been set up by a farming family and is a quiet site, a short walk from the town.

I really enjoy supporting small businesses like these, and it has been great to have so many options in Scotland, as well as the Caravan and Camping Club sites.

The following day I went over to the edge of the Cairngorm National Park, with a quick stop at Aviemore for supplies. I ended up at the Rothiemurchus Estate.

The estate offers lots of different activities, such as bike hire, horse riding, fishing, but also has brilliant hiking trails.

It was a beautiful sunny day, so I did 8km circular route to Loch an Eilein, passing Loch Mor with so many water lilies, and through stunning forests and heathland. 

There were also deer on the estate, a little far away for good photos.

Despite all my walks, I still haven’t seen a single red squirrel, the only disappointment about my trip to Scotland! Lots signs saying look out for them, but none to be seen 😔

I had a choice of aires and park ups in this area, because it was such a beautiful evening, I opted for staying at the Loch Insh watersports centre. 

It was such a lovely way to end such a fantastic day, sitting with a G and T in the sun, watching the wild swimmers in the loch.

My final day in the area I will tell you about next time, as I need a whole post to share all the things at one of my favourite types of museum, the open air Highland Life Folk Museum. 

I am now in my last campsite in Scotland, I can’t believe I have been here for 6 weeks. It is the most beautiful place, and I will have to come back. I also can’t believe this is my fourth September of not having to deal with the start of term 🙃 Still so, so lucky to be living this life!

Until next time, have fun, take care, stay safe and thanks for visiting.