Our latest ‘staycation’ adventure was a trip to the Cairngorms National Park in sunny Scotland (no sense of irony here, it was supposed to rain the whole time we were there but we were VERY lucky and had nothing but sunshine.)

Scotland has such a special place in our hearts and we were really happy to be able to spend four days there to get our fix of the hilly Highlands’ fresh air. I also got to climb my first mountain, Ben Macdui, and experience the romantic views of the magical lochs and forests unique to this part of the country.

We flew to Aberdeen and hired a car to get us to our self-catering accommodation (a beautiful barn) in Aberlour, a small town in Moray on the Malt Whisky Trail. We ended up exploring a different part of the Cairngorms every day but only really saw the tip of the iceberg, we’d love to go back and see more of it.

Ben Macdui and the Cairngorms Mountains

After the infamous Ben Nevis, Ben Macdui is the second biggest mountain in Scotland with a summit of 1,309m. Rob is a big fan of climbing mountains (see his recent blog on the three peaks) but it was my first rodeo and man was I ready. I packed waterproofs, thermals, a big fleece and bought enough protein bars to feed a family for a week, and yet it was roughly 24 degrees the whole of our climb so I ended up needing hardly any of it. The best thing about the weather though, were the views; clear, bright views of the Cairngorms park, the locks and the hills for as far as the eye can see.

The climb itself is made up of a variety of trails and challenges. We parked in the Cairngorm Ski Centre car park and made our way to the ascent to Ben Macdui on the (extremely exposed) rocky terrain, often climbing up massive boulders to get to the next stage. It’s a pretty solid ascent at first, before plateauing into an arctic wilderness, and then a pretty steep climb to the mountain summit itself. After that, we made our way up the Cairngorm mountain (so two peaks in one day!) and back on the loop to the carpark. The scenery was typical of the Scottish Highlands in autumn; rocky, arctic golds, browns and reds carving out a majestic mountainous landscape.

The whole hike took us 6 ½ hours and was roughly 18km. There were definitely some hard parts, which we would have found very difficult had the weather taken a turn for the worst (the rocks were quite slippy) but there were also some really great, winding and gentle paths that allowed for you to take in the views. As a first time climber I was very pleased to have those moments to just take a minute to soak up our incredible surroundings and enjoy the process. By the end of it, I couldn’t believe we’d done it! I was majorly proud of myself and because we started early in the morning, we could enjoy a really cosy night in our barn and rest our aching limbs next to a roaring fire with massive plates of homemade pasta and glasses of wine. Actual heaven.

Speyside Way

The Speyside Way is one of the UK long distance walks, and as part of it actually crosses through the town we stayed in, Aberlour, we decided to spend our ‘recovery day’ post- Ben Macdui climb walking an easy 10km route from our barn along the River Spey (which is very important for the Whisky industry). It was an easy walk on a path which took us through the birchwoods and pastures of the lower Spey with views of the moors. We took a picnic lunch and barely met anyone on our walk (except a few young deer!), so it was a particularly relaxing way to spend an afternoon. The whole route begins in Aviemore and ends at Buckpool harbour in Buckie, some 107 kilometres away, for those interested in walking the whole thing.

Loch an Eilein, Rothiemurchus

One of my favourite days on this trip was probably the easiest hike-wise, but I adored how peaceful and beautiful our loop was around Loch an Eilein. Fun fact, I spotted on the website that it was voted Britain’s Favourite Picnic Spot in a poll organised by Warburtons to commemorate National Bread Week; how could we not visit after that?

Hidden in the forest of Rothiemurchus, it’s easy to see why people love it with views of mountains, pine trees and the loch itself. We also saw a red squirrel! We walked the loop around the loch which was around 7km, finishing with a sit down by the loch to just absorb the quiet beauty of the place. I highly recommend a visit here when you just want to be in nature.

We then parked in the ski town of Aviemore for lunch. If you’re needing some hiking gear, by the way, there’s literally every brand / outdoor clothing shop you can name! We made sure to stop by The Balavoulin pub for lunch, which was a pretty solid place for pub food and drinks.

Lauren Loves

This was a brilliant chance for us to get away from the city and be right in the middle of nature. Climbing my first mountain(s) was the most amazing experience; seeing what I could put my body through and absorbing the most beautiful surroundings was the antidote to months of slouching over my desk at home.

Scotland is such a precious place for us; we always come back super rested, despite (and probably because of) all of our time walking outdoors. The Cairngorms provided a beautiful and every changing background to our hikes and I probably have never taken so many pictures of beautiful views in my life. It was extraordinary and made even more special with the autumn tones of the trees.

The actual Barn we stayed in was perfect and I loved returning to it at the end of the day, probably as much as I loved exploring the countryside! It was very obvious that the barn had been renovated with so much care and attention, and I loved the little details from the homemade furniture to the log stove, which made the place so welcoming and homely after a full day of activity.

Robert Loves

One of the best holidays of all time; from the road trips, to the nature and total disconnect from everything. When planning this holiday, all we knew was that we would really like to hike to the top of Ben Macdui and for the longest time we had bad weather in the forecast but we had already made peace with having a chill holiday with a quick trip to Ben Macdui in the short weather window we had.

The day we arrived we killed some time driving around the area, even visiting the sea which always seems to have healing powers. This was our first encounter with the Speyside Way which we revisted near Aberlour a few days later.

Sunday was the day with the best weather forecast so it was decided it was the day Lauren would hike to the top of her first peak. We made sure we had enough supplies to last a life time and set of quite early. Such a beautiful day with amazing views, totally worth the achy legs that lasted a few days. Our fitness levels have definately taken a hit during Corona time.

Going to see Loch an Eilein was not something we had planned beforehand, but gave us that easy going stroll through nature that we wanted on our last day before having to return home.

Where did we stay?

Wanting somewhere we could cook and prep our own meals (we did a lot of picnic lunches and nights in) we booked The Barn in Aberlour, a rustic renovated barn on the outskirts of town. It was honestly one of the best places we’ve ever stayed in! It was homely, cosy and made every ‘night in’ (you’d think we’d had had enough of them after lockdown) a real treat. We cooked, lit the fire and either cosied up with a book or watched a movie (on an actual DVD player!)

Staying in Aberlour meant that we were able to visit the Walkers Shortbread shop (their factory is in the town) and were close to multiple Speyside whisky distilleries (e.g. Aberlour and The Macallan) if that’s your thing too. Most places had limited opening times due to Covid, so it’s best to prebook those excursions.