Cairngorms National Park: Scenic Drives

As well as exploring the Cairngorms by foot, the road network makes for some excellent drives through the National Park. On days where we wanted to see some of the swooping landscapes and get those canvas-worthy photos, we opted to use some of the recommended driving routes.

Loch Ness

I'm sure most of you have heard of the famous Loch Ness, the largest loch in Scotland by volume. In fact, it's so big, at 22 miles long and 1 mile wide, that it contains more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. At the north end lies the city of Inverness, which has a population of about 50,000 people. And most famously, the loch has a myth (or fact depending on your view!) that the Loch Ness Monster resides in the lake, being hidden most of the time due to the murky water produced by high levels of peat in the loch.

The north side of the loch can get quite busy with tourists during peak seasons due to a well-established A-road that runs alongside the loch. Hence, we decided to drive along the south side, a less well-known route around the loch. Along the way there were plenty of points where you could park your car and have lunch with views over the water, which is exactly what we did.

Our drive took us up the south side, through Inverness, and we ended up at Reelig Glen, home to some of Britain's tallest trees. The tall Douglas Fir Trees can grow over 50m in height, with the oldest one, Big Douglas, measuring in at 64m in the year 2000! The walking trail was short and easy, taking your through these towering natural structures. Parking is free and has lots of capacity.

Covering Loch Ness by car was ideal due to its size and let us see a lot of the loch in a short amount of time. I would recommend driving along the south side if you do go, despite there not being an A-road we had no issues along the way.

Glencoe & Glen Etive

This was by far the most scenic drive in my two-week trip to Scotland. Glen Etive is accessible via Glencoe, but more on that later. The first stop was Glencoe.

At the start of the Glencoe road there is a large visitor centre run by National Trust Scotland. It was pretty big, with all the facilities you may need (toilets, cafe etc), but it also had an interesting exhibition on the Glencoe valley. Learning about the history of the valley we were about to drive through was fascinating: from the lava, glaciers and weather that shaped it over millions of years, to the various clans that used to reside in the valley, followed by the darker side of history with the Glencoe Massacre. If you do stop by there, I would highly recommend checking the exhibition out - they've put together a short 20-minute film that does a great job at summarising the history of the valley. Also, there are no stops along the way during the drive, so if you need to go to the toilet now's your last chance!

We then set off from the visitor centre and started our journey down the valley. Immediately we had huge mountains either side of us, with the road snaking below them in the valley. The road is a well-maintained A-road and was quite busy with the number of tourists visiting. There are plenty of places to stop by and take photos too.

At some point along the Glencoe drive, we turned into a smaller, single lane road, which marked the start of the Glen Etive Road. This was a 12-mile road passing lochs, moors and mountains, with the end destination being Loch Etive at the end. Fun fact, the author Ian Fleming's family had a lodge in the glen, and the road was used as a location for the Bond film Skyfall.

Driving down the road, there are no facilities, and mobile signal is non-existent. It's hard to get lost you essentially follow the road till the end. Near the beginning of the road, you get a great view of Buachaille Etive Mor and Bauchaille Etive Beag (also known as the 'Herdsmen of the Etive'). The road closely follows the River Etive, and along the way we saw campers, kayakers and walkers making use of it.

The road then ends at a car park near Loch Etive. Unfortunately, on the day we went a film crew had taken up most of the parking spaces so we ended up parking elsewhere. The banks of the loch are a short walk away, and they did not disappoint! The day we went, the water was really still, creating a near-perfect reflection of the valley into the water. This was another moment on my Scotland trip that just felt unreal! The drive was definitely worth it, and would highly recommend.

And just like that, my two weeks in Scotland were over! It's been a great experience being able to explore the highlands with my family, with the Isle of Skye and the Cairngorms having their own unique personalities, landscapes and qualities. I enjoyed being outdoors the majority of my time while out there, which provided me a refreshing contrast to city life in London.

Scotland, it's been a pleasure. Until next time!

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