Kingussie and Newtonmore: Badenoch

The upper reaches of the mighty River Spey round the northern end of the Cairngorm range. Centred on the two fine old towns of Kingussie and Newtonmore, Badenoch is an ideal centre for walks of all abilities.

The strath - much broader than most glens in the Highlands - offers fine low-level walking, whilst sweeping mountains line the horizons in all directions. North is the vast, bleak wilderness plateau of the Monadhliath, and southwest the A9 and railway carves its way out of the region through the Drumochter pass, the tenuous link to the cities of the south. West of Drumochter is another wilderness area, that of Ben Alder and it's satellites, whilst to the east rear the main bulk of the Cairngorms range.

FEATURE: The Glen

Peter Cairns takes a look at Glen Feshie, where the natural woodland is making a startling recovery.

"My eye is drawn by the tiny green-headed pines poking their heads nervously above the heather, like prey wary of predator. It’s not that pines are unusual in Scotland but young pines, or at least those growing in such profusion, are conspicuous in a wider landscape largely bereft of young trees. These tentative pioneers are the building blocks for a future forest..."

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