Newtonmore & Kingussie area

Dalwhinnie lies at the south-west corner of the Cairngorms National Park, over 30 miles north of Pitlochry off the A9, after travelling through the bleak landscape at Drummochter Pass.    The only place of interest in the village is the Dalwhinnie Distillery.   The A889 leads to the village of Laggan where the TV series Monarch of the Glen was filmed, amidst beautiful countryside - Loch Laggan is the source of the River Spey.  The area offers many opportunities for walking, horse-riding, mountain-biking and there is a nature reserve west of the village.

Newtonmore lies about 10 miles north of Laggan on the A86 and can also be accessed via the A9 at Ralia.  The Highland Folk Museum is a fascinating visitor attraction which features a reconstructed village of old cottages, a school and croft, with demonstrations of wood-carving, spinning and peat-fire baking.  (Another part of the museum is located in Kingussie.)   For something a bit different, there is the Waltzing Waters - an aqua theatre.

Kingussie lies a few miles north of Newtonmore.  The Highland Folk Museum at this site is also in the form of a village depicting traditional Highland life with a thatched blackhouse, smokery and a water-powered sawmill.  Nearby are the ruins of Ruthven Barracks built to control the Highlanders following the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. 

There are walks to the Monaliadth Mountains, north-west of Kingussie, a circular walk to the summit of Carn an Fhreiceadain and many mountain-biking trails.

Information
There is a tourist office at Ralia near Newtonmore and at the Highland Folk Museum on Duke Street in Kingussie.  Hotels in the area include Scott House, Osprey Hotel, Royal Hotel and the Cross in Kingussie.  Restaurants include these hotels plus The Glen, Braeriach and Capercaillie (all in Newtonmore) and the Tipsy Laird in Kingussie.