The Aviemore book covers the walks around Glenmore and Rothiemurchus Forest, the north west Cairngorms, and the Spey Valley between Newtonmore in the south and Grantown-on-Spey in the north. Though we live quite close, we were not familiar with many of the walks, and it was fantastic to get to know some beautifully maintained paths and wilderness routes.

One of the highlights for me was my first climb onto the Cairngorm plateau.  It has its dangers, of course, and great care has to be taken (it was windy and bitterly cold when we climbed Cairn Gorm, and there was plenty of snow, even in June), but it is also highly dramatic – and we were lucky enough to see both a ring ouzel and a snow bunting on the tops.  Another highlight was the long route from Glenmore round to Loch Avon, though that also needs a little planning.  We chose to camp overnight on a nearby Corbett (Creag Mhor) before descending to the Fords of Avon and seeing the loch surrounded by high, snowy peaks in the early morning sunshine.

It isn’t all long routes, of course, and there are terrific shorter walks through the Caledonian Pinewoods south of Loch Morlich and in the hills behind the towns and villages of the Spey Valley, as well as a number of routes also suitable for cyclists –such as the route from Nethy Bridge to Glenmore (see bottom left).

There were no major alterations needed to the book this time, though changes have been made to the signposting of the forest walks around Loch Morlich.