Cairngorms - Location and Area

Location and Area

Although The Cairngorms are within the Cairngorms National Park, they are only a part of it. Watson (1975) delineates the main Cairngorm massif as being between Aviemore in the north-west, Glen Gairn, Braemar in the south-east, and Glen Feshie in the south-west.

The approximate southern-boundary of the range runs from slightly east of Braemar, west along Glen Dee to White Bridge, through Glen Geldie to the head of Glen Feshie. The western-boundary runs down Glen Feshie (northward) and the River Spey to Aviemore. The northern-boundary runs roughly eastward from Aviemore through Glen More to Glen Avon. The eastern-boundary then runs (southward) up Glen Avon, and over Am Bealach Dearg to slightly east of Braemar.

To the south of the Cairngorms are a separate distinct range, The Grampians. Watson (1975) describes them as running from Drumochter in the west almost to the sea just south of Aberdeen, continuing:

Some map-makers have confused the issue by printing 'Grampians' over the Cairngorms and Strath Don hills as well! As it has often been used on maps to take in the Ben Alder and Perthshire hills far to the west of our area, it is unsuitable for this book. —Watson (1975)

Gordon (1925) draws the area of the Cairngorms even more tightly: the end-papers show a map where Aviemore, River Feshie, River Dee and Creag Choinnich just make it onto the map, and Glen Geldie, and Glen Gairn do not.

Before the Regionalisation of Scotland in 1975, most of the Cairngorms were within the county of Aberdeenshire, with the rest reaching into Inverness-shire in the west, and Banffshire in the north.