Cairngorms - Name

Name

Usually referred to as The Cairngorms—this 'modern' use of Cairn Gorm to represent the whole range is potentially misleading—Watson (1975) refers to it as a nickname explaining that the range's former name is Am Monadh Ruadh—the red hills distinguishing them from Am Monadh Liath—the grey hills to the west of the River Spey.

If you look from Aviemore on a clear evening, the granite screes of Lairig Ghru and Braeriach do glow a warm red in the sun. The name Am Monadh Ruadh still lives among the oldest folk of Strath Spey, but long ago, outsiders had replaced it with 'the Cairngorms', on maps and in guide books —Watson (1975)

Ironically—naming the range after Cairn Gorm creates a contradiction since Cairn Gorm means Blue Cairn—taking that literally would make the red hills the blue hills changing the old name entirely. This irony appears to have been missed by many for both names were used in the naming of the National Park that incorporates the range. Its official English name, Cairngorms National Park, translates into Gaelic as the Blue Hills National Park, with its Gaelic strap-line, Pairc Naiseanta a Mhonaidh Ruaidh, translating into English as the Red Hills National Park.

In Alexander (1928) the author refers to Colonel T. Thornton visiting the area about 1786, and his book Sporting Tour published in 1804 in which he refers to the range as the Cairngorms—continuing:

The use of the term "Cairngorms" as applied to the group must have become well established early in the nineteenth century, for we find it in Col Thornton's Sporting Tour (1804), where there is a reference to "Aurora peeping over the immense Cairngorms" —Alexander (1928) (p21)

Both Alexander (1928) and Watson (1975) appear to suggest that Colonel Thornton's book was the first time the term Cairngorms was used in print to refer to whole group.

The controversy over the name of the Cairngorms is representative of other controversies surrounding these mountains, which have the capacity to produce strong reactions in people who regard the mountains with affection.