The East Highlands

It’s hard to get consensus on what’s covered by the East Highlands but from a walker’s perspective the Cairngorm Mountains and the eastern Grampian Mountains clearly fall within, as do the upper reaches of the River Spey and Strath Spey (the valley through which the upper reaches of the Spey flows). To get there from Edinburgh, you would drive about 100 kilometres north.

This is a land of epic landscapes comprised of steep mountains, open moorlands, lochs, rivers, straths and glens, ancient woodlands, waterfalls and protected country estates. It’s possible to penetrate into the centre of this region via drovers paths and mountain passes. The summits only need to be tackled if you want to.

The Cairngorm Mountains are located within Cairngorm National Park, the largest national park in the United Kingdom. A feature of the National Park are the alpine plateaux with tundra-like features.

There are many opportunities for the bagging of munros (mountains above 3000 feet) in the Cairngorms, given that there are 55 of them here. That includes five of the six highest mountains in Britain.

The East Highlands offers many day and multi-day walks and there are a number of tour operators offering a variety of walking trips.

The most well-known multi-day walk in the East Highlands is the East Highland Way. This walk was developed following the success and increased popularity of the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way. Fort William is a trailhead for each of those walks, as it is for the East Highland Way as well.

However, there are many other multi-day walks in the East Highlands region, including some considerably shorter than those mentioned above. And the many walking tour operators operating in the region have developed walking itineraries suited for all. We can help you choose a walk and an operator that best suits your needs.

The East Highland Way, the Rob Roy Way and the Speyside Way are just some of the many East Highlands walks we can tell you about, and help you to plan and complete.