Newtonmore community paths leaflet

Wel­come to Newtonmore

Loc­ated close to the centre of Scot­land, New­ton­more sits at the mouth of Glen Ban­chor sur­roun­ded by high moun­tains and com­mand­ing fant­ast­ic views up and down Badenoch. A true High­land vil­lage in every sense of the word, New­ton­more is fam­ous for shinty, the Clan Macph­er­son and is a great place to enjoy the out­doors. It is also home to the Wild­cat Trail, a lovely var­ied walk with out­stand­ing views and the centre of the vil­lage is the start / fin­ish point of the Spey­side Way long dis­tance route.

Cairngorm Paths New­ton­more Paths

Dis­cov­er the Wild­cat Trail

For inform­a­tion on loc­al events, facil­it­ies and accom­mod­a­tion vis­it: new​ton​more​.com and look out for inform­a­tion on loc­al notice boards.

Oth­er use­ful web­sites: vis​it​cairngorms​.com cairngorms​.co​.uk badenoch​story​lands​.com

If you enjoyed New­ton­more Paths then look out for oth­er Com­munity Path Leaf­lets to help you explore more of the Cairngorms Nation­al Park.

Out­door Activities

New­ton­more is a great place for out­door activ­it­ies includ­ing walk­ing, climb­ing, cyc­ling, golf, fish­ing, canoe­ing, bowls, ten­nis, and more. New­ton­more High­land Games take place on the first Sat­urday in August.

On most Sat­urdays from March until Septem­ber you can watch the tra­di­tion­al High­land game of shinty on the Eil­an, which is the home of one of the most suc­cess­ful clubs in the game.

More walks and trails

Glen Ban­chor

(See inner map for start point – marked in orange)

Fol­low­ing Glen Road out of the vil­lage the road climbs quickly into the beau­ti­ful Glen Ban­chor before reach­ing the Dal­churn Bridge at the road end (11÷2 miles). There is also small park­ing area here at the road end.

This glen was inhab­ited by almost 300 people in the early 19^th cen­tury, but they were gradu­ally cleared to the ​“New Town of the Moor” to make way for sheep. His­tor­ic­ally there were eight town­ships – small col­lec­tions of rough houses built of stone, turf and tim­ber where crofters lived. Recon­struc­tions of these croft houses can be seen at the High­land Folk Museum.

Today, the area is a rich archae­olo­gic­al land­scape with the remains of the town­ship houses, farm­steads, enclos­ures, cairns, shiel­ings and hut circles dot­ted through­out the area the loc­a­tions of these are marked on Ord­nance Sur­vey maps.

New­ton­more Her­it­age Trail Leaflet

For an enjoy­able stroll around the vil­lage pick up the New­ton­more Her­it­age Trail leaf­let to dis­cov­er more about the loc­al history.

Enjoy pan­or­amic views in all dir­ec­tions, while walk­ing in and around the village.

Oth­er things to do

High­land Folk Museum Step back in time and vis­it the open air High­land Folk Museum, where you can explore over 35 his­tor­ic build­ings and dis­cov­er the tra­di­tion­al way of life in the High­lands (free entry).

Clan Macph­er­son Museum The Clan Macph­er­son Museum (April to Octo­ber, free admis­sion) will give you a great vari­ety of inform­a­tion on fam­ous Macph­er­sons – whose coat of arms fea­tures the wild­cat as well as loc­al history.

Wild­cat Centre Vis­it the Wild­cat Centre and take part in the ​‘Wild­cat Exper­i­ence’ a unique treas­ure hunt to dis­cov­er 132 painted mod­el wild­cats, great for chil­dren and adults alike!

New­ton­more Paths This leaf­let has been developed in part­ner­ship with New­ton­more Busi­ness Association.

The Wild­cat Trail An icon­ic orbit­al path through wood­land, moor­land and along­side rivers, offer­ing won­der­ful views. Fur­ther details of this walk can be found in the Wild­cat Trail book­let, avail­able to buy locally.

Nar­row uneven earthy paths, some rough, stony and muddy. Some sec­tions across grassy fields with live­stock present. Gates and rail­way crossing.

⁶⁄₂ miles / 10 km Allow strenu­ous 3 – 4 hours

Jack Rich­mond Memori­al Park A pleas­ant stroll along the Main Street and down Sta­tion Road takes you to this lovely wood­land park.

Pave­ments and road to reach park, grassy and gravel paths around park which are mostly smooth and firm.

¹⁄₂ miles / 2.6 km Allow easy 1 hour

Dis­tance and time for return to start

The Coffin Road This was the route taken by funer­als which crossed the river Spey by ferry to reach the cemetery at St Bridget’s Chapel. There are inform­a­tion pan­els along the coffin road route.

Pave­ments and roads around the vil­lage, the coffin road route fol­lows over rough grass fields with gates.

²³⁄₄ miles / 4.5 km Allow mod­er­ate 2 hours

Milk Cow Path A short walk along the golf course to Sta­tion Road which is an altern­at­ive route to reach the Jack Rich­mond Memori­al Park. You can spot mod­el wild­cats oth­ers may have missed. For a cir­cu­lar walk come back along the main street.

Mostly road with some nar­row earth paths that can be uneven and muddy. Short mod­er­ate slopes.

¹⁄₂ mile / I km Allow mod­er­ate 15 minutes

Loch Imrich Loop Situ­ated 100 yards away from the Bal­avil Hotel, this kettle hole is a great place for wild­life and a per­fect pre or post din­ner stroll. Inform­a­tion pan­els tell you more.

Mostly smooth paths which can be muddy after rain. Gates at all entry points to loch.

¹⁄₂ mile / 0.8 km Allow easy 15 minutes

Dis­tance and time to / from hotel

Strone Road A great cir­cu­lar route giv­ing some of the best views of the Glen Fesh­ie Hills and south to the Drumochter Pass.

Minor roads and pave­ments with a long mod­er­ate slope. Cattle grids with gates.

¹⁄₂ miles / 2.4 km Allow mod­er­ate I hour