Cairngorms Minecraft Project

Minecraft is an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination.

Minecraft focuses on allowing the player to explore, interact with, and modify a dynamically-generated map made of one-cubic-meter-sized blocks

In addition to blocks, the environment features plants, mobs, and items.  Activities include mining for ore and crafting new blocks and tools by gathering various resources found in the game.

Minecraft offers a transformative community participation tool for public space design and has been proved to help promote improved civic engagement.

Find out more: minecraft.net/en-us/about-minecraft

Bedrock edition

The Bedrock Edition refers to the multi-platform version of Minecraft which is available for Windows 10, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, iOS and Android. This means that players using these platforms can play with one another via servers and Bedrock maps, such as the Cairngorms map, are compatible with all platforms.

Find out more: minecraft.net/en-us/store/minecraft-windows10

Java edition

The original version of Minecraft! Java Edition is available on Windows, macOS and Linux and has cross-platform play between these system. It offers greater access to servers and is much more modifiable than the Bedrock edition.

Find out more: minecraft.net/en-us/store/minecraft-java-edition/

The map is completely free to download and play!

The map is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This means that providing your use is personal and you follow the terms of the licence, you may do whatever you like with it.

If you would like to use the map for a project, please contact the Park Authority for guidance. You will need to seek permission if it is a commercial project.

Step 1: download a map

Download the map that will work with your edition of Minecraft – Bedrock or Java. Mac users will need to select the Java version, but Windows users may be using either Bedrock or Java. Check your PC to make sure you are downloading the correct version.

Step 2: extract the map

The map is compressed, so once downloaded you will need to extract it with a file archiver, such as WinRAR or 7-Zip in Windows or Archive Utility in Mac OS.

Step 3: import into Minecraft

Copy the folder off your desktop or wherever you saved it to (i.e. copy the folder one directory above region and level.dat).

Open the .minecraft folder, the location of the folder will depend on what version of Minecraft and what operating system you are using.

Windows computers

For Bedrock, Press Win+R, then type %LOCALAPPDATA%PackagesMicrosoft.MinecraftUWP_8wekyb3d8bbweLocalStategamescom.mojang, then press Ok. Open the minecraftWorlds folder and paste the map folder in there.

For Java, Press Win+R, then type %appdata%.minecraft, then press Ok. Open the saves folder and paste the map folder in there.

Mac OS computers

In the Finder, from the Go menu, select ‘Go to Folder’, then type: ~/Library/Application Support/minecraft, and click Go. Open the saves folder and paste the map folder in there.

The next time you open Minecraft the Cairngorms National Park Map will be selectable as a new save.

The short answer is yes. Here’s how you do it. For all consoles, you will need to own a version of Minecraft Bedrock Edition for Windows 10 and follow the steps on accessing the map described in this FAQ.

Xbox 

If you want to access the map on an Xbox One, Series X or Series S then you should be able to access the map via cloud storage.

All saves for Minecraft Bedrock for Windows 10 are automatically saved to the Xbox cloud storage/ Xbox Profile (Xbox app on PC). This means that you can sync your Windows and Xbox versions of Minecraft and access all your saves and maps on both platforms, including the map of the Cairngorms.

PlayStation 4, 5, Nintendo Switch and mobile devices

Getting the map on these consoles is a little trickier as the consoles are more restrictive about what can be placed on them and cannot be synced with Microsoft’s cloud storage. There are however workarounds  – we can recommend only one as it does not breach the Terms of Service operated by Microsoft, Mojang or the console companies.

1. Follow the instructions on saving the map as outlined in this FAQ.
2. Start a free trial of or buy access to a Minecraft Realms server.
3. Upload your map to the server.
4. Open Minecraft on your console and log into your Microsoft account. The Realms server will now appear at the top of your list of saves.
5. Download the map from the Realms server. It will now be stored locally on your console and ready to play! You may now choose to discontinue your Realms subscription or keep it if you wish to continue cross-platform play.

When you open the map for the first time you will begin on the shores of Loch Morlich. From there you may go wherever you want in the National Park.

If you want to get somewhere else really quickly you can use Minecraft’s command console to teleport to specific x y z coordinates.

Here are some suggested coordinates to get you started:

Aviemore: 4780 100 2930

Ballater: 10400 100 5000

Ben Macdui: 59100 300 4530

Blair Atholl: 4540 100 8580

Braemar: 7850 100 5300

Glen Clova: 9900 100 7605

Loch Insh: 4100 100 3820

Loch Morlich: 5720 100 3250

Loch Muick: 9650 100 6300

Muir of Dinnet: 11400 100 4500

Tomintoul: 8040 100 2120

Here’s what you do with those coordinates:

1. In the map settings, set the game mode to ‘Creative’ and enable cheats.
2. Open the command console by pressing ‘T’
3. Type /tp YOURNAME x y z (YOURNAME should be your Microsoft ID)
4. Press ‘Enter’ and you will be teleported to the inputted x y z coordinates.

So if you want to go straight to Braemar, for example, the code would be: /tp YOURNAME 7850 100 5300.