It was a blustery Saturday that I found myself in the bustling departure lounge of Euston train station with Alex (from here on out known as Stilettos-up-a-Mountain). We boarded the Caledonian Sleeper to find adjoining cabin-style rooms, each with a single bed, and fold out washbasin. The rooms were cosy or cramped depending on your predilection, but as comfortable as a bed on a train can be expected to be. And after a few hours’ doze, lulled by the calming chuggachacha of the rails and romance of moving lights through cabin blinds in the distance, we were awoken by a kindly guard and breakfast, a choice of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs or Scottish rolled oats.
30 minutes later we arrived in Aviemore, the ‘entrance to the Highlands’. Aviemore is a strange place. We stayed in the turret room in the gorgeous Cairngorm Hotel, directly opposite the train station and decked out with panelled walls, proper furniture and tartan upholstery. Exploring the surrounds we stumbled upon a haggis fish and chip shop and a sort of Soviet gulag at the foot of the mountains, with an indoor waterpark, Stasi towerblock, and, after much searching, a brilliant restaurant.
On the ground floor of Macdonald’s Resort lay their signature restaurant, Aspects. Any McDonald’s connotations ended with the name. The food was top notch, really good. The sommelier was as knowledgeable as he was charismatic, and the menu broad but accomplished. My fillet steak was cooked and presented to perfection and Stilettos-up-a-Mountain’s lamb was tender as it comes.
The following day we set off to see the Cairngorms proper—a 30-minute bus ride later we founds ourselves at the foot of CairnGorm mountain, with the highest funicular railway in Britain and a 1000/1 ratio of midges to humans. After around five incredibly fun rides up and down the mountain (it was very cold and the return bus didn’t come for a few hours) Stilettos-up-a-Mountain decided we should Do Some Walking. Scaling about three metres of rocky terrain, and nearing a sharp precipice in stilettos, she finally decided enough was enough and agreed to join me back at the café at the base of the mountain. The base area also includes nature walks, the highest red phone box in Britain (non-functional), and the highlight, a walk-in camera obscura cave.
Once at the top, there’s another café, and a manageably small, but engaging and interactive museum with delights such as a rotating peep-hole showing seasonal shifts in the area’s flora. The café at 3,500 ft had a terrace where one could take in the mountain fog, and enjoy sweet relief from the midges below.
Aviemore is known as a snowsports resort when the snow has settled in winter, and remains a popular UK ski destination. If you have/hire a car, Aviemore would be fantastic. There are lakes and forests and mountains, mountains with car parks, car parks we waited in forlornly for a return bus for hour upon hour (in the school holidays they run more frequently).
Having said this, the Highlands’ beauty needs little introduction: vast swathes of rugged, heather-lined hills, forests and lakes make a visit imperative, even if just the once. The Caledonian Sleeper has an old-school romance. Boarding in London to awake in the Highlands feels refreshing and civilised in the days of cheap airlines and even cheaper experiences.
