Highland paradise

At 1,748 square miles, Cairngorms is the largest of the UK’s 15 National Parks. To put this in perspective, it’s twice the size of the Lake District National Park and bigger than the whole country of Luxembourg. With a little thought, however, the park’s vast size can be broken down into bite size chunks, revealing the very best of Scotland.

The Cairngorms National Park is a beautifully unspoiled region, home to 55 ‘Munros’ (mountains above 3,000 feet in height, named after Sir Hugh T Munro, who catalogued them all in 1891), including four of the five highest peaks in Britain. Nearly half of the entire park is designated ‘wild land’. Such scale and ruggedness has huge appeal, but equally the Cairngorms has a far gentler side, having been a civilised holiday retreat for British royalty since Queen Victoria discovered its charms.

The jewel in the Cairngorms’ crown is arguably Royal Deeside.