A Forest Stay: Cairngorms National Park

The major problem with planning a last minute trip is arranging accommodations. While looking up for accommodations for one such trip, we found this Air bnb nestled in the heart of Cairngorms National Park.

This wonderful abode managed by the nicest hosts Robert & Maria is one of the very few properties in the national park making it an isolated stay from the hustle & bustle of the crowd and city. Adjoining the A9 highway in Scotland, this place is a 4 mile drive from Newtonmore Station and the hosts offer you a pick up & drop.

We reached Newtonmore station at 8pm in the evening and to our surprise we were the only ones to get off the train on that station. The station was deserted, not a soul in sight and the vicinity of the station was pitch dark and there was no one around for miles. Just tall mighty mountains encircling the town from a distance. As we patiently waited for our host to pick us up, I was starting to feel maybe this whole idea was a mistake afterall. Right then Robert showed up and we hopped into his car. The road was deserted throughout our ride, we barely saw anyone else on our way and as we started approaching the property it only grew darker and scarier as it was amidst a jungle.

But as soon as we reached the place and entered the house we were greeted by this cute little member of the family - Fergus. Fergus is the most amiable dog you will ever meet. He greeted us at the door and followed us around.

The house is huge and this place boasted of having a movie room & a huge cozy room with a skylight.

A real treat for stargazers. Cairngorms being one of the most dark sky places in UK makes it a wonderful retreat for an overnight stay.

We did a lot of stargazing as millions of stars lit up the night sky and then cozied up in the movie room with a cup of warm freshly brewed coffee. Just then Fergus came up to us wagging his tail, holding a toy in his mouth. We appreciated his toy like he wanted us to and played with the little pupper for a while until he fell asleep on the couch next to us. A peaceful sight & this serene location!

Even though we had a tiring day, the next morning we woke up feeling so refreshed and energized. It was like the place and the air around there had some sort of magical healing powers that wore off all our exhaustion. What's even more beautiful is we woke up only to look out the window and see a wondrous huge national park and snow capped mountains in the backdrop. Talk about a room with a view!

As it is a B&B, the breakfast was laid out early and we stuffed ourselves with the amazing muffins that the hosts bake themselves. Most of the stuff we had to eat was freshly made or picked out from around.

While having breakfast we saw Maria, our host, wandering off outside laying out food for birds and red squirrels around while Fergus tried to help her but did not do a very good job by chasing the squirrels. Atleast the little fellow tried 😄 Some life these guys had here!

When we shared with the hosts how amazing we felt waking up this morning they pointed out to us that it is because of the unpolluted air in the national park. There was a certain kind of moss that grows around on the trees in their garden which only sustains when the air is unpolluted and they were certified for having unpolluted air around there. I was awestruck on learning this amazing fact about this place. It is indeed true that when you retreat close to nature you tend to live better & perhaps a longer life! Turns out it is all about the air you breathe!

A 20 min trail from the house led us to River Spey, known for being the source of water for Spey Whiskey! The weather was cool and pleasant so we decided to walk down to the river for a morning walk with Fergus keeping us company and making sure we don't lose the trail.

It was a forest trail and it was one of the most beautiful trails I had ever treaded along.

The river was really narrow around this place and the water was superclean. A lot of barn animals, highland cows & sheep came around to drink the water from this river.

We trekked back to the house and Robert offered to drop us back to the train station. We said our goodbyes to Fergus. The same route that seemed dreadful at night, we found it mesmerizing during the day on our return journey.

A forest stay, star gazing, a beautiful house, super friendly hosts with a cute dog, barn animals, a trail that ends up at a river and all this in the lap of nature in the middle of a national park. 5 stars just won't suffice the rating! This place should definitely be on everyone's must visit list.