Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorms National Park is a place I return to because it’s never exactly the same twice, even in the same month.

Getting there is straightforward if you plan around the road access and the weather window for the season.

The core habitat at Cairngorms National Park is granite plateau, caledonian pine, heather moor, and the best of it is concentrated in a handful of places that reward slow walking.

My default advice is to go april through june and october. Outside that window there are still good days here, but the baseline quality drops.

On crowds: expect company on weekends and in golden hour. On weekdays outside golden hour the place is close to yours.

The best single image I’ve made at Cairngorms National Park was an accident I reached for without thinking; the ones I set up for are the ones I’ve half-forgotten.

I come back because I like the particular mix of uncertainty and predictability here. If you need guaranteed subjects, go somewhere else.

Corrections on anything here, especially access updates, are welcome.