Parking
Use the village car park beside Carrbridge Primary School. Follow the path north and cross the A938 into the golf course; the route returns to the same car park.
Overview
About Calderwood Viewpoint Walk
Why go
- Open views towards the Cairngorms from the heather moorland viewpoint
Heads up
- Golf-course crossing has a golf-ball hazard
- The upper path is rough and steep in places
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Cairngorms map
Full mapElevation257–309 m
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
3 active Cairngorms alerts
- CautionStorm Boelo high windsStorm Boelo will bring extremely windy weather to the Cairngorms; take extra care and limit time outdoors. - The Park Authority expects the very windy weather to last until Monday 26 October.Official details
- ClosureGlenmore wildfire closures and dangerous treesWildfire damage has closed Allt Mor car park and the path to Sugarbowl/Utsi’s Bridge; keep out of the closed area.Official details
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Cairngorms Tour Guide
Your drive to Calderwood Viewpoint Walk, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Cairngorms National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Cairngorms audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Carrbridge's Coffin Bridge0:00 / 0:31
“Up ahead in Carrbridge is the old packhorse bridge, a narrow stone arch over the River Dulnain. Built in seventeen seventeen, it carried funeral parties towards Duthil Churchyard, earning the name Coffin Bridge.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Cairngorms Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Landmark Forest Adventure Park
- A Pine Cone’s Weather Response
- Songs That Worked the Cloth
- The Thrush’s Snail Anvil
- 298 audio storiesacross Cairngorms’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Red Deer, Reindeer, Osprey, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 260 trails, 90 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Calderwood Viewpoint Walk
The walkCalderwood Viewpoint Walk is a 1.9-mile (3.
Calderwood Viewpoint Walk is a 1.9-mile (3.0 km) out-and-back from Carrbridge’s village car park, crossing the golf course and climbing over heather moorland to views towards the Cairngorms. Allow about 1½ hours. The full mapped route is longer than the locally published 1.5-mile (2.4 km) round-trip figure, so this distance includes the complete village-access approach and return.
Route and footingFrom the car park by the school, head north and cross the A938 into the golf course.
From the car park by the school, head north and cross the A938 into the golf course. Stay alert for golf balls and follow any course signs. The track then climbs onto heather moorland, where the upper hill path is rough and steep in places. Turn around at the viewpoint and return the same way.
Viewpoint and nameThe walk ends at a viewpoint with views towards the Cairngorms.
The walk ends at a viewpoint with views towards the Cairngorms. It is named for Professor Calderwood, a respected Carrbridge resident and supporter who died in 1897. At the viewpoint, keep some of the heathered foreground beneath the distant hills to give the wide view context.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Cairngorms
159 sightingsRed DeerMost seen around 7 AMSighting map
63 sightingsReindeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
102 sightingsOspreyMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
37 sightingsBlack GrouseMost seen around 4 AMSighting map
72 sightingsRed GrouseMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
82 sightingsPine MartenMost seen around 9 PMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Cairngorms. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
