For so long the Mecca of those who enjoy the great outdoors, Aviemore is delighted to be staging the sixth Aviemore Walking Festival which will take place from 10th to 17th May 2008.

The event is being re-launched as Aviemore and the Cairngorms Walking and Mountain Festival with most of the events taking place within the beautiful scenery of the Cairngorms National Park.

The walking festival component will continue as before with around eight guided walks each day ranging from easy gentle walks in the glens to very strenuous ones to the highest peaks in Great Britain. Once again we have found some new walks.

The Cairngorms National Park area has a wealth of experienced outdoor activity operators offering a huge range of activities and experiences to members of the public. With this in mind we are offering the services of some of the area’s operators as part of the Mountain Festival section. This will include mountain biking, kayaking, white water rafting, climbing, canyoning, and more. The programme can be found on a link from the Other Info page and also at the bottom of each page.

A full evening programme of events will include mountain related talks, films, Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team open night, a Ceilidh Supper and the chance to enjoy some of the best of that famous Highland Hospitality! These are also listed under Other Activities. Just follow the link from the Other Info page and also at the bottom of each page.

This is a time of year when the area usually enjoys extremely good, sunny weather and the rivers run fast and clear with the snow melt off the mountains. It is also a time when the trees and shrubs show off their summer finery in a bold display of vivid greens while the abundant wildlife is hectic (and often noisy) with its annual rituals of housekeeping and preparing for a season of rearing and feeding it's young.

Aviemore nestles in the broad expanse of the Strath of the mighty River Spey, between the stunning beauty of the mountains in the Cairngorm massif and the haunting magic of the Monadhliath mountains - both with their caps of spring snow. Crystal rivers and lochs sparkle from the shadow of the Caledonian Pine Forests while the moors and peat hags cast their own special spells.

So come and enjoy the best of British countryside with fine walks, through magnificent scenery. Our programme offers plenty for everyone - short leisurely strolls through forests and along river and loch banks to more strenuous hill walks to the remaining snowfields at over 4,000 feet high. These include Ben Nevis, Ben Macdui, Braeriach and also many of the local munros (mountains over 3,000feet).