North East Scotland (Slow Travel) : including Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Cairngorms National Park

From the award-winning Slow Travel series by Bradt Guides

Travel writer Rebecca Gibson fell in love with Scotland as a child and eventually made the move to Moray, where she explored her adopted home region on foot to create this comprehensive guide. Whether you're a walker, cyclist, wildlife enthusiast, foodie, history buff, or family looking for adventure, you'll find something to captivate you in North East Scotland's thrillingly diverse landscape—from soaring mountains and dramatic coastlines to ancient Caledonian pine forests and salmon-rich rivers.

This is the only comprehensive guidebook to the region in print, covering everything from the Cairngorms National Park—the UK's largest, home to five of its six tallest summits and steeped in fairy folklore—to Aberdeenshire's remarkable concentration of castles and Pictish stone circles. Discover the lesser-known charms of Moray, where bottle-nosed dolphins thrive in the world's northernmost population, and where Shakespeare's Macbeth met the three witches. Learn about Balmoral Estate's royal heritage since Queen Victoria's time, and experience the unique Doric language and culture that define this distinctive region.

This Slow Travel guide celebrates sustainable tourism and local culture, from the Findhorn Ecovillage to whisky distilleries, Aberdeen Angus beef, and artisan, locally sourced food. Packed with intimate descriptions of key heritage attractions, detailed wildlife-spotting opportunities—from crested tits in the pinewoods to high-altitude ptarmigan—and practical information for planning your visit, this guidebook invites you to experience North East Scotland at a leisurely, rewarding pace.