Newtonmore is small. About a thousand of us live here. We sit in the Cairngorms National Park, halfway between Inverness and the Lowlands, on the main railway line north and Cycle Route 7. People have been arriving here on foot, by bike, on horseback and now by train for over a century — and not many of them are disappointed.

Walking from the door

There are walks that start at the front of the hostel and you don't need a car. We won't pretend to know every Munro yet — we've been here since March 2026 — but here are the routes our guests come back for.

Short walks (under 3 hours)

• Wildcat Trail — 6.5 miles, mostly flat, loops out of the village past the river and the woods. Map and notes at walkhighlands.co.uk.

• Glen Banchor — five minutes from the front door and you're in a quiet glen with the village behind you. Two hours there and back.

• Creag Dubh — the dark crag south of the village. Steep, short, the view from the top is the whole Spey valley.

Full day routes

• The Speyside Way — the long-distance path starts in Newtonmore and runs 85 miles to Spey Bay.

Where we send you for routes

• Walkhighlands.co.uk — independent, free, detailed, has GPS files

• OS Maps app — the Cairngorms 1:25k tiles cover everything around here

• Cairngorms National Park ranger service — guided walks in the season

We keep paper maps on the bookshelf in the sitting room. Borrow them, just put them back.

Cycling

Newtonmore sits on National Cycle Network Route 7, the Lochs and Glens route between Glasgow and Inverness. The upper Spey valley is one of the prettiest cycling days you'll have in Scotland — largely flat, river on one side, mountains on the other.

• Bikes can be stored round the back of the hostel

• Bikes can be hired from Kingussie

• Some repair tools can be made available

On the water

The River Spey is a short walk from the hostel — Grade I to II for most of its length, plenty of put-ins and take-outs. Loch Insh is twenty minutes' drive. Loch Morlich at Glenmore is forty minutes, sandy-shored, swimmable in summer.

Kit can be rinsed in the drying room and hung up to dry for the next day.

Beyond Newtonmore: Aviemore, Cairngorm Mountain & the wider Scottish Highland

Within an hour of the hostel

• Highland Wildlife Park — wolves, polar bears, Scottish wildcats (Kingussie, 10 minutes)

• Ruthven Barracks — ruined Jacobite garrison, free (Kingussie, 10 minutes)

• Highland Folk Museum — open-air museum (Newtonmore, 5 minutes' walk)

• Cairngorm Mountain — funicular, ski centre in winter (30 minutes)

• Loch an Eilein — easy circular walk round an island castle (Rothiemurchus, 30 minutes)

• Glenmore Forest — Caledonian pines, Loch Morlich beach (Glenmore, 35 minutes)

• Loch Morlich — sandy beach loch, swimmable in summer (Glenmore, 35 minutes)

• Carrbridge — the famous Old Packhorse Bridge and Landmark Forest Adventure Park (25 minutes)

• Boat of Garten — steam trains on the Strathspey Railway, RSPB ospreys at Loch Garten (25 minutes)

• Loch Insh — watersports centre, paddleboarding, canoeing, wild swimming (Kincraig, 15 minutes)

• Dalwhinnie Distillery — one of the highest distilleries in Scotland, tours by booking (15 minutes)

• Grantown-on-Spey — larger Highland market town, fishing on the River Spey (40 minutes)

• Inverness — capital of the Scottish Highlands, Loch Ness 30 minutes beyond (50 minutes by car, 1 hour by train)

Where to eat in Newtonmore

There's no restaurant in the hostel — we have a proper kitchen and we trust you to feed yourself. But the village has more food than you'd expect for its size.

• Glen Hotel — gastropub opposite us on Main Street, the local for many years

• The Letterbox Restaurant - best to check their website for availability

• The Wild Flour cafe on Main Street — coffee, cake, walker-friendly hours

• Mehmood's Curry House | Indian — take away, a short walk down from the hostel. Also do Pizza and other delights

• Antlers Cafe on Main street. Lovely tea and cakes

• Balavil Hotel and restaurant — Main Street, sit-down meals, great menu, very accommodating

• The Co-op — Main Street, basic shopping, small bakery section

• Kingussie (10 minutes) — three more pubs and a chippy

Getting here without a car

By Ember electric bus — direct from Edinburgh Airport and Inverness

Ember runs the E9 electric coach between Edinburgh and Inverness, with a stop on Main Street very close to the hostel. Up to 11 services a day in each direction. Around 6 services per day go direct from Edinburgh Airport (Stop E), taking about 2h 20min – 2h 45min. From Inverness, about 1h 10min. Book at ember.to — and remember to pre-book the Newtonmore stop at least 20 minutes before, as it’s a request stop.

Southbound stop (towards Inverness): outside the Clan Macpherson Museum. Northbound stop (towards Edinburgh): outside Monarch Country Apartments. Both on Main Street, a few steps from the hostel.

By train

Newtonmore station is not far — about a 10-minute walk. The Highland Main Line runs Edinburgh / Glasgow ↔ Newtonmore ↔ Aviemore ↔ Inverness. Cycle-friendly with a booking for the bike space (mandatory in summer). The Caledonian Sleeper runs nightly from London Euston direct to Newtonmore — board around 21:00 in London and wake up in the Cairngorms around 07:30. The most magical way to arrive from London.

By bike

National Cycle Network Route 7 (the Lochs and Glens route between Glasgow and Inverness) passes through Newtonmore — much of it traffic-free along the River Spey.

By local bus

Local Stagecoach buses run Newtonmore ↔ Kingussie ↔ Aviemore several times a day. The driver will stop at any walking trailhead between villages if you ask.By car

By car

If you're driving — the village square is one minute's walk and free. The A9 from Edinburgh or Glasgow is around 2 hours 15 minutes.