Around the Scottish Highlands

Below we have listed some of the more popular Attractions and Outdoor Activities in the area which can be enjoyed by all - full local information is available on the Kingussie Community Website.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

Highland Activities are a modern outdoor adventure centre offering quality outdoor activities including quad biking, white water rafting, canyoning & gorge walking, clay pigeon shooting, off road driving, paintballing, archery and mountain biking for groups, individuals, families and corporate events.

WATER SPORTS

There is a vast range of activities on the water at nearby Loch Insh www.lochinsh.com (5 miles) and Loch Morlich www.lochmorlich.com (15 miles). Sailing, windsurfing and kayaking are available and equipment hire and instruction are available on request. The Loch Insh Watersports Centre also offers a dry ski slope and mountain biking. Open from mid-April until mid-October

PONY TREKKING

About 5 miles from the Osprey are the Alvie Stables offering superb riding in miles of beautiful countryside in the Cairngorm National Park. The stables are happy to accommodate both experienced riders and novices. www.alvie-estate.co.uk

WINTER SPORTS

Aviemore is the UK capital for winter sports with Cairngorm ski slopes only minutes away. The Ski School run by Snowsport Scotland can provide something for everyone. Whether you are 5 or 65, a novice or an experienced skier, their professional instructors will ensure you have a truly memorable time on Cairngorm. www.snsc.demon.co.uk

THE HIGHLAND FOLK MUSEUM

The museum has two complementary venues: in Kingussie and Newtonmore. Open from the end of March until October, the museum helps to demonstrate how our ancestors lived and worked in days gone by. www.highlandfolk.com

BIRD WATCHING

Speyside is unique in that it has a wide variety of habitats, from mountain tops to arable farmland and is suitable for year-round ‘twitching’. The Cairngorm tops have ptarmigan, dotterel and snow bunting and the wooded slopes and valley floors have many species of woodland birds. In the glens you can find golden eagles, red kites and peregrine falcons and ospreys (named after our hotel !) can be seen fishing in the rivers and lochs.

There is an RSPB site on Loch Insh where boat trips are arranged in the Insh Marshes. Sandpipers can be seen at the south end of the loch and goldeneye, widgeon, teal, mallard and tufted ducks are also frequent visitors. There is a chance to see ospreys fishing, swans nesting and cormorants roosting.

MOUNTAIN BIKING

Laggan Wolftrax is a purpose built mountain Bike Centre in one of the most scenic parts of Cairngorm National Park. It is a well facilitated site with basic, intermediate and advanced trails with bike hire and trail guiding. There are showers and a café on-site.

QUADBIKE TREKS & OFFROAD DRIVING

These are available a short distance from the Osprey, near Aviemore. Quadbiking is set in the 25,000 acre Rothiemurchus Estate on a network of trails and tracks within beautiful mountain scenery. Offroad driving carried out in 4x4 vehicles is run by experienced, professional driving instructors. www.rothiemurchus.net

THE WHISKY TRAIL

Look at it - Sniff it - Taste it
These three stages provide the divisions into which you order your tasting of Malt Whisky. The world famous Whisky trail begins only 24 miles from the Osprey. There are countless distilleries to visit along the River Spey with abundant opportunities for free samples ! Why not spend a day looking, sniffing and tasting. - see more on our whisky page

THE HIGHLAND WILDLIFE PARK

The park, run by The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is only three mile for the Osprey with the mission statement “to inspire and excite our visitors with the wonder of living animals, and so to promote the conservation of threatened species and habitats“. Some of the attractions are lynx, wild boar, wolves, enormous bison and ancient breeds of sheep. There are some wild Przewalski horses, one of the world’s rarest mammals. www.highlandwildlifepark.org

THE STRATHSPEY STEAM RAILWAY

The railway once formed part of the route from Perth to Inverness, runs from Aviemore to Granton on Spey. It was closed in 1965 but re-opened as an attraction in 1978. You can travel 3rd or 1st class and enjoy refreshments on board. Trains run from March to October. www.strathspeyrailway.co.uk

CYCLING

There are cycle trails in abundance, within beautiful scenery, in Inverness-shire. The Osprey will join the Visit Scotland Cyclists Welcome Scheme in time for the 2006 season, providing secure, covered storage for cycles, hot drinks, packed lunches and very large breakfasts.

The hotel sits on national cycle route no.7