Cairngorms: A Secret History is a series of journeys exploring barely known human and natural stories of the Cairngorm Mountains. It looks at a unique British landscape, its last great wilderness, with new eyes. History combines with travelogue in a vivid account of this elemental scenery. There have been rare human incursions into the Cairngorm plateau, and Patrick Baker tracks them down. He traces elusive wildlife and relives ghostly sightings on the summit of Ben Macdui. From the search for a long-forgotten climbing shelter and the locating of ancient gem mines, to the discovery of skeletal aircraft remains and the hunt for a mysterious nineteenth-century aristocratic settlement, he seeks out the unlikeliest and most interesting of features in places far off the beaten track. The cultural and human impact of this stunning landscape and reflections on the history of mountaineering are the threads which bind this compelling narrative together.

Hill-walking was Shepherd's great love; her single collection of poetry, 'In the Cairngorms', expresses an intensity of deep kinship with nature. They are poems written with the perception of one who has climbed the mountains and truly knows them.

AS SEEN ON BBC’S WINTERWATCH WITH CHRIS PACKHAM AND MICHAELA STRACHAN 'The finest book ever written on nature and landscape in Britain' Guardian In this masterpiece of nature writing, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world that can be breathtakingly beautiful at times and shockingly harsh at others. Her intense, poetic prose explores and records the rocks, rivers, creatures and hidden aspects of this remarkable landscape. Shepherd spent a lifetime in search of the 'essential nature' of the Cairngorms; her quest led her to write this classic meditation on the magnificence of mountains, and on our imaginative relationship with the wild world around us. Composed during the Second World War, the manuscript of The Living Mountain lay untouched for more than thirty years before it was finally published.

The Cairngorms area is arguably the most significant for nature conservation in the British Isles and contains its largest National Park. In this book, 35 authors, drawing on published and unpublished sources, present an up-to-date review of the area's natural features, including plants, animals, habitats, geology and landforms. The review falls into three parts. The first and largest part describes the area's rich diversity of nature, with each chapter summarising recent research findings, trends and conservation issues for a different landform, habitat or species group. The second part considers deer management, recreation and projected climate change impacts. Part three focuses on rare and threatened species, and identifies areas and habitats rich in species for which the Cairngorms are nationally and internationally important.

Volume two of Walking the Munros, this guidebook describes 70 challenging and inspiring routes up Scotland's iconic 3000ft+ mountains within the Northern Highlands, the Cairngorms and the Isle of Skye. The routes, which range from 7 to 46km (with the option to reduce walking distance on some of the longer routes by cycling the approach), cover 143 Munro summits, offering half and full-day walk and scramble options. Clear and concise route descriptions are accompanied by 1:100K mapping, together with invaluable practical information on access, parking, accommodation and more. Also included are two handy indexes of the Munros - listed alphabetically and by height - a perfect resource for peak-baggers. This guide incorporates both popular and lesser-known routes, and celebrates the raw and rugged beauty of these majestic mountains.

This guidebook contains over 100 routes for walking in the Cairngorms and Lochnagar, including 18 Munro summits, smaller hills, and trekking options. Walks range in length from 1 to 26 miles and are graded for difficulty. Classic summits include Macdui, Cairn Gorm, Braeriach, Cairn Toul and Lochnagar and this comprehensive guidebook also describes easier sandy trails through pine woodland and riverside walks along the Spey, Nethy and Dee. The routes are split into seven parts, and along with the main Cairngorm range between Speyside and Deeside, cover Lochnagar. Mountain walks are illustrated with sketch maps, while the low-level and mid-level routes have 1:50,000 mapping. Icons at the start of each route indicate type of walk (low level, mid-level or mountain) and ratings of its length and difficulty. Information on snack stops, public transport and accommodation is provided for each area, as well as a route summary table, scrambles summary and grading. A detailed 'Summit Summary' is included for five hills - Macdui, Cairn Gorm, Braeriach, Cairn Toul and Lochnagar - these are the hills you will want to ascend lots of times by many different routes.