The Cairngorms National Park has a large mountain range at its heart with diverse communities around it. It is home to 16,000 people and 25% of Britain’s threatened species. It includes unique mountainous areas of wild land, moorlands, forests, rivers, lochs and glens. Sites designated as of importance to natural heritage take up 39% of the land area – two thirds of these are of Europe-wide importance.

The Park stretches from Grantown on Spey to the heads of the Angus Glens, from Ballater to Dalwhinnie and Drumochter including much of the Laggan area in the southwest and a large area of the Glen Livet estate and the Strathdon/Glen Buchat area.