The glen abounds in birds and animals, and plants now rare in the rest of the country. Having moorland, pasture, rivers, conifer and deciduous woods all in close proximity, and farmed unintensively, provides an amazing variety of habitat.

Res Squirrel, Otter, Black Game and Ptarmigan may all be found here.

The Cairngorms National Park

The Cairngorms National Park was established in September 2003.  It is the UK’s largest National Park at 1,467 sq miles.  The CNPA was set up by the Scottish Parliament to ensure that the unique aspects of the Cairngorms - both the natural environment and the local communities - are cared for, sustained and enhanced for current and future generations to enjoy.  The CNPA is designed to be an ‘enabling’ organisation promoting partnership and giving leadership to all those involved in the Cairngorms.

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.

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