Newtonmore ( ) is a village of approximately 1100 inhabitants in

Badenoch Badenoch (; ) is a district of the Scottish Highlands centred on the upper reaches of the River Spey, above Strathspey. The name Badenoch means the drowned land, with most of the population living close to the River Spey or its tributaries ...

, within the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

council area of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre of Scotland. Newtonmore is located within the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

, approximately south-west of

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

and south-west of

Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...

. It is on the northeastern bank of the

River Spey The River Spey () is a river in the northeast of Scotland. At it is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom and the third longest and fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is an important location for the traditions of salmon fishing an ...

, between the River Calder and the Allt Lairaidh, at an altitude of approximately .

History

Newtonmore does not appear on William Roy's Survey of Scotland (1747–1752), however some of the surrounding crofts do including ''Bannaker'', now Banchor Mains Farm, on the banks of the Calder. In 1756, a bridge was constructed over the River Spey at the confluence of the River Calder near Ralia, largely replacing the ferry downstream at Ruthven. The road to Kingussie was realigned along the north bank of the Spey and the village founded by James Macpherson of Belleville to house dispossessed tenantry, the first houses being built in 1820 where the Perth-Inverness Road met the old drove road to Laggan, between the River Calder and the Allt Laraidh. The settlement was sometimes known as Benchar Village before being named Newtonmore, which simply means "the new town of the moor" or "…on the moor".

Activities

Shinty Shinty () is a team sport played with sticks and a ball. It is played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and among Highland migrants to the major cities of Scotland. The sport was formerly more widespread in Scotland and even played in Northern ...

- The town is renowned for having a shinty team, Newtonmore Camanachd Club, which plays at The Eilan next to the River Calder. * Walking - Newtonmore calls itself the "Walking Centre of Scotland", referring both to its geographical location and to the great walking opportunities locally, like th
Wildcat Trail
The Speyside Way Long Distance Route was eventually extended to a new terminus of Newtonmore, with this section launched in Spring 2022. * Golf - Newtonmore has a golf course on the banks of the Spey. * Bowling - The club is open to visitors. It has regular competitions with other clubs in Badenoch and Strathspey and with clubs from Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. * Mountain Biking - Many trails in the local forests and tracks on the surrounding hills. * Fishing - Both the Rivers Spey and Calder run through Newtonmore making it a popular spot. * Shooting *Outdoor Activities - being situated almost in the centre of Scotland, and so close to Aviemore & Cairngorm Mountain makes Newtonmore extremely popular for Outdoor Activities. With local providers offering things like canyoning, white water rafting, rock climbing & abseiling. The River Calder

Tourism

The village is home to The Wildcat Experience, aimed at families with children, where participants try to track down the 130 painted model

wildcats The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while th ...

located around the village. It is based on a community arts project – but everyone in the village had the chance to be involved. Newtonmore is the site of the open-air Highland Folk Museum since the 1980s. It is located on Kingussie Road, on the eastern outskirts of the village. The village is also home to the

Clan Macpherson Clan Macpherson ( , ) is a Scottish clan from the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and a member of the Chattan Confederation. History Origins The Scottish Gaelic surname for Macpherson is ''Mac a' Phearsain'' which means ''son of the parson''. ...

House and Museum, situated at the junction of Perth Road, Laggan Road and Main Street. The museum opened in 1952, with the exhibition mainly containing items from the nearby Cluny Castle which had recently been sold. The displays in the museum were significantly reworked in 1984–1985 and in winter 2004–2005. The Newtonmore Highland games and Clan Macpherson Rally are held every year at The Eilan, on the first Saturday in August. The first games were held in October 1945 on the golf course, but moved to their present venue in 1950. A central part of the event is the Creag Dhubh hill race. Newtonmore was one of the locations used in the filming of the BBC drama '' Monarch of the Glen'' and is in Monarch Country. Between 1989 and 2011, a music, light and water fountain show called Waltzing Waters operated in the village. This was opened by local businessman Alex Donald decided a new attraction was required to bring visitors to the village after it was bypassed by the A9, and seeing a similar display on holiday in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The site was redeveloped into a larger store for

Co-op Food Co-op is a UK supermarket chain and the brand used for the food retail business of The Co-operative Group, one of the world's largest consumer co-operatives. As the UK's fifth largest food retailer, Co-op operates nearly 2,400 food stores. It ...

plus five houses.

Transport

The village has been bypassed by the A9 since 1979, which is the main north-south road through the highlands. However, the A86 between

and

Spean Bridge Spean Bridge () is a village in the parish of Kilmonivaig, in Lochaber in the Highland region of Scotland. The village takes its name from the Highbridge over the River Spean on General Wade's military road between Fort William and Fort A ...

still passes through the village. Newtonmore railway station is managed by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail (), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise as an operator of las ...

and is on the

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...

. It is also served by the

Caledonian Sleeper ''Caledonian Sleeper'' is the collective name for overnight Sleeping car, sleeper train services between London and Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is one of only two currently operating sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom ...

between London and Inverness.

Notable people from Newtonmore

Jimmy Bain James Stewart Bain (19 December 1947 – 23 January 2016) was a Scottish musician, best known for playing bass guitar in the bands Rainbow and Dio. He also worked with Kate Bush and Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, co-writing on his solo albu ...

, bassist for

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

and Dio * Dr John Cattanach, the only shinty player inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame * Norman MacArthur, ex-shinty player * George MacPherson,

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents the Scottish Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship, where they are the current Doddie Weir Cup holders. They also participa ...

* Sir Tommy Macpherson, much-decorated former World War II Army officer and successful businessman. * Danny MacRae, captain of Newtonmore Camanachd * Cameron McNeish, author, broadcaster - influential in the preservation of the countryside * David "Tarzan" Ritchie, 12 Time Camanachd Cup Winner

External links

Newtonmore Community WebsiteLaggan Wolftrax MTB trailsHighland Folk MuseumCairngorms Park Info and Accommodation siteVisitAviemore: Newtonmore Accommodation and Things To DoVisitScotland: Newtonmore village informationActive Outdoor Pursuits - a local Outdoor Activity Provider

References

Populated places in Badenoch and Strathspey