Things to Do in Newtonmore (with Kids)
Things to Do in Newtonmore with Kids – Scottish Wildcat Experience / Wildcat Trail / Highland Folk Museum / Ruthven Barracks / Macpherson Museum / Where to Eat / Where to Stay *Contains affiliate links…
Newtonmore in the Scottish Highlands makes for a great day trip or weekend break. It boasts a fantastic Scottish Wildcat treasure hunt, a vast outdoor museum that kids love, and family friendly hiking trails.
Scottish Wildcat Experience – Things to Do in Newtonmore
The Wildcat Experience is fantastic fun and educational too. A treasure hunt for over 130 life size Scottish wildcat models dotted around Newtonmore. The pack contains lots of info about these rare, beautiful animals as well as a clear map and tick list with all the cats, their names and extra activities such as colouring in. Kids indirectly learn about wildlife and conservation as they march around town. The hiding places of these cats is very creative. Once you’ve found as many cats as possible, return to the Wildcat Centre on the High Street to collect your certificate and prize. [The pack is £10 – charitable and available from a mix of locations in Newtonmore such as the Wildcat Centre, Post Office, Glen Hotel, Newtonmore Hostel, Wild Flour Cafe and the Highlander Hotel)
The Wildcat Trail – Things to Do in Newtonmore
FREE Don’t confuse the Wildcat Experience with the Wildcat Trail, like we initially did. The trail is a scenic 10km circular walk around Newtonmore, but it’s broken down into easy to follow sections. We took the one hour Calder/Milton/Glen Banchor route and the scenery was stunning. Buy a £4 guide (charitable) from the Wildcat Centre if you’d like detailed maps, route guides and history about the places you’ll see – it also contains longer walks from 30 minutes to 8 hours duration. ‘Wildcat’ signs make the tracks easy to follow.
Highland Folk Museum – Things to Do in Newtonmore
FREE – This mile long outdoor museum is epic, and has featured in Outlander (remember the Rent episode?). Inspired by the Scandinavian open air museum movement, the founder Dr Grant, set up her first museum in 1935 in Iona, and today it’s an 80 acre site in Newtonmore. Kids go back in time to a 1700s township, Baile Gean (pics above), where character tour guides in costume explain how locals lived, survived and worked. Visitors can step inside each house and get a feel for how simple and crowded life would have been.
The middle village, Balameanach (pics above) is from the 19th century, and includes a school, shinty pavilion, church, Highland cottage and clockmaker’s workshop. A highlight is the Kirk’s Store that sells old fashioned quarters of sweets, just like in the olden days.
A final stop is the Aultlarie Croft with its steading, tin cottage, smokehouse, post office as well as livestock including Highland Cattle. A café and playground are modern additions.
Ruthven Barracks
FREE Ruthven Barracks is a really brooding imposing building that housed soldiers to police the Highlands. Built between 1719 and 1721 following the Jacobite rising of 1715, it enabled garrison infantry to enforce the Disarming Act of 1716. Then, after the Jacobite’s unmitigated defeat at Culloden on 16 April 1746, the ragged Jacobite survivors gathered at Ruthven to await instruction from their leader, Bonnie Prince Charlie. His disheartening message arrived on April 20, ‘Let every man seek his own safety in the best way he can’.
A real slice of history, my kids loved exploring these vast ruins, but it must have been a hugely intimidating place in the 18th century. Very easy to park nearby for a brief (or long) visit, so don’t miss it.
Macpherson Museum – Things to Do in Newtonmore
For anyone interested in clan history, the Macpherson Museum holds information, not only about that particular clan, but the wider area too. It was closed when we visited so I can’t share much more.
Where to Eat
We ate in the Wild Flour Café on the High Street, which does a mix of flatbreads and soup and a sandwich style lunches. Good vegetarian options, kids menu and homebakes. The outdoor garden seating area is intimate and cute. And when my youngest wasn’t keen on anything on the menu (fussy!) they rustled him up cheese on toast!
Accommodation Nearby
The nearest accommodation we can personally recommend is a mix of self-catering and hotels in Aviemore.
For resort style hotel accommodation drive north to Aviemore for a hotel that offers a pool, cinema, games room and several restaurants on site.
For self-catering we felt v at home at the Woodside Retreat. We’re talking a smart, three bedroom house on the town’s cycling/walking Orbital route. It’s underfloor heating makes it so cosy, plus there’s a garden and storage for bikes/skis as required.
Nearby – Highland Wildlife Park in Kincraig
Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. This park is renowned for its polar bears, but features a host of creatures great and small. Discover more detail here.
Nearby Aviemore
Aviemore is a fantastic outdoor playground in its own right. I’ve written up a host of ideas here, including meeting free-range reindeer, riding a steam engine and going nuts in Landmark Forest Adventure Park.
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