Newtonmore ( gd, Baile Ùr an t-Sléibh ) is a village in the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

council area of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical

centre of Scotland There is some debate as to the location of the geographical centre of Scotland. This is due to different methods of calculating the centre, and whether surrounding islands are included. Centre of gravity method In 2002, the Ordnance Survey calc ...

Activities

Shinty Shinty ( gd, camanachd, iomain) is a team game played with sticks and a ball. Shinty is now played mainly in the Scottish Highlands and amongst Highland migrants to the big cities of Scotland, but it was formerly more widespread in Scotland, an ...

- The town is renowned for having a shinty team,

Newtonmore Camanachd Club Newtonmore Camanachd Club is a shinty club from Newtonmore, Badenoch, Scotland. It is historically the most successful side in the history of Shinty, having won the Camanachd Cup a record 34 times. They won the Marine Harvest Premier Division se ...

, which plays at

The Eilan The Eilan ( gd, Eilean Bheannchair) is a shinty stadium in the town of Newtonmore, Scotland. It is the home of Newtonmore Camanachd and has been a shinty venue since at least 1877. Location The park is situated near a confluence between the Ri ...

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
An extension to the

Speyside Way The Speyside Way (Doric: '; gd, Slighe Shrath Spe) is a long-distance path in the Scottish Highlands. The route begins in Buckie and ends at Newtonmore, away. There is an optional spur leading off the main route to Tomintoul, adding and of as ...

could soon add Newtonmore to a

Long Distance Route Scotland's Great Trails are long-distance "people-powered" trails in Scotland, analogous to the National Trails of England and Wales or the Grande Randonnée paths of France. The designated routes are primarily intended for walkers, but may have se ...

and it will become the new end to this trail. * 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 - Manytrails 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 - a visitor attraction specially aimed at families with children. The attraction is based on a community arts project - everyone in the village had the chance to be involved. Newtonmore is the site of the

Highland Folk Museum The Highland Folk Museum is a museum and open-air visitor attraction in Newtonmore in Badenoch and Strathspey in the Scottish Highlands, United Kingdom. It is owned by Highland Council and administered by High Life Highland. It was founded in 19 ...

. Newtonmore was one of the locations used in the filming of '' Monarch of the Glen'' and is in

Monarch Country ''Monarch of the Glen'' is a British drama television series produced by Ecosse Films for BBC Scotland and broadcast on BBC One for seven series between February 2000 and October 2005 with 64 episodes in total. The first five series of ''Mon ...

Transport

The town has been bypassed by the A9 since 1979.

Newtonmore railway station , symbol_location = gb , symbol = rail , image = File:Newtonmore station.jpg , borough = Newtonmore, Highland , country = Scotland , coordinates = , grid_name = Grid ...

is managed by

ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), 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 a ...

and is on the

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the Scottish Highlands linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth at one end and Inverness at the other. Today, services between Inverness and Edi ...

Notable people from Newtonmore

George MacPherson George Philip Stewart Macpherson CBE TD (16 October 1903 – 2 March 1981) also known as GPS Macpherson was a Scottish rugby union footballer who played for Scotland in 26 tests between 1922 and 1932. Early life Macpherson was born in New ...

Scotland national rugby union team The Scotland national rugby union team represents Scotland in men's international rugby union and is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Six Nations Championship and participates in the Rugby World Cup, ...

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 alb ...

, bassist for

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and Dio * Sir

Tommy Macpherson Colonel (United Kingdom), Colonel Sir Ronald Thomas Stewart Macpherson (4 October 1920 – 6 November 2014) was a highly decorated British Army officer during and after the World War II, Second World War. He fought with the No. 11 (Scottish) Co ...

, much-decorated former World War II Army officer and successful businessman. *

David "Tarzan" Ritchie David "Tarzan" Ritchie (born 1945) is a former shinty player from Newtonmore, Scotland. He is notable for having won 12 Camanachd Cup medals, a record he held alongside fellow Newtonmore player Hugh Chisholm for many years. Playing career "Tarzan" ...

, 12 Time Camanachd Cup Winner *

Norman MacArthur Norman "Brick" MacArthur (born 20 May 1960) is a retired shinty player and current president of Newtonmore Camanachd Club. Biography MacArthur was a player with Newtonmore since the mid-70s and won several Camanachd Cups. He was the Albert Smith ...

, ex-shinty player *

Danny MacRae ''Daniel Pirrie MacRae'' better known as Danny MacRae (born 19 August 198is a retired Scottish shinty player from Newtonmore, Scotland. He plays for Newtonmore Camanachd Club. He is affectionately known in the press as "Super Dan Playing career H ...

, captain of Newtonmore Camanachd * Dr John Cattanach, the only shinty player inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame *

Cameron McNeish Cameron McNeish FRSGS is a Scottish wilderness hiker, backpacker and mountaineer who is an authority on outdoor pursuits. In this field he is best known as an author and broadcaster although he is also a magazine editor, lecturer and after dinn ...

, author, broadcaster - influential in the preservation of the countryside

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