Cairn Gorm Mountain

Cairn Gorm rises as the sentinel peak of Scotland's most extensive mountain range, its granite flanks scarred by ancient glaciers and scoured by centuries of Highland weather. At 1,245 metres, it stands as the sixth highest mountain in Britain, yet unlike its loftier neighbours, it offers something unique: the Cairngorm Mountain Railway, Britain's highest funicular, which whisks visitors from the car park to within 150 metres of the summit in just eight minutes.

The mountain wears many faces through the seasons. In winter, it transforms into Scotland's premier ski resort, with runs cascading down its northern corries and snow buntings flitting between the chairlifts. Summer reveals a different character: vast plateaux of moss and lichen stretching towards distant horizons, the air thin and clear, and views that on exceptional days extend to the North Sea and beyond. The Ptarmigan restaurant at the top station claims the title of Britain's highest building.

For hillwalkers, Cairn Gorm serves as a gateway to the wider plateau—a subarctic wilderness of boulder fields and high lochans where the weather can turn lethal with little warning. Yet for those content to ride the funicular and explore the viewing terrace, it offers an accessible taste of the high Cairngorms, a chance to stand in an environment found nowhere else in Britain and feel the immensity of the landscape spreading below.