Aviemore
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Coordinates: 57°11′38″N 3°49′23″W / 57.194°N 3.823°W
| Aviemore | |
| Scottish Gaelic: An Aghaidh Mhòr | |
  Aviemore shown within Scotland |
|
| Population | 2,397[1] (2001 census) est. 2,440[2] (2006) |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | |
| - Edinburgh | 90 mi (145 km) |
| - London | 420 mi (725 km) |
| Council area | Highland |
| Lieutenancy area | Inverness |
| Constituent country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | AVIEMORE |
| Postcode district | PH22 |
| Dialling code | 01479 |
| Police | Northern |
| Fire | Highlands and Islands |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| European Parliament | Scotland |
| UK Parliament | Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey |
| Scottish Parliament | Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber |
| List of places: UK • Scotland | |
Aviemore (Scottish Gaelic: An Aghaidh Mhòr) 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. Prior to 1890 it was in an exclave of the county of Moray and from 1890 to 1975 it was in the county of Inverness-shire, until the latter date being within the Civil Parish of Duthil and Rothiemurchus. The town is popular for skiing and other winter sports, and for hill-walking in the Cairngorm Mountains.
Contents |
[edit] Location
Aviemore lies on the B9152 (the "old" A9 road since the main road from Inverness to Perth was rebuilt further west in the 1980s). Aviemore railway station is on the Highland Main Line and Aviemore is also the southern terminus of the Strathspey Railway, a heritage railway.
[edit] Railway beginnings
The village began to grow as a result of it becoming a railway junction in 1898, following which the Highland Railway became a major employer, constructing housing for its staff and the Aviemore Hotel.
[edit] Skiing
It was one of the first skiing resorts to be established in Scotland with the opening of the Chairlift in 1960 and is also notable for being near the freely grazing reindeer herd at Glen More, the only one in the United Kingdom.
The resort has variable quality of snow and weather conditions.
[edit] The Aviemore Centre
The Aviemore Hotel was destroyed by fire in 1950, and its site and that of its Golf course were used in the 1960s for the construction of the Aviemore Centre.
The Aviemore Centre was opened by Lady Fraser of Allander in 1966, (widow of Sir Hugh Fraser - House of Fraser). "The Centre", as it became affectionately known, quickly developed into a major Scottish tourist destination, and in its heyday Royalty were regular visitors, including Prince Charles and Princess Anne who attended Royal Hunt Balls hosted in the Aviemore Centre's Osprey Rooms.
The very popular BBC TV show "It's A Christmas Knockout" was held in the complex twice, in 1971 hosted by David Vine and in 1977 hosted by Stuart Hall, but on the second occasion the lack of snow meant that the local fire brigade were brought in to flood Allander Square with foam to give the illusion of snow cover.
Within the Centre there was an international competition standard ice skating and curling rink, home to the Aviemore Blackhawks and Aviemore Blues hockey teams (whom recently reformed in a charity match played in Inverness), a 25m Swimming pool, "Santa Claus Land" (a Santa Claus theme park featuring a resident Santa 365 days a year), a cinema/theatre, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and discotheques, shops including "Cairdsport" (run by Sandy Caird, who brought the first ski shop and ski school to Aviemore), Allander Square with its concrete fountains, a dry ski slope, crazy golf, and a Go-kart track. However the lack of guaranteed snow meant that the anticipated boom for the centre was shortlived. This, coupled with a lack of investment over the decades and the quickly-dated 1960s architecture, began losing the Aviemore Centre custom.
[edit] Football
Aviemore has two sides competing in the Strathspey & Badenoch Welfare FA League: Aviemore Thistle and RBL Aviemore. Both sides share Aviemore public park as their home ground.
[edit] Activities
- Ski-ing
- Walking
- Mountain Biking
- Water Sports
- Horse Riding and Pony Trekking: The popular outdoor sport of Pony Trekking was credited with being started in Badenoch at nearby Newtonmore in 1952 by Ewan Ormiston, it is still possible to ride in Newtonmore with his grandson Ruaridh at the Newtonmore Riding Centre. Ormiston Highlands
- Fishing
- Shooting
[edit] New investment
In around 1998 many of the original Poulson buildings were demolished as part of a promised £50 million overhaul. Although the visitor buildings were replaced, many of the other leisure facilities were not, leading to a further decline in tourism.[3] In 2006 a privately-led tourist organisation began a programme of attracting tourists to the area.[4]
[edit] See also
- The Highland Wildlife Park, situated nine miles south at Kincraig.
- The famous Scottish Alpine skier Alain Baxter lived in Aviemore much of his life, having been born in Edinburgh.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ "Comparative Population Profile: Aviemore Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/browser/profile.jsp?profile=Population&mainArea=aviemore&mainLevel=Locality. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data
- ^ BBC News | SCOTLAND | Anger at £50m Aviemore overhaul
- ^ BBC NEWS | Scotland | Highlands and Islands | Private tourism firm begins work
- ^ http://www.alainbaxter.co.uk/biography.html
[edit] External links
- Visit Aviemore
- Cairngorms chamber of commerce Local services in Aviemore.
- Aviemore Golf Aviemore golf courses and area information
- Aviemore Facilities Aviemore facilities, services, activities, golf courses
- History of the original Aviemore Centre from its inception on the 1960s until the 1990s
- Newtonmore Riding Centre Website
