The Cairngorms
| File:The-cairngorms.jpg | |
| Author | Adam Watson |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | James Renny |
| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Scottish Mountaineering Trust |
Publication date | 1928 |
| Media type | Hardcover |
| Pages | 302 |
| ISBN | 0-90151690-2 |
The Cairngorms is a book published in various editions from 1928, intended as wide-ranging ‘handbook’ for walkers and climbers, that describes the geology, and geography of the mountainous region of Scotland known as the Cairngorms, and its surrounding areas.
Editions
| Year | Details | Pages |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | First edition - written by Henry Alexander | 218 |
| 1968 | Major revision - by Adam Watson, J C Donaldson, G Scott Johnstone, I H M Smart | |
| 1975 | Rewrite - by Adam Watson | 302 |
1975
Although entitled The Cairngorms, this edition at least, covers the whole north-east of Scotland. It is a useful reference for finding places, and place-names in the Cairngorms that don't appear on any maps, or are misspelled. Adam Watson has paid special attention to correct spelling of these places, and place-names, and giving local pronunciations for them - emphasising local:
The most accurate pronunciations are given by older local people who have lived all their lives in a small area and whose parents also lived there
— Watson (1975) (p21)
He is not giving the Gaelic pronunciations, which could be obtained from any authority on the language, but he has collected the local-Gaelic pronunciations of these places, and place-names. For example - when discussing Beinn a' Bhùird he gives the local-pronunciation as 'Paing Bòrd' when the wider typical pronunciation is more like 'Ben a Voord'.