The Cairngorms Park and surrounding Scottish Highlands are wealthy in seasonal produce as well as scenery. Soft fruit is world class, at Alvie Estate near Aviemore they grown the Elsanta variety of strawberries and Glen Ample raspberry; these are the most outstanding varieties in terms of texture, appearance, taste and shelf life. When travelling through the National Park in early summer you will see signs everywhere advertising the sale of Alvie soft fruit, from the petrol station in Newtonmore to the butchers on Aviemore high street. Alvie soft fruit is gaining a real name for quality and flavour. Elsanta are dessert strawberries grown by the estate and are particularly sweet, large and firm with a glossy red appearance.
The seafood especially is exceptional with the opportunity of tasting scallops, langoustines, mussels and other delicious offering all caught just an hour or two drive from the Cairngorm s Nation Park in the west coast. The Park has a good share of quality restaurants where local ingredients are treated with the respect they deserve and served to perfection. Freshness is paramount when it comes to seafood and that you can be assured of when you eat at the excellent Crannog Seafood Restaurant on the pier at Fort William, just 40mins drive from the Cairngorms village of Laggan. The wonderful location is matched by the fare on offer, the tantalising menu featuring the best of west coast seafood. Another outstanding aspect of Crannog is that they have a smokehouse where locally caught fish are smoked in the age old Scottish tradition. Many of the fine wine & dine restaurants such as The Cross, Ord Ban, Andersons, Green Inn, in the National Park offer a wide varieties of seafood from this region.
Why not try some of the superb craft beer brewed in the cairngorms park? The region is fortunate in that it has two award-winning independent breweries - Cairngorm brewery and Deeside Brewery - both giving tours to visitors.
The Deeside Brewery, situated close to the pretty village of Lumphanan in Royal Deeside, surrounded by the magnificent Grampian Mountains, this micro brewery produces a range of traditional ales using age old brewing practices, the finest ingredients and the soft, clear, delicious waters of the sparkling River Dee. In the beginning, the recipes were perfected in the kitchen of a croft and sold to local farm shops and village stores. However, in no time at all, word had spread and demand grew, which meant larger premises were required. So the brewery folks moved over the hill. They named their new premises ‘Deeside Brewery’ and opened for business in early 2009.
The Cairngorm Brewery in Aviemore also excels with the excellent Trade Winds and other quality offerings. The Cairngorm Brewery Company, established in 2001, is situated in the village of Aviemore within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. They brew traditional ales with a fresh new edge, by using well established brewing methods, the finest malted and roast barley, hops and crystal clear mountain water.
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