The trick in the Cairngorms is to park the motorhome once and leave it there. The best Cairngorms and Speyside campsites sit right on a forest track, a loch shore or the Speyside Way, so the walking, the wildlife and a distillery day all start at your pitch. Here are five sites we’d point you towards, split between the high hills and the whisky country to the north.

Cairngorms bases for walking and wildlife

Glenmore, on Loch Morlich

Glenmore sits on the shore of Loch Morlich, inside Glenmore Forest Park and under the Cairngorm plateau. You can walk to the beach in a couple of minutes, pick up forest trails straight from the pitch, or cycle the old logging path the few miles into Aviemore without touching the main road. It takes motorhomes across the year, with electric pitches and a dog wash for muddy paws and bikes. The loch is the one to plan around: a beach, a watersports centre, and the road up to the Cairngorm car parks climbing away behind.

Rothiemurchus, at Coylumbridge

A couple of miles on from Aviemore, Rothiemurchus pitches you among old Caledonian pines, with walking and cycling trails leaving straight from the site. Loch an Eilein and its ruined island castle are an easy walk away, and the wider Rothiemurchus estate has enough tracks to fill several days. It’s a smaller site, with level pitches, hook-up for motorhomes and a heated amenity block, so it books up. Worth reserving ahead in summer.

Ballater, on Royal Deeside

Over on the eastern, Royal Deeside side of the national park, Ballater Caravan Park sits between the River Dee and the village, about half a mile from the shops. The Deeside Way runs from here along the bed of the old railway, flat enough to cycle for as long as you fancy, and there’s a bike hub on the park itself. It’s a good base for Lochnagar, Glen Muick and the deer, and for a quieter corner of the Cairngorms away from the Aviemore crowds.

Speyside and the whisky country

Drop down the northern edge of the park and you’re into Speyside, where the campsites double as distillery bases. The thread is the Speyside Way, a long-distance path that runs between the distilleries, so you can leave the motorhome and walk or cycle to a tasting rather than drive to one.

Grantown-on-Spey

Grantown is the bridge between the two areas: still in the national park, but on the Speyside Way and an easy, level walk from the campsite into a handsome old granite town. Leave the van on its pitch and you can wander into Anagach Woods (red squirrels and birdlife) or pick up the Way heading north toward the distilleries. It’s a large, well-kept touring park that takes motorhomes, with a heated toilet block and fast wi-fi.

Speyside Gardens, at Aberlour

For the heart of whisky country, Speyside Gardens is hard to beat. It’s a walled-garden site within walking distance of Aberlour and Craigellachie and a short step from the Speyside Way, which puts several distilleries within reach on foot or by bike. Pitches are fully serviced with water, waste and electric, and there’s EV charging on site. Like most Speyside parks it’s seasonal, roughly late March to the end of October at the time of writing, so check the dates before you travel.

One reason to choose a walkable site here: Scotland’s drink-drive limit is lower than England’s, and a distillery tour usually ends in a tasting. Basing yourself where you can walk or cycle in means nobody has to nominate a driver and skip the good bit. Many distilleries will also bottle up a driver’s dram to take away.

All five sites are an easy run from the Atlas Motorhomes depot in Glasgow, and every hire is a four-berth motorhome, under two years old and easy to place on a Highland road. Park it once, and the Cairngorms come to you.