Cairngorms 4.58

The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name—Cairn Gorm. They form part of the Grampian Mountain range.NameThe mountain range is usually referred to as The Cairngorms but this modern derivation from the individual mountain Cairn Gorm to represent the whole range is potentially misleading — Watson refers to it as a nickname explaining that the range's former name is Am Monadh Ruadh—the red hills distinguishing them from Am Monadh Liath—the grey hills to the west of the River Spey.Ironically—naming the range after Cairn Gorm seemingly creates a contradiction since Cairn Gorm means Blue Cairn —taking that literally would make the red hills the blue hills, changing the old name entirely. This irony appears to have been missed by many for both names were used in the naming of the National Park that incorporates the range. Its official English name, Cairngorms National Park, translates into Gaelic as the Blue Hills National Park, with its Gaelic strap-line, Pairc Naiseanta a Mhonaidh Ruaidh, translating into English as the Red Hills National Park. However, the Gaelic gorm is also used as an adjective and verb, meaning green or greening and is often seen in connection with growing grass. Monadh Ruadh refers to the colour of the soil and Cairn Gorm refers to the green scenery.In Alexander the author refers to Colonel T. Thornton visiting the area about 1786, and his book Sporting Tour published in 1804 in which he refers to the range as the Cairngorms—continuing: