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 Newtonmore Main Street |
Banchor Farm, which today stands at the west end of Newtonmore, dates back to 1645. But in those days it stood alone. Newtonmore, which translates as big new town, only began to grow after 1750.
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But the first real spurt of growth only came in the early 1800s as a result of the clearances. Families cleared from their crofts on estates in the central Highlands to make room for sheep grazing, settled where they had more room to grow crops than was possible in built-up Kingussie.
 Clan MacPherson House & Museum |
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 Highland Folk Museum |
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More formality arrived when a Parliamentary road was built through Newtonmore by Thomas Telford in 1817 to link Kingussie to Fort William. A new bridge had been built over the River Spey just south of Newtonmore in 1808, and the main Inverness to Perth road was also then routed through the village rather than via the ford and ferry between Kingussie and Ruthven Barracks. The main route north continued to pass this way until the A9 bypass was built a little to the east in the late 1970s.
Newtonmore also took advantage of the arrival of the Inverness and Perth Junction Railway (which later became part of the Highland Railway) in 1863. This brought visitors in ever greater numbers and led to the development of some of the many hotels that feature so prominently in the village today.
Today the railway station is simply a rather sparse platform reached by a side road a few hundred yards south of the village. But more importantly it is still served by trains, putting it ahead of many highland stations built during the railway boom of the 1800s.
The village today is still focused tightly around the main A86 road, and comes complete with a range of attractive grey stone or white harled shops, restaurants and other services. These include the better part of a dozen hotels, as well as guest houses, B&Bs and the Strathspey Mountain Hostel.
Just to the north of the main street is St Bride's Church, an unusual low lying design built in 1900, and complete with an attractive little bell tower. To the south, the village is bounded by the 18 hole Newtonmore Golf Club. This attractive parkland course lies both sides of the railway line. Intending visitors should contact the club in advance on 01540 673328.
Towards the eastern end of the village is one of the Highland's more unique tourist attractions. Waltzing Waters is a "water light and music spectacular" providing 45 minute shows and is, ironically, one of the few reliable wet weather options in the area.
East of Newtonmore, the road towards nearby Kingussie leads past the Newtonmore branch of the Highland Folk Museum (the other part is in Kingussie). This includes a range of attractions in an outdoor setting, plus relocated buildings like the Mission Church near the entrance.
