Bee swarm in Aviemore? Help is a minute away.

Aviemore is the outdoor resort town of the Cairngorms — a modern-ish service centre set in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park, where the River Spey runs through Caledonian pine forest and the great moors open above. The Rothiemurchus and Abernethy pinewoods flanking the town are among the finest remnants of the Caledonian forest, and the heather understorey carries bell heather from July; ling follows from late July through August, giving one of the most celebrated hill-heather flows in Britain. The Spey valley gives willows, elder and marsh plants; wild raspberries in the forest clearings are an unusual early crop. The Cairngorms heather honey from this area is widely regarded as among the best Scottish heather honey produced.

The season arrives late — gorse and broom on the Moray coast and sycamore in sheltered valleys begin May. Raspberry (cultivated and wild) on Easter Ross gives a substantial early flow. The Highland defining crop is ling heather on the huge moors of the central, eastern and western Highlands — the finest UK heather honey with a distinct red-amber set and jelly texture, still commercially worked. Bell heather, bilberry and upland herbs supplement. Coastal sea-thrift and ivy on lochside cottages close a short, high-quality year.