Calum Wood is a composer, singer and guitarist from the North East of Scotland. He spends six months of the year playing alongside Scottish Accordion Champions Robert Black and Matthew MacLennan at The Taste of Scotland Show. The other six months are taken up by a tangled tapestry of musical work including lecturing at The Academy of Music and Sound playing the co-songwriter in The Banana Sessions.

She Wynds On was commissioned by Visit Cairngorms to promote a new tourist route through the heart of The Cairngorms National Park called the SnowRoads. The brief was to write ‘music to drive to’. The title track She Wynds On, featuring Ross Ainslie and Charlie McKerron takes the listener through Calum’s own experience of growing up near the area. The lyrics reflect the stunning scenery and history of the SnowRoads. From The Bonny Linn O’ Dee to the tragic tale of Donald Cargill and his pursuers – ‘the wolves that hunt black sheep’.

A free app will be available to download to accompany the route with the ability to listen to the EP as you drive the four main legs of the journey: Blairgowrie to Braemar, Braemar to Ballater, Ballater to Tomintoul and Tomintoul to Grantown-on-Spey.

The SnowRoads initiative is led by the Cairngorms Business Partnership (CBP) and, with Scottish Enterprise funding, aims to catapult the driving route into a destination within its own right with the development a state-of-the-art mobile application to enhance the visitor experience.

The latest virtual and augmented reality technology and a collation of local stories and legends are being used to create a digital toolkit which will bring the route to life for visitors. An audio guide and the bespoke music will help to tell the stories and inspire awe of this wild and untouched road less travelled.

Composer Calum Wood said: “I wanted to capture the drama of the SnowRoads, both in terms of the fantastic scenery and the history present at every turn. Having grown up not too far from the route I’ve spent a lot of time in the Cairngorms National Park and, as a boy, could be found jumping off the rocks at the Linn O’ Dee which features in the song She Wynds On. Hopefully this music will inspire people to come and drive the SnowRoads but to also explore the area and possibly go for a wee walk or an icy dip at the Linn of Quoich!”

Project Manager of the SnowRoads for the CBP, Jennifer Green, explained the aim is to create a must-do scenic route through the Cairngorms National Park. She said: “We have an exciting opportunity to create a truly immersive visitor experience and a destination road which will have a major positive economic impact on communities and businesses along the route.

“The music Calum has created is emotive and reflective of each area along the way. We asked members of the community what the SnowRoads means to them as part of our community engagement and so we know we are creating something authentic that the local folk will enjoy.

“I am not alone when I say I love to drive through the Cairngorms National Park. This route has local and international appeal for families on a Highland adventure, classic car drivers and cyclists. The technology and tools we develop throughout this project will be invaluable for tourists and businesses alike, as they promote this journey as a bucket-list destination to the world.”

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